In the JFK era they tried to make it seem like Russia was more dangerous than it was. Then they started to believe it. No one knows if they fell for it, or got new information that changed their opinions.
Now it's the reverse, where they make Russia out to be less dangerous than it is while also being far-reaching and influential (which they aren't). They have nuclear weapons, we can't bully them around the way we did Afghanistan and Iraq.
In the JFK era they tried to make it seem like Russia was more dangerous than it was. Then they started to believe it. No one knows if they fell for it, or got new information that changed their opinions.
Now it's the reverse, where they make Russia out to be less dangerous than it is while also being far-reaching and influential (which they aren't). They have nuclear weapons, we can't bully them around the way we did Afghanistan and Iraq.
The boomers who grew up fearing the Russians under JFK are the ones in charge of everything today, 60 years later.