The saying goes, “history repeats itself.” You certainly could say so by comparing America in the 1920s to America in the 1950s, or maybe with the recent 2016 Election and the Election of 1912. Those are just two examples, but history is riddled with lessons repeating themselves as history repeats itself. This brings me to something some consider common knowledge, and others consider to be no more than a far-fetched, anxiety-inducing claim. The Cold War with the USSR lasted throughout the 1980s and did not officially end until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Could our America today be headed to another cold war with North Korea? Or, perhaps, are we already in another cold war without realizing it?
As defined by Merriam-Webster, a cold war is “a conflict over ideological differences carried on by methods short of sustained overt military action and usually without breaking off diplomatic relations.” In the late 20th century, tensions grew and nearly every American worried about the possibility of nuclear war with the USSR every day. After the Cold War with the USSR ended, some people thanked Ronald Reagan as the reason for expediting and securing the “victory.”
With the inauguration of Donald Trump as the U.S.’s 45th President, anxiety has done nothing but seem to expand in the brains of citizens. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by where if he isn’t criticized for golfing all the time, he is being chastised for his tweets. Rightfully so, if you ask me. Nothing says formality like announcing a transgender ban in the military through a tweet. While domestic policies are causing a lot of uproars throughout the country, such as women’s marches across the country the day after the Trump inauguration, international disagreements seem to be the core of what makes America not great again, but rather terrified again.
North Korea has declared war on the United States and has also threatened the United States by announcing increased efforts made to up the nuclear weapon threat towards our country. Many people there express hostility for Americans and in turn, hate the United States with a passion. I guess you could say the same to an extent for citizens here, though. A lot of people hate North Korea, especially under its current regime and way of ruling.
Rampant tensions via our executive branch combined with the threat of nuclear war as well as generalizing attitudes of two different countries, pitting the two against each other, certainly sound familiar. Some trusted analysts say we are headed to, or are in a cold war already. Some say our cold war is not with North Korea, but with China or Russia. Others think the proposal of being in another cold war is simply heinous.
In the past, such threats were turned into memes or were pretty much ignored. However, as Vox writer Zack Beauchamp writes, “recent tensions between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems to be making the North more aggressive, not less. North Korea’s foreign minister’s comments suggest the country may no longer tolerate this kind of defensive signaling from the US and may begin treating these [warplane] flights as aggressive.”
Whether we are headed towards another cold war, we are in another cold war, or we don’t even know what it means to be in another cold war, it’s important to stay informed and check multiple sources of information before assuming the first headline you see. What can be true is not always reported, or it can be horribly misconstrued. It’s also important to not look for a news source notorious for mixing an ideology with an event, which can make citizens butt heads with each other. If this country is going to continue to withstand such tensions and an administration proven to be feisty with many other countries, U.S. citizens need to be more informed on foreign relations and work together to create a real solution, not cower in a corner or yell at someone who doesn’t have the same beliefs.
