I was just a kid af the time, and I haven't delved into Cold War history deeply enough to have a good understanding of everything that went on. But I remember the fear and, yes, paranoia that led to the domino theory and in turn to Vietnam.
I definitely agree that the Vietnam War was a major turning point. A lot of guys my age resented being told that they had to drop everything to go fight a senseless war at an age when they weren't even allowed to vote yet, and rightly so. As a girl, I wasn't subject to the draft, but I could see they had a point. And instead of listening to their concerns, The Powers That Be continued to escalate the war and draft more and more young men to fight in it. And somehow they were shocked (shocked, I tell you!) when they were met with marches and protests, and more marches and protests. 
The whole time, there were people driving around with stickers on their cars that said, "America, Love It or Leave It" and "My Country, Right or Wrong," mad as hell that those "dirty hippies" had the nerve to question anything our government decided to do. It was a very confusing time for kids like me who had been raised to do as we were told but also encouraged to think for ourselves...up to a point! 
We now know how that ended and the role that would be played by the Pentagon Papers. But it was a wild time to live through as a young person in this country,
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