My nephew, himself of retirement age, writes me of his agony over the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea. He likens the danger now to that of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, before adding that he doesn’t think any of us would want to survive nuclear war. His fears bring to the surface my own thoughts about the present danger.
On the subject of North Korea I am amazed to find myself in rare agreement with Steve Bannon. He is reported to have said that there is no military solution. Good for him saying so, though it’s a point that should be obvious to any thinking person.
I go further. The entire U.S. position on nuclear weapons is untenable. We claim the right to have nuclear weapons and to keep them at the ready while at the same time maintaining that other nations should not get them. The fact is that we are unable to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons as long as we not only have them but insist, as we do, on "modernizing," which means upgrading, them. Countries like North Korea and Iran (who's next?) will try to obtain them as a matter of national pride. They want to be in the club of nations that have to be reckoned with.
Of course the U.S. should discourage the spread of nuclear weapons. It should, if necessary, give other nations some positive incentives not to go nuclear. Nevertheless, the history since Hiroshima was nuked in 1945 shows that we cannot stop proliferation. Therefore we should not use threats either by words or show of force. Trump seems unable to figure this out.
I doubt that Kim Jong-un is stupid enough to launch a first strike. It would be national suicide. I don't think we are in a crisis like the Cuban one in 1962, when Cuba had no nuclear weapons of its own and the confrontation was between two major powers, neither of which was being asked to give up its weapons, only to keep them at home, so to speak. Russia was not at all in the same existential situation, nor did it have the same motivations, as North Korea today.
Would anyone want to survive a nuclear war? There are people who contemplate suicide rather than survival after such a cataclysm. I take this as a sign of despair that is creeping over America. The biggest sign of it nationally is the opioid epidemic. A high rate of suicide among young people is another. Cry the beloved country!
There are times when despair is the most tempting of all sins. I am among those who believe that the Christian gospel (good news) is freedom from fear. It is not freedom from danger. As a Christian I try to do what I can to protect everyone from danger, to do harm to no one, and to heal what wounds I can. As the Psalmist said, my help comes from God. That will remain true, no matter what.