I hate Red - An Alternate Cold War TL

Wallet

Banned
Dear Diary,

I found the most amazing thing today! I was walking in the woods when I found a bald eagle nest. I have never seen a bald eagle before. Actually, it was just the eggs but still. The mother eagle used old newspapers to help build the nest. The cool thing was just seeing them. My big brother told me that the Soviet High Command ordered all Bald Eagles killed after the invasion. It's really cool some survived!

Today at school, we celebrated May Day. Some of the older students tried to protest, but the police came and took them away. It was very scary! After the celebrations, we learned about President Wallace.

I hope I see the Eagles hatch soon.
 
Yanno, the whole trope that Henry Wallace as President = US rolls over and surrenders to Communism is a really tiresome one. Wallace would, for one thing, not be a dictator, rather an elected president in a country where it is impossible to put together a working administration without including large numbers of people who are hostile to Communism and all it stands for. I don't see him being allowed to sell the country out. If things got bad enough, he'd be impeached. Further, there's no evidence that Wallace was any more pro-Soviet than anyone else who lived through the 40s and 50s. He said nice things about them in the 40s, when the Soviets were America's allies and was later a strong opponent of them.

For Wallace to be an important figure in an American Communist dictatorship, you probably need for America to have been invaded and occupied like Eastern Europe, in which case Wallace performs a role similar to Benes and Masyrik in Czechoslovakia - i.e. the poor sap they pick as a sympathetic figurehead while the occupiers "Communize" American institutions.

But frankly, I can't see any invasion succeeding. Even the entire European continent going Communist in the wake of WW1 and invading the US in the 50s would not, IMO, result in a Red occupation of the US. The very best I can see is the Communist side wearing the US down until a negotiated peace is signed. The Communists winning so big that they could force the US to change its institutions is ASB if you ask me.

fasquardon
 
From the bit about the May Day protestors, it seems like the US has slid into dictatorship. For all we know, the whole Soviet invasion/surrender monkey Wallace/bald eagle genocide could be a fabrication made to instill jingoism in American children.
 

Wallet

Banned
The story will have journal/diary entries by multiply characters jumping back and forth from the POD and present day.

The first post was by an elementary school girl in the 1970s in Washington State. She is young and innocent, but is about to be effected in a big way. But I would like to explore some more settings and characters first.
 

Wallet

Banned
Dear Diary,

Today was boring! We learned about the presidents. We do this every year! My big brother says that the books were written in Moscow and are false. Why would school books be false? How would we lean? Sometimes brother can be so silly.

We learned about the good presidents like Henry Wallace, Brown, and Sanders. Then the really bad ones like Wilson, Long, George Wallace, Goldwater, and McCarthy.

I hope I can go to Molly's house after supper.
 
Dear Diary,

Today was boring! We learned about the presidents. We do this every year! My big brother says that the books were written in Moscow and are false. Why would school books be false? How would we lean? Sometimes brother can be so silly.

We learned about the good presidents like Henry Wallace, Brown, and Sanders. Then the really bad ones like Wilson, Long, George Wallace, Goldwater, and McCarthy.

I hope I can go to Molly's house after supper.

Oh great, it's Liberality for All 2.0.:frown:
 
From the bit about the May Day protestors, it seems like the US has slid into dictatorship. For all we know, the whole Soviet invasion/surrender monkey Wallace/bald eagle genocide could be a fabrication made to instill jingoism in American children.

EDIT: Looks like I misread the May Day bit.:oops:
 
Top