Effects of Cold War on the US and the World - Essay Example

Effects of Cold War on US and the World al Affiliation: Cold War Effects Immediately after the Second World War, there was another war only that this time it did not involve the use of firearms. However, it was worse than the two previously fought wars since it posed a threat even to those who had nothing to do with it. Apparently, the nuclear power Shocking as it may sound, two groups of countries held the rest of the world at ransom for a period of almost five decades. As expected, the warring parties experienced some of the worst economic effects since the ill relations meant no business could happen between them. In this essay, critical analysis has been done on at least three articles written by several individuals regarding the said topic. Background Between 1947 and 1991, the Soviet Union faced up to the United States and its allies in a political tension that threatened the peace of other uninvolved nations. With the two groups having nuclear capabilities, the world nearly suffered due to differences. While none of the two actually engaged in military attacks against each other, threats were issued as diplomatic rows raged on (Totten, 2013). Unfortunately, even though the row involved only two groups, whatever else happened in the world was largely dictated by the events unfolding between the two. Education was badly affected War- whether real or cold- is a detriment to education, and if could be avoided, that is the best option. Totten (2013) claims that the status of US education and the world at large was greatly affected by the standoff. Before the war escalated, the effects were not felt that much but that situation changed as the intensity of the war took to new heights. Sadly, the flashpoints witnessed during this war were passed on to the children hence affecting their lives negatively. Consequently, the relations between the students from the countries at war expressed similar attitudes to each thus polarizing the education status. Great fear seized the Western countries and their respective citizens with many fearing the worst in terms of economic status (Richards, 2012). Many feared that Russia’s financial gains would worsen the matter; the US feared domination of the rest of the world by Russia. As a result, every side tried as much as possible to assemble its allies in case the war turned violent. Furthermore, crisis happening elsewhere in the world saw each of the side support one and oppose the other with stakes. Today, though the intensity of the war is nowhere near that time, Bayulgen and Arbatli (2013) claim that there is still a cold war between the US and Russia. Recently, the US has fallen victim of Russian spies whose infiltration into US signifies a continued mistrust between the two. Therefore, it could be argued that another effect of the cold war is the never-ending snooping of each country against the other. All this is done in order to locate the perceived enemy’s weakness and capitalize on it either now or when the need arises. According to Richards (2008) this trend is a threat to a country since much effort and resources will be directed to stopping the so-called foe as opposed to investing in other areas as is the case in the US and Russia. The development of the rest of the world stalled thanks to these events, even though it was never part of it. Kessler (2006) claims that other countries never supported any of the two sides, as they feared the end-result of ensuing silent scuffle. Had the nuclear weapons been used in the ever-surging war, the world would not be spared the adverse effects. Sharing these sentiments, Bayulgen and Arbatli (2013) state that it is not the economy of these two sides that stalled only but rather everyone else’s. Three factors for information evaluation Internet has definitely become a phenomenal in the 21st century especially for providing information to a larger crowd that any physical would. Students from all over the world flock the internet in search of information to help them in answering many of their course-based questions. Nevertheless, it is imperative that before one takes information as credible to avoid using biased and inaccurate information to complete an important research. This action would have very devastating consequences especially when done on some disciplines such medicine. Firstly, the education background of the writer to be scrutinized since it is now possible for anybody to post any information irrespective of his or her education background. While it may not be always possible to know one’s level of education, searching this information using the search engines would at least give several clues about the writer. Moreover, the company the person works for would also provide necessary information about qualifications and expertise. Additionally, peer reviewed articles have been proved to be credible for research use. Before one uses information from the internet, it is vital to check where else the work has been published to ascertain the credibility. While many authors and writers could have the right education background, the information could have very significant errors, which could result in giving the wrong conclusions. Peer reviewed articles have been analyzed by others, errors have been corrected and several editions may have been written hence reducing and even eliminating the margin error. The site on which the information is displayed is a determinant since some sites are merely blogs, which aim at attracting traffic. With the emergence of monetization of blogs, a lot of information posted on many blogs and some web sites tend to be bent more on selling certain products than giving the right information thus making it a no-go zone for students. Sites that fail to cite information ought to be avoided, and blogs whose data cannot be verified should not be cited. References Bayulgen, O., & Arbatli, E. (2013). Cold War redux in US–Russia relations? The effects of US media framing and public opinion of the 2008 Russia–Georgia war. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 46(4), 513-527. Cuny, F. C. (n.d.). Humanitarian Assistance in the Post- Cold War era. PBS. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cuny/laptop/coldwar.html Kessler, C. (2006). Post–Cold War Effects on the Non-Proliferation Regime. Problems of Post- Communism, 53(2), 30-38. Richards, A. (2008, February 5). The Cold War: Definition, Causes & Early Events. Education Portal. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-cold-war-definition-causes-early-events.html#lesson Totten, M. (2013, September 26). The Effects of the Cold War on us Education. The Effects of the Cold War on us Education. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/the-effects-of-the-cold-war-on-us-education-39/ Read More