Daisy's Influence On The Cold War

Fear is often exploited to gain the power of manipulation over the human mind. During President Lyndon B. Johnson 's presidential run against Barry Goldwater, LBJ used the fear of death to manipulate the way the U.S. viewed the dangers of the Cold War, winning his presidency. To sway the people 's votes toward LBJ, in 1964 the frightful Daisy ad was aired. This startling move by Johnson was enough to get him back into office by a landslide of 486 electoral votes to Goldwater’s 52, showing us that the fear Johnson incorporated into the ad was able to influence the majority of people’s minds, and in an attempt to regain their sense of security, chose to vote for Johnson’s way of leadership. This shows that fear can easily control people, in

While Goldwater’s political stance leaned more toward unnecessary military action against the USSR, Johnson’s campaign completely disagreed with the notion. Therefore, in an effort to negatively objectify Goldwater’s stance on the Cold War, the notorious Daisy ad created frightening depictions of the extermination of an innocent young girl by a nuclear attack, obviously provoked by Goldwater. LBJ then follows this accusation on Goldwater by stating that ,“These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God 's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die.” Johnson seems to almost threaten the public that if they do not vote for “their love for each other”, they would die. The effect of the ad was tremendous, and it quickly proved its point against Goldwater and was taken off air the following day. By creating the sense of protection toward the nation’s children, the U.S. immediately became insecure, and even fearful, towards the thought of Goldwater, and his now extreme ideas, as president. This fear captured America’s attention and Johnson was able to swiftly obtain his winning just by giving the U.S. a new perspective on Goldwater through the use of fear.

Fear has frequently been used as a source of power when it comes to manipulation. Especially in LBJ’s campaign, where fear was a sole contributor to most of his electoral votes. The Daisy ad was nothing but a push into Johnson’s direction as the U.S. was