Uniqueness of 1960's Decade - Essay Example

1960 Event I.D. Number: Term and Year 1960 Event Introduction The s pertaining to the Humanities group in academics have immense important in human life. I wish to adopt a truly interdisciplinary approach in evaluating and exploring the turbulent decade of 1960s. Many people think that the 1970s were far more turbulent and complex. But I feel that the 1960s too were crucial years for the mankind. However, in the 1970s, the world witnessed a number of events that changed the course of world history. President’s Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, liberation of East Pakistan, Vietnam War, political and economic emergency in India, India’s nuclear tests, commencement of the Brezhnev Era in the erstwhile Soviet Union, etc. were some of the most important events of the 1970s; these events have somewhat eclipsed the historical significance of the 1960s. So which event of the 1960s is, according to me, so relevant in my life and to the rest of the modern world? I wish to put focus on an event that took place almost five decades ago. It was the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. This event had a profound effect on the people across the North and South Americas, with the small Caribbean island nation of Cuba at the hyper-point (Axelrod, 2009). I feel this event changed the lives of the millions of Americans, and particularly the immigrants from Latin America, forever. This event also triggered off a series of socio-political and military events across the then mighty Communist Bloc, which sent ideological shockwaves across the bipolar world. The 1960 event of Cuban Missile Crisis can be thought about in different ways. However, this event gave rise to the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction in the case a full fledge nuclear war had broken out between the then superpowers called USA (which is still existing) and USSR (which has disintegrated). Nevertheless, the Cuban issue continues to be a prominent issue in the Western hemisphere of the world, and the five decade old Cuban Missile Crisis still influences our lives in many ways. The Event: Cuban Missile Crisis In USA during the 1950s, when Cold War reached its height at the nuclear tests conducted by USSR, arms race between the two ideological contrasting superpowers became a popular issue. Events like the Berlin Blockade had already made the situation in Eastern Europe extremely sensitive. Communist upsurge in Cuba and rise of Fidel Castro ensured the US people that USA could now exercise little influence on that tiny island nation across the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, refugees from Cuba who managed to reach USA told the people there that how they had been persecuted by the Communists. Combined with the military threat from USSR, the Communist developments taking place in Cuba became an issue of prestige and safety among the US people; so much so that it became a matter of election campaign by John F. Kennedy who became the President of the country. The USA had deployed Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) in UK, Italy, and Turkey between the years 1958 and 1961. Yet, the US Administration created an alarm among the people of the country that it was lagging behind the Soviet Union in the terms of warheads and delivery mechanisms. Also, in the late 1950s, the USA had taken a number of failed attempts like Operation Mongoose to overthrow the Communist regime in Cuba. Finally, by August 1962, Cuba and Soviet Union formed a secret military nexus. Consequently the Soviets started building military bases in Cuba. In October 1962, US photoreconnaissance missions finally established that the Soviets were deploying missiles in Cuba that could be capable of bringing about a nuclear destruction in USA. A military standoff followed when the USA stepped up a naval blockade against the Cubans and demanded removal of the Soviet Forces and missiles from the island. After initial refusal from USSR, it seemed that USSR was avowed to restore military balance: in reply to the American deployments in Europe it wished to establish Soviet deployments in the Caribbean region. This conflict had nearly started off a worldwide nuclear war (Dobbs, 2008). However, after a series of secret negations, the crisis was solved as USA removed its missiles from Turkey and USSR too removed its missiles from Cuba. Nonetheless, USA had to agree that it would never invade Cuba again. How did This Event Influence My Life? The event influenced my course of study in certain ways. Of course, I was unaware of this influence until and unless I researched on and analyzed the issue. Today, I am a student of criminal justice degree. Why did I choose this field? The reason is that I have witnessed delinquency in the American society, which can largely be attributed to the consumerist culture of this country. Experts like Marfleet (2000) hold that events like Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, Suez Crisis in Egypt, Berlin Blockade in Europe, and the Cuban Missile Crisis converted the opposing sides in the Cold War into hardcore enemies of each other. As a result, both sides ignored the good aspects of each other. Although Soviet Union was a system of continued suppression, its presence compelled the American people to ignore several drawbacks of Capitalism. Consumerism is simply one of them. After disintegration of USSR, market economy became so triumphant and forceful that social discipline is harmed. In order to find out the true zeal of a prosperous market economy, America and the rest of the world must have stable law and order establishment today. In order to help to perpetuate the values of democracy, I have the spirit of obtaining a degree in criminal justice. As far as my career option is concerned, peaceful solution of the Cuban Missile Crisis is a historical example of American courage and noble thought; so I want to enter the field of law enforcement and combat the extremist elements in our society. I feel that our predecessors like President Kennedy, Blanton, Schlesinger, etc. and our bold army personnel have created a great country by cleverly handling the threat of a nuclear war during the Crisis; and in today’s world, when terrorism seeks to damage this legacy, young generation must go ahead to protect our social values. Hence, law enforcement is my field of choice. Course of My Life had the Event Never Occurred Had this 1960 event never occurred, I would not come to know about such an example of American courage. The Cuban Missile Crisis remains as an illustration of how can the people in a democracy stand together when it is being challenged by an extremist power. For me, the Crisis showed that democracy is an international ideology. Dobbs (2008) mentions that how USA obtained support from the other Western powers like UK, France, Federal Republic of Germany (erstwhile West Germany), etc. and harnessed the spirit of democracy worldwide. This historic example of challenge before the greater democratic sphere of the Western countries all over the world spanning over the countries like Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, West Indies, etc. strengthens my belief that in future too we may face similar challenges and hence we must remain prepared. In other words, the Cuban Missile Crisis can also be thought of as a part of a greater series of Cold War incidents. Yet, it was during this event that USA and USSR approached a nuclear war most closely and almost decisively. So when I wish to learn about diplomacy and restraint on the part of international level strategists and politicians, I try to read about this particular 1960 event and draw inspiration from the daring people of those days. Course of the World History had the Event Never Occurred Answering the question that how the world would have been if the Cuban Missile Crisis had not have occurred at all, I feel that the Crisis had many dimensions and if it had not occurred at all, we would never know about human psychological strength. Dobbs (2008) has written about the commanders of the crew in the Soviet submarine called B-59. It had been detected and encircled by the American Navy and it needed to surface. The three top commanders of the crew were now debating that whether it could launch a nuclear counter attack on the US warships or not. The submarine captain and political officer of B-59 preferred to launch a 15 kiloton atomic torpedo to solve the standoff. But the deputy brigade commander Vasili Arkhipov did not agree and compelled his colleagues to remain peaceful. Literally, this Soviet officer had saved the world. In this way, the Cuban Missile Crisis helped some sensible decision makers to show their colleagues what a nuclear war would mean. Melman (1988) remembers this terrible event as a milestone in the way of opening negotiations, comprehending the horrors of nuclear destruction, demilitarization, and most importantly, disarmament in an ideal global context. Conclusion The Cuban Missile Crisis should not be remembered only as the peak of the Cold War when the world was about to be plunged in a nuclear warfare. The Crisis remains an example that how politicians can do something constructive by putting aside their ideological imperatives. It will be an injustice if we completely ignore the sensibility shown by the Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev as well. He was under the pressure of his own politico-philosophical convictions, yet he understood what a nuclear war was actually going to do. The USA and USSR held talks, both overtly and covertly and the courageous political and military leaders of USA compelled the Soviets to accept a peaceful solution. Had not the Cuban Missile Crisis taken place, we would not be able to frame out some very important interdisciplinary techniques related to defense studies, foreign policy, risk assessment, art and science of aerial reconnaissance, diplomacy, and finally, humanity as a whole. References Axelrod, A. (2009). The Real History of the Cold War: A New Look at the Past. New York: Sterling Publishing Co. Dobbs, M. (2008). One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Marfleet, B.G. (2000) The Operational Code of John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis: A Comparison of Public and Private Rhetoric. Political Psychology, 21(3), 545-552. Melman, S. (1988). The Demilitarized Society: Disarmament and Conversion. Montreal: Harvest House. Read More