Cuban Missile Crisis Question

[sq764]

My wife and I were watching Crimson Tide last night for the first time and they made a lot of reference to the Cuban Missile Crisis..

Being 30 years old, it was not part of my life, and it made me wonder how tense of a time it must have been here. I wonder if the everyday mood of Americans was the same, worse or better, than the terrorist situation today..

[ljb]

As for myself, I did not feel the fear for our safety that I feel today. The Russians had placed missiles on Cuba and there were some pictures of same on tv. The U.S. began a blockade of all ships heading to Cuba and eventually the Russians backed down and removed their missiles. For what ever reason I just did not feel threatened by the situation. Of course I was still young enough to believe our government had our interests in mind back then. ;)

[Tom]

From my perspective, the missle crisis was a terrifying thing-the threat of nuclear war was thee worst thing that could happen. Most people I know were glued to the tubes watching coverage.
Ironic Ljb's take on this-the crisis was averted by back channels secret deals while we were led to believe it was Kennedy's iron will that prevailed. The same Kennedy who sold out the Cubans in the Bay of Pigs. The some one who was screwing MM. Some things never change, do they? But JFK is viewed as a great leader when in fact he was right down there with Clinton.

[sq764]

You can't compare JFK with Clinton.. He had MANY more sexual conquests while in office than Clinton :-)

[ljb]

Tom,
Sometimes you can be obnoxious other times your just a jerk. I posted my opinions to the question asked. There was no political intent involved. I did not vote for Kennedy nor did I think he was a good President. The key here is I did not have as much fear for my safety then as I do now. I felt the government was concerned about our safety/well being instead of their own personal agendas.

[wes]

I was at Ft Stewart Ga with the 1st Armor Division US Army. For us there were three tense days. After that all went back to normal.

wes

[Lefty]

The Russians did not back down. Kruschev got what he wanted. He wanted our missiles out of Turkey. Kennedy secretly did that and the Russians removed the missiles from Cuba. Game to Kruschev.
I was in my twenties and it was a tense and fearful time.

[kenwoodallpromos]

I was living in San Jose, Ca, just downwind from the SF Pacific Stock Exchange, many Army and Navy bases, Sunnyvale space technology, financial Hqtrs, 5 million population, and on the coast, so we had to practice hiding under our school desks often and there were a lot of public buildings with the civil defense signs on them. The missle crisis was very frightening because we were a prime target with easy access from the sea or via Alaska.
I did not learn untill later that we had missles in Turkey very near USSR first.
In the sixties they decided to go with MADD ti make sure only the politions would survive a nuclear war so they stopped all civil defense.
We and many who lived during the a-bomb droppings and tests in WWII are still alive and worry about WMD and crazy dictators.

[Secretariat]

I remember hiding under the desks to protect us from the nuclear weapons.

[Dan]

Originally posted by Secretariat
I remember hiding under the desks to protect us from the nuclear weapons.


I remember that. And you put your rear end toward the windows. That would have made it difficult to kiss it goodbye.

:)

[sq764]

Better dead than red, right?

[Dan]

You guys remember all those fallout shelter commercials back then?

They'd show a 'Leave It To Beaver' type of family and then air raid sirens going off. Then they'd show missile silos opening up and rockets being fired. The 'Leave It To Beaver' family would calmly grab the family dog or cat and get into the fallout shelter. Dad would close the hatch. Mom and dad would put the kids to bed in their military style bunk beds and everyone would be all smiles since they all felt safe.

I was only 12 years old back then but those used to scare the crap out of me.

Look how stupid those things were back then. Even if you survived the blast there wasn't any way you would live afterward.

Even back then Corporate Amercia knew how to scare the crap out of people to sell products.

:)

[schweitz]

Originally posted by ljb
As for myself, I did not feel the fear for our safety that I feel today. The Russians had placed missiles on Cuba and there were some pictures of same on tv. The U.S. began a blockade of all ships heading to Cuba and eventually the Russians backed down and removed their missiles. For what ever reason I just did not feel threatened by the situation. Of course I was still young enough to believe our government had our interests in mind back then. ;) You feel more threatened now than then? Hard to believe--the Cuban Missle Crisis spawned a whole new business--the backyard bomb shelter--the threat of having to use one was very real. It was a very scary time--a time when parents would practice driving to the schools and pick up kids and drive them out into a designated area in the country in case of a missle attack (not that this would have done much good)--a time of daily school drills of " duck and cover", under desks or in the hallways. If you truly feel more threatened now than then I'm thinking you were not paying much attention back then.

[Tom]

Originally posted by ljb
Tom,
Sometimes you can be obnoxious other times your just a jerk.


So what was I here? :rolleyes:

Notice the word ironinc? I meant that refer to the irony of your statement-that things had not changed, not to diss you.
This was one time I was agreeing with you, and true to form, you missed the point again.


-TOJ
:D

[Lefty]

I remember. Quite a few people built them. I think the heat from a nuclear bomb would prob fry you in one of those things.
Suckers born aplenty.

[gillenr]

As a member of the USAF from '60 to '64, I remember going to the highest level of alert for about 2 months - only time in those 4 yrs.

[Dan]

Can you imagine how all that stuff during the Cuban Missile crisis, the threat of nuclear war, and then all the fallout shelter commercials did to people back then.

Just think of how that effected the children back then including myself. I was just a young kid but would go to sleep scared out of my wits.

I'm not a psychologist or anything but I think that definitely screwed up the American psyche back then. Not trying to get into politics or anything but that was probably one of the main reasons for the hippie movement and the anti-war protests later in the 60's.

It is called 'Post Traumatic Shock Disorder' (PTSD) which soldiers get in war - shell shock - or children get in abused homes. We lived in a whole generation where the threat of instinction and death was broadcast into our homes every night.

Just some thoughts.

:)

[so.cal.fan]

Intersting story on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Several years ago, I was a close friend of a man at the racetrack whose son was a famous entertainer and closely associated with the Kennedy clan.
He was secretly warned during those few days to LEAVE the COUNTRY with his family.....that is how concerned the Kennedy administration was with the threat of nuclear war!
I believe this to be true.

[Tom]

The tense threat of nuclear war, brinksmanship, the assasination of the beloved JFK.....the country was in a funk and it was the Beatles who came along a few months later to lead the youth out of the doldrums and eventiually to the hippy movement. It was the Beatles appearance that turned off the parents and allowed the rift to widen beteween young and old. It was a real serious period in our country's histroy.
But, man, all that good music.......If I could live in any year, it would be 1969.

[ljb]

Well maybe I was just one of the few that were not duped by the press. I had no bomb shelter and did not do any hiding under desks. Like I said I felt the people in charge (Kennedy/Kruschev) et all. Had enough sense to not destroy the world in pursuit of their personal desires. I am not quite so sure now.
Tom I missed the irony in your reply. When you went off degrading Kennedy I just assumed you were using it to blast the democrats again.

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by so.cal.fan
Intersting story on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Several years ago, I was a close friend of a man at the racetrack whose son was a famous entertainer and closely associated with the Kennedy clan.
He was secretly warned during those few days to LEAVE the COUNTRY with his family.....that is how concerned the Kennedy administration was with the threat of nuclear war!
I believe this to be true.

Did your friend have a house in Santa Monica? I am guessing who your friend was..........

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally posted by ljb
Like I said I felt the people in charge (Kennedy/Kruschev) et all. Had enough sense to not destroy the world in pursuit of their personal desires.


So that whole shoe-banging, "We will bury you" speech allowed you to sleep better at night, eh? :rolleyes:

Yup, he showed good sense and self control that day, didn't he?

[ljb]

Pa,
Lighten up a bit! I didn't say they were the most righteous outstanding people in the world, I just said they gave me the impression of having enough sense not to sacrifice the world for their personal agendas. Unlike the powers today. But that is the way the world has changed. Back then if someone was sitting in front of you at a movie theatre with a ten gallon hat on, you would ask them to remove it. Today you don't say a word for fear they will turn around and blow your head off with their saturday night special.

[schweitz]

[i]Originally posted by ljb Like I said I felt the people in charge (Kennedy/Kruschev) et all. Had enough sense to not destroy the world in pursuit of their personal desires.

Are you sure you were conscious back then?:D

[Tom]

Originally posted by schweitz
Are you sure you were conscious back then?:D \

Then? :D

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by PaceAdvantage
So that whole shoe-banging, "We will bury you" speech allowed you to sleep better at night, eh? :rolleyes:

Yup, he showed good sense and self control that day, didn't he?

PA.........you were reading my mind on that one. The first thing I thought of was the shoe thing. I have seen it repeated on both "Cops" and "Jerry Springer" in recent years. Those heels make a lethal weapon.

BTW.....the "Cops" film crews were supposed to be in Cincinnati the next ten weeks. The "black Leaders" of Cincinnati have convinced city council to stop the taping because they say the show makes blacks look bad. Hmmmm..........

[ljb]

At least now I know why you guys are so warped, Kruschev's shoe banging really scared you. Get over it fellows, we survived those antics.

[Lefty]

lbj, you weren't afraid of Kruschev then but now you're afraid of the guy in a cowboy hat. Umm,umm. Says it all, I guess.

[Steve 'StatMan']

The Urban Rage/Road Rage phenomena has been with us for 1 or more decades. And besides, what does that have to do with the global safety problem?

I wrote a lot more but thought better of it. Sensed I'm just wasting my time.

[schweitz]

Originally posted by ljb
[B]Pa,
Lighten up a bit! I didn't say they were the most righteous outstanding people in the world, I just said they gave me the impression of having enough sense not to sacrifice the world for their personal agendas. Unlike the powers today.

What "powers" are you talking about?

[Tom]

Do a little reading of things not on left-wing liberish sites and you will see how close we came to nuclear war several times.
Back then, many, many, people were scared that just testing a uranium bomb would set off a chain reaction and destroy the world.
Read None of Nixon's books - not sure which, but he tells of at least four times he was seriously considering the use of thermo-nuclear devices in foreign crisis.
We did not know back then that we were far ahead in the arms race. Using that logic no wis back fitting. The Soviet Union was a very real threat, and we had China sitting there flexing its muscles as well.
That was scarry stuff. I see nothing about the islamic menace that strike fear in me. Anger, yes, Fear, no way jose.
The outcome of war with Russia was not a sure thing. I am 100% confident that if our leader ever wise up, the outcome of this holy war is certain. So far, we have the means, but not the guts.
Maybe after the next 9-11 we will realize what has to be done.

[Buckeye]

No guts no glory. What are we waiting for? Are we just trying to be politically correct and nice, or what?