You folks of the news media have a duty to keep everyone aware of what is going on in the world. Yet the most important piece of information that needs to be told is simply ignored. The surrealistic reality is that almost everybody is aware of the danger from nuclear weapons, but rarely talk about it. In the meantime, our hushed fears continue to blind us to the ominous clouds gathering for the coming storm. We have to openly recognize the obvious. Therein lies hope.
"Why does humanity waste vast sums maintaining far more nuclear weapons than are needed to destroy itself? In an earlier study we discovered the main reason for such illogical behavior is that there is a worldwide reluctance to think about what the consequences would be if nuclear weapons were used – a mental block. We discovered that virtually nothing is being published anywhere in the world on the self-destructive consequences of the use of nuclear weapons despite the great peril they present to all."
As individuals, our ability to change things seems hopeless, but the pen may still triumph over the sword. The media has a lot of catching up to do. Break the silence. Challenge others to do the same. Consider this your sacred duty to demand that the truth be known. People have to be shaken out of their lethargy. Dismantle and recycle the cursed weapons; think of what we could do with a world at peace. Time is of the essence, and we are running out of it.
"Nuclear material could be transported clandestinely by sea and then loaded onto an aircraft anywhere in the region. The plane could be flown to a small airfield in Washington or New York or Los Angeles. A small amount of nuclear material could be walked into the terminal and left in a waste can. Or dropped on the floor under a bench. The human toll would be extraordinary. A large amount of nuclear matter could be attached to a makeshift explosive. Perhaps homemade plastique or cans of spray paint triggered by a car flare. The human toll of the dirty bombs would be unthinkable."
It has been suggested that we give a likely explanation as to how one might go about the process of dismantling nuclear arsenals.
Future number one, being a far better option than the hopelessness of future number two, or the uncertainty of future number three, could take form in this manner.
First, the public needs to become aware of the omnipresent danger they are living with every day of their lives, and demand the government take steps to remove the threat. Living in an open society with a government sensitive to the people should be noted by the individuals living under different regimes as to our mutually shared predicament. The United Nations would draw up a mandate with oversight authority affirming compliance with nations holding nuclear capabilities.
Second, every nation with nuclear equipped submarines should be simultaneously recalled to their respective ports and queued for dismantlement. Mobile nuclear missiles, and stored warheads returned to their respective makers, torn down and recycled. Land based ICBMs need to be deactivated at once multilaterally, and stored pools of Uranium and Plutonium neutralized.
Third, research and development of nuclear weapons must stop immediately; all sources of information for the development of such weapons ought to be purged and destroyed. They are a blight upon the world.
The cost savings to the nations involved will be enormous. Scientists now free from weapons research and development can be put to work solving other challenges such as fusion reactors supplying the world with clean unlimited power.
Through our mutual effort, every nation can tackle other impending disasters, clean up the oceans, and the air, that will slow down global warming. Get the world's population in balance with what the planet can handle; that alone would help with famine and maybe a pandemic. The possibilities are grand to imagine. Humankind is on the verge of a new era; don't let it end badly.
"The Self-Destructiveness of Nuclear Weapons: A Dangerous and Costly Mental Block," Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA. February 1997. Babst; Krieger; and Aldridge.
"A terrorist could use a lead-lined fountain pen or pocket watch or even a rabbit's foot on a key chain to slip plutonium into a country. Just a few grams of weapon's-grade material would be enough to kill thousands of people or contaminate tens of thousands of gallons of water."
[Although Tom Clancy is a novelist, his meticulous research is considered very accurate]