Why was everyone so cool in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

[Lil O'lady]

I recall that the day the world nearly ended in 1962, when Kennedy and Khruschev had their nuclear stand-off, we were all packed off to school as normal. My class teacher made us sit in silence with the windows wide open at one point during the day, 'to listen for the air-raid siren'. The all clear duly sounded and that was that.
I wonder what was going through the minds of adults on that day? Sort of, ta-ra kids, see you later or maybe not, now I'd better dust the living room.....It was never ever mentioned or discussed with us. Does anyone else have a recollection of this event?

[tiggerblue10]

Wasn't there something similar in the 80's between known as the Cold War? I remember that one.

[vehelpfulguy]

>I recall that the day the world nearly ended in 1962,

Well people were cool at the time because, to be honest, the phrase "the world nearly ended" is some what over the top.

Yes it was a tense time, but no bombs were dropped or missiles fired. Nobody died.

It was unlikely that either country would drop a nuclear bomb over that issue, it was all a bit of posturing.

There is a film, called Thirteen Days, that covers this period.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146309/

Also remember that just over 10 or 15 years earlier most adults had gone through the second world war so it took a lot to worrry them.

[jonesytwotwo]

Yes it was a terrific game of brinkmanship. I dont know if the world would have ended, but it was a scary episode. I also think that news was not so readily available. Now it would be over every newspaper, on the spot reporters, and some pillock doing a Jon Snow with his what happens if.....

[Lil O'lady]

I think vhelpful's point is useful - adults probably equated this with another air raid of the type they'd survived before. Tigger, this was all part of the cold war.
I think the q I'm asking is, what's the mindset that knows this could happen but still sneds the kids off to school!

[riccardking]

i rememeber the day well. I was at College in London. My mother and brothers lived in East Anglia, close to the American Air Bases. It was very tense, we stayed up all night and thought there was a possibility that war would break out. Just in case, i phoned my Mum earlier in the day but neither of us mentioned the problem! What a blessing we did not have CNN or any otther 24 hour News Channels to make the situation worse!
riccardkng

[Cheeris]

vehelpfulguy is right in saying that 'the world nearly ended' is an over-the-top statement, but it seems somewhat contradictory that the general public were cool regarding the crisis because it was generally understood that it would blow over. If so, why the crisis? And why is it still being talked about as a crisis point 40 years later, even by people not even alive at the time?

Comparing it to the relatively greater traumas of WWII doesn't pass muster, firstly as the people with young families during the Cuban Missile crisis, and some of the teachers, would have been relatively unaffected by the home effects of WWII, especially in the USA.

Secondly, the overriding factor in 1962 was the threat of nuclear attack, which due to the effects of attack glimpsed in 1945, rather than the lilkelihood, was a massive psychological menace to the USA. Particularly as they had previously seen the ideological struggle confined to Old World theatres, and especially outside the Caribbean.

Thirdly, the Soviets saw it as an ideal strategic counterstroke to the enveloping American clients/allies in Western Europe, the Near East and the Pacific. It was only resolved by a deal where the USA and the Soviets removed their nuclear option from the other's 'soft underbelly'.

I would recommend the recent film 'Thirteen Days', which in a Hollywood-style dramatic sense conveys the political and diplomatic tight-rope negotiated from both sides (from the White House point of view) to avoid confrontation.

[jno]

My boss told me at the time he thought world war 3 might break out. It wasn't a nuclear standoff in the sense that they were about to nuke each other; any fighting would probably have been done with conventional weapons. Besides, despite the evidence of Hirshima, people were still not thinking of nukes as weapons that would mean the end of the world - more as huge but not planet-killing regular bombs. And yes, most people had just lived through a war so were less likely than we are to run around panicking.

[Senga 2]

Remember sitting in class scared stiff until the teacher ( later to become an MP) reassured us and explained exactly what was happening. Never thought about parents packing us off to school. They obviously didn't for a minute think that they wouldn't see us again.