Duck & Cover

[Magda Hassan]

REost #16

Sorry Ms Hassan, but are you saying that only "idiots everywhere" were concerned about a nuclear attack during the '50s and into the early '60s? Especially those that had "fallen for all that Duck and Cover shit"? Is that the time frame when "quite a few Canadians and Americans came here to live"? To be fair, we are talking about a period just a few years after World War II, and the attack by the Empire of Japan at Pearl Harbor. And, although shortly before my birth, my older sister and brother were both born before 12/7/'41. So, my family was very aware of the events of the early '40s, and that to me adds reality to fear of being bombed. As I recall, JFK, at least publicly, was fearful of an attack by "the Russkies" in October '62, and I remember that as I saw his address to the nation on TV live about the missiles in Cuba. I don't recall any "mass hysteria", just concern. The truth is open for debate, and should be, but this situation is all about perception.

Children being required to participate in the ridiculous Duck and Cover exercises of the 1950's and 60's were of course not idiots. Just children. Their teachers should have known better but were probably afraid of losing their jobs or being black listed. And rightly so. The idiots were in positions to do a lot of damage to many and did just that to some. Kennedy saw through the hysteria. He knew the enemy was not the Russians and confronted them and paid the highest price for it.