On Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:55:55 +0000, Jess Lurkin wrote:


He says that for every U.S. rocket loss, there were at least two for the
Reds. Also says that it was more a sheer miracle that Spudnik (sic)
made it. But the (Western) agitprop of the day lead the sheep to think
that the U.S. was trailing far behind. Even he knows better.


In retrospect, the Western reaction (or overreaction) to Sputnik
may seem senseless and silly, but the world was far different back
then. Communism was perceived as a terrible threat to the freedom
of the world, and in many ways the threat was very real. The
animosity between Soviets and Americans extended down to the
average man/woman on the street.

Attitudes are different now, but the citizen of the 1950's lived
in the midst of a palpable fear of the communist enemy. Schools
regularly held nuclear attack drills (the "duck and cover" campaign)
and home fallout shelters were even encouraged.

Once we take the prevalent social anxiety of the 1950's into
consideration, the hysteria over Sputnik becomes more understandable
if not more excusable.