The Cold War

After our discussion in class yesterday I was slightly frustrated with myself.  We had spent the past week looking at Ragtime and talking about how we never question history, and yet I  happened to read the first few chapters of The Cold War without wondering if there was more to it than what I was reading.  It wasn’t until class that i actually thought back on what I had read and the things I had previously learned about the Cold War to question and interpret my opinions on the events.  While I had always imagined the United States and the “good guys” and the Soviets as “the enemy”, it was not because of pop culture or stories from my parents that influenced me.  Rather it is my perspective on capitalism vs. communism that played a greater role.  In history and even economics class we learn about the benefits and opportunities that capitalism presents people with.  Likewise, we learn about the people under communist rule that go hungry and live in poverty.  Because the USSR was in favor of a form of government that I associated with negative qualities, I automatically presumed that they had undesirable ideals in mind.  And because the United States was trying to spread ideals that I personally found pleasant, I categorized the two sides- United States good; Soviet Union bad.  However, after our discussion I think perhaps I was wrong.