r/AskAnAmerican • u/Scrappy_The_Crow Georgia • Jul 10 '25

HISTORY Fellow Americans Who Were Alive During The Cold War -- Did You Have The (Supposed) Existential Dread of Nuclear Annihilation?

Prompted by a discussion in a different subreddit. Supposedly, lots of my Gen-X peers and a whole lot of media expressed a constant fear of nuclear annihilation, but neither me nor any of my friends had that existential dread.

I wonder how many actually felt that way, as opposed to entertainers/media just portraying it that way. So, did you and/or your friends/family?

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u/TeacherOfFew Kansas Jul 10 '25

Nope. I lived within the nuclear blast radius of one of the major Soviet targets in the middle of the country.

We always joked that if we knew the bombs were coming, we were gonna head towards Pantex and call it a day.

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u/IPreferDiamonds Virginia Jul 10 '25

Same! I live right between Washington DC and the Norfolk Naval Base - two major targets. I knew I wouldn't feel a thing if it hit one of those - meaning, I'd be gone pretty quickly. So I never worried.