How Did The Cold War Encourage Individualism

The American Civil Defense program during the cold war reinforced American cultural ideals of individualism and self-sufficiency. During the cold war there was fear of the other countries use of nuclear weapons against the United States. Since this fear was gradually increasing throughout the U.S. president Truman established the American Civil Defense program to help protect citizens if there was a nuclear attack on American soil. Because of the increased fear of a nuclear attack the government came up with an idea of fallout shelters. These shelters were said to have the ability to protect American citizens from nuclear radiation and withstand a nuclear blast. Fallout shelters were built in cities as well as in the backyard of the American citizens. To give Americans a more
Since they only had enough for the survival of their own family. “Gun they neighbor” showed the selfish behavior of American citizens if there was a nuclear attack on America. With the sense of impending doom American citizens became more concerned about themselves, and their own survival. This created a situation where no one could rely on each other. The problem with that was that in the end even a threat of a nuclear attack would kill more American citizens then the nuclear bomb itself. Fallout shelters also gave Americans a new found imagination of life after a nuclear attack on America. Americans imagined that in a nuclear attack that America would go back to Stone Age and live underground in Fallout shelters. Americans began to imagine, create movies, and songs on how the world would be after a nuclear war and how it would