ar war. The poem talks about the stealing of Christmas, another fear of Americans at that time; they were concerned that the Soviet Union could win the next war and force Communism on a captive America. Communism was largely seen as evil, anti-Christian, and enslaving. In the poem, Christ is removed from Christmas, and everything wholesome in America is perverted into something with the tainted stamp of Communism on it.
You'll melt all the snow, paint the evergreens red, Cut holes in the stockings, leave Rudolph for dead! Cyrillicize all the West's alphabet blocks, And give every doll the Red Communist-Pox!
The ôCommiesö were seen as the epitome of evil, and the conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the struggle between pure good and pure evil. (ôBring joy to my world through dissension and hate!ö). The repeated references to percentages are a jab at the CommunistsÆ habit of gross exaggeration: ôThe Commies have fixed things nine hundred percent.ö Not until the end of the poem when America wins the war and defeats the Communists does the percentage return to an honorable ôone hundred percent.ö
The poem ôCrayon Drawing(The Cold Warö depicts the serious side of the war, with schoolchildren hiding under their desks for air raid practice. A crayon drawing depicting the fear and destruction of war evokes the horror of death and the plaintive fears of children who have lost their parents: ôWhere are our parents? Who is in charge?ö The implication is that combat has come to American soil and that the U.S. has lost; this would allow the Communists to impose control and their evil beliefs on the Americans. The most frightening aspect of this possibility is how it would affect the children. Americans wondered, ôWhat would our life be like if the Communists took over?ö The final verses draw a parallel between the Israelites enslaved by EgyptÆs pharaoh and unable to break free except by a miracle f...