July 3rd 2016
Some people think that a holiday dedicated to nuclear war is, “vaguely morbid,” however, I do not.
So, let’s imagine for a moment... a calendar day where the whole world joined together and CELEBRATED nuclear awareness and global peace. But first, let me remind everyone that, “in 2010 the Pentagon revealed that they owned over 5,000 nuclear warheads. Furthermore, this number was down from a high of over 31,000 nuclear warheads in the late 1960’s.” (http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/number-times-we-could-blow-earth-once-again-secret/).
Robert Oppenheimer “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Image via Google search.
And this statistic, combined with the fact that both China and Russia hold similar nuclear arsenals, is very alarming. Also, add into that equation developing nations like; Pakistan, India and South Korea building their own nuclear arsenals… and the thought of a nuclear war, at times, feels almost inevitable.
In fact, I forget who said it… but if the odds of a nuclear war were 1/1,000… every year… then over the course of 100 years, the odds of a nuclear attack fall to just 1 in 10. (*I think Hawking but I might be wrong.) And maybe it won’t occur in the US, maybe the next nuclear weapon won’t explode here... but even if there were a nuclear strike on; Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, Iran, Guatemala, or any other nation for that matter… than that event would change the entire world.
Furthermore, the damage from such an attack would be so inhumane and ecologically devastating that I believe right now, is the time to quit sweeping this issue under the rug. Which is why I believe that this moment in human history is the time for people all over the world... to start taking a pro-active approach to the nuclear age.
The Nuclear Age
Take into account the new world economy when weighing a pro-active approach to nuclear war. While the global economy is growing more and more intertwined and less isolated every day, this evolution further points to the plausibility that nuclear weapons may never be used again. However, history says otherwise and a repetition of violence is almost a statistical certainty.
So, to be clear, honesty with ourselves… is of the utmost importance on this issue. Also, I find that it’s worth noting how the human race has ALREADY handled nuclear arms kind of well, thus far, hence the need for a holiday… because our future is somewhat frightening. Where since the dawn of, “the nuclear age,” man has been like a toddler whom God handed a gun… and from the first nuclear explosion onwards minds like Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, developers of the first nuclear weapons, gravely feared this technology's implications. Oppenheimer even once called himself, “the destroyer of worlds,” in reference to successfully testing the first nuclear weapon… which I believe was a sure fire sign of things to come and a truly grim quotation… especially from a genius whom surely didn’t want his brainchild used for apocalyptic war efforts. And actually, Oppenheimer’s exact quote is even scarier;
“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
“I am become death.”
But take a moment to think about that… the inventor of the nuclear weapon itself said that he had, “become death. And nobody saw that as a sign, that perhaps these issues concerning the use of extreme force, in any matter, should be handled more cautiously?
Furthermore, I know that this might sound overly idealistic… but when will the human race evolve past international war?
When will the human race recognize the need to evolve past violence of this magnitude? And will it take a modern war, with nukes going off and destroying the planet 500 square miles at a time, in order for our society to fully understand the importance of these issues? Because I do not seek proliferation as these bombs have practical uses outside of war but I do seek awareness as the first step… and I believe that it’s entirely in our planet’s best interest… to tackle this issue head on.
But in doing so, again, I propose NOT proliferation but a new global holiday recognizing, “the nuclear age,” as a time of peace and human achievement.
Though, I do not support full out proliferation because that might also be unwise, at face value. Whereby, this issue is particularly troubling because these weapons might actually serve a practical use someday. In fact, these weapons could be used to potentially destroy comets or meteors that may one day threaten the Earth. And for this reason, I now believe that a new holiday dedicated to the concept of, “awareness,” and ushering in the nuclear age through peace… is most practical and pertinent… as these weapons pass from generation to generation.
Nuclear Holiday
So, imagine a Spring holiday dedicated towards, “a celebration,” of global awakening (*albeit unfair to Japan, which should also be noted). But this could be sort of a rebirth or enlightenment, so to speak, in terms of human intellect. Or rather, this could become a celebration and not a morbid thing at all, where ideally, this could occur to create a positive feeling about the human race’s new found scientific achievements and be used to applaud the fact that nuclear armageddon has NOT yet occurred. And a new GLOBAL CELEBRATION might also deter future nuclear strikes and I believe that because a nuclear strike would essentially ruin the holiday’s celebratory effect… that if a, “Nuclear Holiday,” were created before another strike were to occur, before nuclear arms were ever used again, than theoretically the holiday could be looked at as a peaceful and potentially celebratory holiday.
But what greater cause for celebration than the fact that a species whom is very familiar with self harm... has not yet killed itself off? Furthermore, I believe that this is especially true in the wake of 80 years of history where it VERY easily could’ve happened numerous times and perhaps almost did. (*Whereby, in all likelihood, the threat of nuclear war probably occurred many more times than the average citizen even knows!)