reproduction; Dr. Strangelove -- Dillon Aretz
In Dr. Strangelove, Gen. Ripper personifies the judgment we are able to make over time. That is, while his assumption that fluoridation--because it began in 1946--was the work of the Soviets seems ludicrous now, at the time it may not have been as crazy. As we went over in class, the Red Scare of the fifties prompted people to be suspicious of their neighbors (in case they were commies), their professors (because all professors were commies), and everyone else. In this type of society, it is easy to see how something as precious as water might be used as a weapon. It is in this mental warfare; this eye of suspicion, that the cold war truly took shape. There were no battles directly between the US and the USSR; rather, the paranoia and constant race ("we must not allow a mine-shaft gap!") to stay above the other side technologically became overwhelming. The erratic behavior and decidedly dangerous decision of Gen. Ripper shows the effect the Cold War had on people-- even if his fear of water was only imagined.