The Iron Curtain had an enormous impact on American lives and on the fate of the world. The seclusion created by Communism separated cultures and forced a generational gap in ideologies. I grew up in Russia and I can tell you right now that people still have a deep distrust of America, even the teenagers who were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It seems that had the cultures never separated, people would focus more on what keeps us together rather than what separates us. If the West had not been walled off from the Communist Block, ideas and people would mix to create a stronger bond rather than cutting off ties.