... a well known fact about human psychology is the phenomenon of 'denial'. When confronted with possibilities of Nuclear war a surprising number of people simply refused to consider Civil Defense as possible. This is not surprising. The term 'the unthinkable' was often used in reference to World War III. Rationalization of this denial came in various forms. Finger in the ears ignorance. Depression masked as cavalier fatalism. Or even substitution of fear of a government conspiracy to cover up the grim truth or make thermonuclear battle 'winnable'.
The historical fact is, that no-matter how quaint or un-hip Cold War efforts for Civil Defense may seem, it was all out of a sincere concern to save lives and suffering. Dull, boring government civil servants looked at the scientific information available and concluded "gee- there were some basic things that could be done to save the lives of millions of people - if the unthinkable actually did happen."
Ironically; a truly robust and efficient Civil Defense effort was seen by Cold War think-tankers as 'provocative'. Large levels of Soviet spending on Civil Defense worried the Pentagon that the Russian leadership was more practical and therefore more capable of fighting WW3.
...OK- if you scroll down to the cartoon of the guy digging holes in the backyard while his wife shivers in her underwear- you can take some of this stern lecture with a grain of salt!
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