The Red Dawning of America

How patriotic kids became rage-filled anti-American adults

These are the Wolverines who saved America, and every kid in my neighborhood wanted to be one of them.

The year is 1984, and the Cold War is just a part of daily life. We live each day in a world that could end at any moment. Many of us have bomb shelters. We don’t do active shooter drills; instead we practice hiding under our desks and waiting for the mushroom cloud to signal the beginning of the war against Russia. That’s just how it is.

I’m ten years-old, and I have a brand-new favorite movie. It’s called “Red Dawn,” and it’s the story of a bunch of American teenagers who turn themselves into resistance fighters after the Soviet Union invades America. They call themselves “Wolverines” and due to their heroism, the American way of life is eventually saved from the aggression and oppression of communism.