The 80s were hot, hot , hot, Reagan was everywhere and pushing the Russians on everything, and there was a lot of covert operations and Americans and some Europeans serving as mercenaries against the communists and further harassing the Russians, the tension was incredible for those paying attention and a lot of that was being reflected in American and even European societies, and it was mixed with the extraordinary American patriotism and enthusiasm, even people who didn’t know the real happenings could sense the global activity and they knew that Reagan, was confronting the evil empire and that we were surviving it, and then as the years passed and the danger reduced, winning it.
I certainly remember the Reagan years, but didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of the geopolitical matters. I was also well aware of the Iran hostage crisis that Reagan brought to a rapid close. The news related to Russia seemed surreal as it was an unexpected realization of what we learned in history class. And I recall how the Left in Hollywood and Music hated Reagan which was a rude awakening — very disappointing to see how these once “vaunted” entertainment industries were blatantly infecting public discourse and opinions. Agreed that Reagan secured the future of the World for at least a few decades.