The Cuban Missile Crisis

Have you ever considered how history would’ve been different if people would have: a) thought about what they were doing and b) thought about the consequences?  An event, which I recently learned about in school, could’ve been completely avoided if people would’ve thought about these points in the beginning.  This event is the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was in the height of the Cold War.  Fidel Castro was the dictator of Cuba, John F. Kennedy the President of the U.S., and Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union.  These men had many stressful times during this thirteen-day period.  It is called the Cuban Missile Crisis because the U.S.S.R. had put nuclear missiles in Cuba.  These missiles were aimed at strategic points in the United States.  If these missiles would’ve been fired, a nuclear holocaust would’ve ensued and we would not be alive.  Most likely the entire globe would’ve been destroyed.  

During this time, the public was kept in the dark for most of it.  The three, previously mentioned men were primarily involved, and it was only through some great moves and compromises that the disaster was stopped.  It is truly a miracle that this happened.    

Now, with all of our current knowledge, I cannot imagine people even considering the idea of nuclear war.  It would be the destruction of the entire Earth.  But at the time, it seemed like, not necessarily a good idea, but the only option.  The great powerhouses of the world, U.S.A and U.S.S.R., were fighting against each other.  What was the main cause of this fight?  Power.  Power is such a great downfall of so many people.  Imagine all of the wars that would’ve never begun if people weren’t hungry for power and world domination.  Millions and millions of people would’ve been saved from death and the ravages of war.  The Cuban Missile Crisis is just a small example of that, and luckily, the dangers were averted in time.

So, what are we to do with this great knowledge of the past?  We need to use it to help us in the future!  We should look at the mistakes, and the great accomplishments, of leaders and then decide how we can either use their decisions and ideas or make sure that they aren’t done again.  History is not just taught to take up time or bore kids in a classroom.  It is a tool that should used for our benefit.  We can do better than those in the past have and, using our great history, make decisions that will not only help us, but those in generations to come!