I'd bet anyone would find something moving in that film, Tom. For me it was the young couple deciding to give their newborn a pill that had been distributed to all to end their lives before radiation did it for them. The current generation killing the new generation out of mercy, that was the message of that film for me.
I'd bet anyone would find something moving in that film, Tom. For me it was the young couple deciding to give their newborn a pill that had been distributed to all to end their lives before radiation did it for them. The current generation killing the new generation out of mercy, that was the message of that film for me.
I recall The Day After, I think that had Jason Robards in it. My wife and I were about to watch it on TV. My sister-in-law and her husband were visiting and we were told "how can you watch that stuff?!" they refusing to join us. Maybe they were right, what good did it do us? As I recall the only reaction to it was that showing it was unpatriotic.
What is a person to do in the situation that all of humanity finds itself in with this problem? Surely nobody could remain sane if it was thought of every day. How could anyone bear to have children? I know of a few people who have so decided saying that they wouldn't want to bring children into this world, though not singling out the nuclear threat. I'd bet a lot more would not do so because of the expense and personal sacrifice involved for any responsible parent, a reasonable argument.
Middle class Americans are stuck in a comfortable but anxiety filled situation. I feel a terrible guilt for what we are doing to the Palestinians, but at least on that issue I can do something personally if only to appear at protests, write emails and comment everyplace I think my views will be seen. But the nuclear threat? How could we be any more helpless?
I don't buy the idea that a balance of nuclear terror is in any way stable. The historical balance of power in Europe would work for periods, but then it wouldn't and all the build-up that was supposedly maintaining the balance was unleashed. And yet WW2 seems to have shocked Europe into leaving the US to be military-crazy. The US would surely be similarly humbled with a nuclear war, but at what a price! That would be like a drug addict curing himself with a fatal overdose.
And when has any weapon been voluntarily discarded? The time for that would have been after Hiroshima had demonstrated the horror. The Japanese did forswear firearms in the days of the Samurai, but only for a while.
Maybe it is best to eat, drink and be merry, though even there it is easier to do knowing one is mortal, than to do it knowing everyone, all of one's loved ones, are at risk of a sudden, unpredictable event simultaneously sweeping life away.
We've seen individuals who have refused/are refusing to contribute to the Gaza slaughter. It is a bit puzzling that not one of the welders that WJA mentioned, or the many thousands in the MIC are similarly bothered so strongly that they would quit. I suspect it may be because they have swallowed the old "peace is our profession" nonsense to allow them to sleep soundly and, incredibly, be downright proud of what they do.
I'd bet anyone would find something moving in that film, Tom. For me it was the young couple deciding to give their newborn a pill that had been distributed to all to end their lives before radiation did it for them. The current generation killing the new generation out of mercy, that was the message of that film for me.
I recall The Day After, I think that had Jason Robards in it. My wife and I were about to watch it on TV. My sister-in-law and her husband were visiting and we were told "how can you watch that stuff?!" they refusing to join us. Maybe they were right, what good did it do us? As I recall the only reaction to it was that showing it was unpatriotic.
What is a person to do in the situation that all of humanity finds itself in with this problem? Surely nobody could remain sane if it was thought of every day. How could anyone bear to have children? I know of a few people who have so decided saying that they wouldn't want to bring children into this world, though not singling out the nuclear threat. I'd bet a lot more would not do so because of the expense and personal sacrifice involved for any responsible parent, a reasonable argument.
Middle class Americans are stuck in a comfortable but anxiety filled situation. I feel a terrible guilt for what we are doing to the Palestinians, but at least on that issue I can do something personally if only to appear at protests, write emails and comment everyplace I think my views will be seen. But the nuclear threat? How could we be any more helpless?
I don't buy the idea that a balance of nuclear terror is in any way stable. The historical balance of power in Europe would work for periods, but then it wouldn't and all the build-up that was supposedly maintaining the balance was unleashed. And yet WW2 seems to have shocked Europe into leaving the US to be military-crazy. The US would surely be similarly humbled with a nuclear war, but at what a price! That would be like a drug addict curing himself with a fatal overdose.
And when has any weapon been voluntarily discarded? The time for that would have been after Hiroshima had demonstrated the horror. The Japanese did forswear firearms in the days of the Samurai, but only for a while.
Maybe it is best to eat, drink and be merry, though even there it is easier to do knowing one is mortal, than to do it knowing everyone, all of one's loved ones, are at risk of a sudden, unpredictable event simultaneously sweeping life away.
We've seen individuals who have refused/are refusing to contribute to the Gaza slaughter. It is a bit puzzling that not one of the welders that WJA mentioned, or the many thousands in the MIC are similarly bothered so strongly that they would quit. I suspect it may be because they have swallowed the old "peace is our profession" nonsense to allow them to sleep soundly and, incredibly, be downright proud of what they do.