Jack S.

2/8/14

Per. 4

                        Thoughts and Reflections on: The Peloponnesian War and The Cold War

The Cold War was not like any other war; there were no face to face, guns blazing battles, but it was one of the most significant wars in American history. It was a secret war between America and the Soviet Union. America was a democracy and the Soviet Union was communist. Both parties believed their way of government was better than the other's way of government. The Cold War was so unique because each side was scared of the other. While they tried not to show it, one side would never truly confront the other but rather just try to get as many other counties to believe that the side they were fighting was also their enemy as well. In other words, this war was a race for allies. While the Cold War was very unique, there was one other war quite similar, The Peloponnesian War. The Peloponnesian War was between Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece. Athens was democratic like America and Sparta was quite similar to the Soviet Union as well. Even though Sparta was an oligarchy and the Soviets were communist, each form of government did not care for giving power or any form of opinion to their people. The two wars were also very similar in the sense that each side was trying to gain more allies than the other. In Thucydides writing he mentions that Athens and Sparta were so equally matched because they were the most powerful city states at the time that one would never truly defeat the other. This is very similar to the Cold War. America and the Soviet Union were both to of the most powerful countries in the world at the time and neither country could ever defeat the other because they were so evenly matched. The Americans and the Soviets could have learned from the Peloponnesian War that fighting another super power only brings destruction and worry to your own country. For example, in the Cold War schools would constantly practice drills for if the Soviets invaded America on any given day. Making people live in constant fear can only be bad for a country. The Cold War was important as a statement to Americas power and resilience, but it was also a mistake. Countless amounts of money was lost during the war and people did lose their lives as well. History can help us avoid making mistakes like this if we actually pay attention to it. Thucydides said that if two super powers go to war nobody will win, but it still happened. It is very important that next time we are placed in a position like we were in the Cold War we approach it with caution, strategy, and use history to help us avoid make mistakes.