The Cold War and Fatherhood

In my class yesterday, we finished up our discussion of the 1950s and how the Cold War and the threat of Communism affected Americans. I asked my students why, in their opinion, Americans at large and the US government in particular was so worried about Communism. What was so frightening about it? And during the discussion, one of my students raised his hand and said, "I hate to say this, because he's a really great guy, but it's just like my dad! If it's not his idea, he's against it. If it's not his plan, he doesn't like it!" I could barely hear what else he said because we were all laughing so hard.