The impact of the Cold War has impacted and continues to impact the United States on multiple fronts. By typing in CNN or BBC News into the toolbar on the top of the screen, you will most likely find a reference to it. In order to prevent the spread of Communism, we usurped democratically elected governments in favor for ruthless despots.The ideologies of the Cold War justified the displacement and death of thousands.
The end of a World War resulted in a divided world.
A primary example is the CIA intervention in Guatemala. The intervention of the United States came about as a result of the democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz legalizing the communist political party in his country. As a result of the U.S. led Coup D’etat Castillo Armas, the new dictator, systematically suppressed all opponents to his rule. Then began a campaign resulting in the genocide of the Mayan people.
The lasting impact of the Cold War brought about the question, “What impact did the Cold War have in institutions for higher education in the United States?” One of the major issues we studied in class is the importance of different interests manifesting into different types of literacy. Rodriguez talked about his experience with English and how he associated it with a time of anxiety, insecurity, and fear. This resulted in an identification of Spanish as a source of comfort and familiarity. The connection is that the course of an educational institution could be altered by the societal norms of the time. The reduction of Communism, and therefore all socialism, as an un-American evil, had the potential to push colleges and universities to reform their curriculums and educational values in a way that avoided anything un-American. The warrant for this claim is derived from the funding received by academic institutions by the federal and state government. Essentially, if an institution did not appear to align with the values the United States supported then they would lose the funding for research programs.