Sherri,
> Replying to LO16146 --
> I think in the US we didn't celebrate the end of the cold war because we
> were losing a very profitable enemy outside. Profitable because war
I am sometimes pessimistic, too, but I see another set of factors which
could have caused that and which aren't so sinister. We in the USA tended
to personalize the Cold War, as I recall, and so rejoicing at the end of
the Cold War could be seen as us being victorious over the Russians (and
Ukrainians and ...). However, we hadn't really defeated the common people
in the former USSR. I remember at the time having the feeling that those
people were standing before some great chances and that I really hoped
they could pull off the shift, that there were both great opportunities
and great dangers ahead. I think I would have viewed celebrations in the
USA as rejoicing in the serious pain of the people of a very large country
(indeed, a number of countries).
If the people of the USA were more focused on political ideals (perhaps
strange to say, with the USA founded on such clear statements of political
ideals), we might have found ways to celebrate the victory of one set of
ideals over another without celebrating the victory of one set of people
over another. OTOH, if we are really to be a learning
organization/country, perhaps even having our ideals declared victorious
isn't necessarily cause for rejoicing. In a learning
organization/country, the goal would seem to be to learn what system works
best, not that _my_ system works best.
Who did celebrate the end of the Cold War? From what I remember on TV,
the Germans did the most celebrating. That could be easily understood as
the reunification of families, friends, and country more than the victory
of the West over the East. It seems to me that those in the former USSR
did some celebrating, too, but they had another direct reason: the freedom
from certain restraints that their government had imposed on them (and
they didn't yet realize all the costs of a more democratic form of
government). As I recall, most of the visible celebrations occurred in
countries which were part of the USSR and which became independent again.
Russians, as I recall from my reading of the news, had a bitter-sweet
feeling of the un-understood promise of freedom coupled with the loss of
national self-respect as they saw the USSR's might in a number of areas
disintegrate. Even then, I suspect that many knew they would be at least
temporarily worse off with the safety net of their old government gone and
the infrastructure of a market economy not yet in place.
Sherri, I don't know that your explanation isn't valid. I suspect you
were suggesting we could have rejoiced in the end of the animosity that
existed in the Cold War and its attendant focus on military brinkmanship.
I recognize that the end of the Cold War has made a tremendous difference
in the high tech industry in the USA (and elsewhere, including the USSR),
forcing a number of companies to change their directions.
I do think the explanation here is also potentially valid and that we
shouldn't consider one alternative without considering others which may be
equally plausible.
Regards,
Bill
-- Bill Harris Hewlett-Packard Co. R&D Engineering Processes Lake Stevens Division domain: billh@lsid.hp.com M/S 330 phone: (425) 335-2200 8600 Soper Hill Road fax: (425) 335-2828 Everett, WA 98205-1298Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>