Whenever I start giving in to despair and paralyzed hopelessness, I remind myself of the story of nuclear weapons - still being played out. A triumph of men of good will from many nations and both major domestic parties.
As a child and young man, it seemed inescapable that I would die in a nuclear holocaust, if not by some personal accident or tragedy. Younger people didn't grow up through the Cuban missile crisis, and have a hard time grasping this, but I grew up "ducking and covering" in the hallways at school, and marching with the family to the local basement/shelter when the air raid siren went off in Connorsville, Indiana. I remember my dad showing me family nuke shelter plans in the back of Popular Science, planning where he would put it in the back yard..
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I saw no way out, no escape. If not launched on purpose, they'd be launched by mistake. I started reading Camus and Sartre...
But, thanks to efforts by men of hope and good will, the nuclear threat has diminished tremendously.
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..and the trend remains positive. We're not safe yet, but we're a LOT safer.
If we can accomplish this, we can do similar things in other areas. Good things ARE accomplished. But, why is it so fricking HARD? |
