it took me forty years

     More than forty years ago I first tried to explain to a fellow-student that America had never been at war with Russia. I patiently explained that Russia, or the USSR, was our ally in both WWI and WWII.  My adversary remained unconvinced. I further explained that the United States had fought two wars with England, but none with Russia. Still nothing.
     Forty years later, while arguing on the same subject, the opponent finally gave up the source of her misunderstanding --she had decided, on the strength of two words, that America had fought a war with Russia, and that it was called the Cold War.
    If you're reading this and wondering how it could happen that I didn't know about the Cold War, I did--but it wasn't a war. Teacher told you to pay attention, didn't she? The "Cold War" is the name given to the years after WWII, during which the United States refused to speak to the Russians--or the Chinese. It was a description of diplomacy, or the lack of it--not the name of a war.
     There are probably other misunderstandings that I don't understand. I hope they don't take forty years to solve.