BUILDING COLD WAR WARRIORS: SOCIALIZATION OF THE FINAL COLD WAR GENERATION Steven Robert Bellavia A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2018 Committee: Andrew M. Schocket, Advisor Karen B. Guzzo Graduate Faculty Representative Benjamin P. Greene Rebecca J. Mancuso © 2018 Steven Robert Bellavia All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Andrew Schocket, Advisor This dissertation examines the experiences of the final Cold War generation. I define this cohort as a subset of Generation X born between 1965 and 1971. The primary focus of this dissertation is to study the ways this cohort interacted with the three messages found embedded within the Cold War us vs. them binary. These messages included an emphasis on American exceptionalism, a manufactured and heightened fear of World War III, as well as the othering of the Soviet Union and its people. I begin the dissertation in the 1970s, - during the period of détente- where I examine the cohort’s experiences in elementary school. There they learned who was important within the American mythos and the rituals associated with being an American. This is followed by an examination of 1976’s bicentennial celebration, which focuses on not only the planning for the celebration but also specific events designed to fulfill the two prime directives of the celebration. As the 1980s came around not only did the Cold War change but also the cohort entered high school. Within this stage of this cohorts education, where I focus on the textbooks used by the cohort and the ways these textbooks reinforced notions of patriotism and being an American citizen. The dissertation ends with a textual analysis of the various popular television, film and music that reinforce the three messages found within the us vs. them binary, and the ways these texts served to continue this cohort’s socialization. iv Dedicated with all my love To Jeny, Alexandria, and Anthony, it has not always been easy but we did it, and to Samuel A. Glasford who not only indulged my curiosity growing up but also instilled in me the desire to always keep learning v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS If it takes a village to raise a child, then I have learned that it takes a community to write a dissertation. While I am solely responsible for any errors contained within this document, the work as a whole is the result of numerous people to whom I am indebted. First, I owe untold thanks to my advisor, Andrew M. Schocket. For all the time you spent working with and advising me on this dissertation, as well as your advice about academia generally throughout my time at BGSU, a simple thank you does not seem adequate enough. Yet, you have my gratitude and my respect. To the rest of my committee, Benjamin P. Green, Rebecca J. Mancuso, and Karen B. Guzzo, thank you for the constructive criticism and advice. It is not lost on me how much better this finished work is as a result of your suggestions and guidance. A special thank you to Beka Patterson. You not only keep the American Culture Studies program running smoothly, you have been instrumental in helping me avoid problems and generally made my time at BGSU and East Hall that much more pleasant. Alissa, Alexandra, and Olivia, all three of you at some point during this process have kept me sane and helped me get through various rough patches. For that, thank you. I hope that I have been or will be able to reciprocate. To the rest of my cohort: Bincy, Bob, Cody, Cori, Elizabeth, Erin, Mary, Meriem, Kaitlyn, Kevin, Sylvio, XinXin, as well as the other people I had the privilege to know and call my friends: Aju, Amira, Bobby, Courtney, Heather, Jeff, Joyce, Martin, and Mike, you have all contributed in your own way to making my time here more enjoyable. Nigel Dawson, thank you for the time spent talking through the ideas and connections that ended up becoming the focus of this dissertation. Amanda Miracle, thank you for being an overall great mentor and always being willing to field questions. Even from a distance, each of you helped me get to this point. Thank you. vi Special thanks to Tessa Pyles. You are not only my friend and colleague, you proved to be an invaluable and brilliant sounding board on a range of topics. Thank you for reading a version of nearly every chapter of this dissertation and for not being afraid to give me the type of criticism I needed to help make my work stronger. To Lauren and Leda, two of the best officemates a person could have, you made the endless hours spent in the office not only less onerous, but fun. Thank you both as well for the conversations that made me think deeper about a range of issues. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of my family. To my parents, Frank and Juanita, you have always been supportive of my circuitous path. I know I could not have done this without your foresight and planning, which ultimately enabled me to follow and realize my dreams. To my daughter Samantha, thank you for your love and support, even from afar. You dealt with your family moving partway across the country and have undertaken your own journey. Never doubt your strength, and know that I am very proud of you and love you. To Alexandria and Anthony, though I know it was not easy, you moved from the only home and community you knew with little to no complaint. I know the last four years have not always been easy, but I could not have done this without your love and support. I hope that what you take from this experience is that you should always pursue your dreams and never give up. I love you both more than you will ever know. Last, but in no way least, thank you to my wife, Jeny. When I had doubts about uprooting our family from our home, family, friends, and community, it was you who selflessly persuaded me that if I did not try this I would always regret it. For your love, your support, for all your proofing, and for putting up with me all these years, especially these last four, you of course have my gratitude. More so, you have all of my love. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION: THE FINAL COLD WAR GENERATION………………………..... 1 CHAPTER 1: BUILDING A FOUNDATION ………………………………… ................ 34 CHAPTER 2: CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY……………………….. ......... 86 CHAPTER 3: IN THE PAGES OF HISTORY ………………………. .............................. 129 CHAPTER 4: WHAT IF THE COLD WAR TURNED HOT …………………………. ... 175 CHAPTER 5: WE HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY AND IT IS NOT US …………………… 223 CONCLUSION: THE WALL COMES TUMBLING DOWN…………………………… . 274 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………… .. 288 1 INTRODUCTION: THE FINAL COLD WAR GENERATION In 1982, a freshman sitting in an introductory High School German class, in a Chicago suburb, naively asked “Wouldn’t it be cool if the two Germanys were reunited?” The teacher responded, “It will never happen in our lifetime.”1 The teacher’s response mirrored the belief of most of the American population who thought that the Cold War would continue well into the next millennium. Less than a decade later the teacher was proven wrong, and Germany was a unified country again. The freshman and the teacher would have to learn how to deal with the fact there was no longer an East vs West binary. As such, they would have to learn how to navigate through the new reality of a post-Cold War world. The freshman as a member of the final Cold War generation, along with the other members of the cohort, whose identities had been shaped through various socialization methods, had more to adapt to than the teacher and in a different way. The effort to turn this cohort into Cold War warriors in the fight between East and West meant that they needed to overcome a large amount of dissonance to reconcile this change. How then did they get to that point? My interest in learning about this group began in an undergraduate classroom on the “History of the Vietnam War” in the fall of 2007. During a class break, a twenty-something undergraduate asked the professor, “What is the Cold War?” The instructor, momentarily taken aback, proceeded to explain what the Cold War was.2 As I sat there and listened to the explanation, it occurred to me that there was now an entire generation that did not know about a divided Germany, or that the country referred to as Russia had been known as the Soviet Union, which no longer existed. During research for a comparison of 1950s and 1980s Cold War media, I 1 “German 1” class, Fall 1982, Lake Park High School, East Campus, Roselle IL. 2 “History of Vietnam War,” History 510, Fall, 2007, “University of Kansas, Lawrence KS. 2 noticed there seemed to be many subtle and not so subtle Cold War messages in the latter. This led me to ask myself, who was the primary target demographic of this media and it messages? In considering the answer to this question, I realized several things about this group. Not only were its members growing up during the increasingly hostile rhetoric of Reagan’s Cold War, but also that they were still young adults when the Cold War ended. Because the end of the Cold War required a major shift in ideological beliefs, the members of this group would have to undergo a fundamental shift in their thinking.