The Communist Axis of Evil vs Todays Axis of Evil

Yves, initiated this topic with his response to my last post.

I think he was cajoling me into drawing a parallel to our (the US) current world view and the view that was prevalent when the communist threat was the prevalent fear factor.

Both WWII and the Korean war happened before I was born. My father served in the Air Force as a Supply Chain Sargent in Germany during WWII. I missed the draft for the Vietnam war by a few years.

So, my generation felt some insulation from the Communist threat. Even though the Cold War continued during our years of coming global awareness, I think we did not feel the threat like many of our elders did. This in spite of the fact that I do recall "ducking and covering" in elementary school. I had no real concept of what the threat was or our reasons for doing what we were doing. A powerful bomb was what we were told, and we had seen pictures of a mushroom cloud.

As to why the communist threat became a rallying point to support US policies at that time I can only guess. But by using our current context and what I have observed since I began paying attention to such things, I can do so with some reasonable assumptions.

I really don't think it was communism by itself that was considered a threat. I think it was a convenient rallying cry for for those who were concerned about competition for the seat of world power, consisting of economic, technological, and military advantage.

Similar to the way Islamic Fundamentalists are seen today, the Communist Ideal was gaining some momentum in converting the hearts and minds of people around the world. This indeed was seen as a threat to the American Ideal that uses capitalism as a means of achieving the so-called American Dream.

This was more of a struggle over a disparity between economic philosophies than it was a military conflict. That threat has, for the most part, been thwarted. Although I think that within our own country, the disparity between the rich and poor has initiated a new dialogue that could re-open the debate. Not in terms of communism in the forms we saw it in the past, rather in the form of a level playing field for all citizens of the country.

Today, it would appear that we are in a struggle over Theological differences. Christian, Jew vs. Muslim.

In many ways I think this is more dangerous conflict than the one that held our focus in previous times. The playing field is not limited to a competition for the seat of power, along with economic, technical, and military advantage. There is a new dimension of religion that makes it more personal.

We could debate over the best way to manage a society and ensure a place and opportunity for all. But, to many, there is no debate over their religious views.

I cannot suggest a solution to these conflicts without re-evaluating many of the premises that all the stake holders currently use to justify their positions.

I think it is time to start with a clean slate and put forth a new ideal for discussion. I think we can have a more fruitful dialogue if we look at the needs of all the people in the world, along with the effects of our presence on this planet on the planet itself.

If we can establish a way of living that achieves a balance that meets our needs as well as retains the health of our planet, we can chart a course for our future that has some hope.

Religion, seats of power, economic, technological, and military advantage should not be part of that discussion.