A CENTURY OF VIOLENCE

Nuclear Weapons

With the invention of nuclear weapons, for the first time an entire city could be obliterated within seconds, without a single skirmish between soldiers.  For example, consider the horrendous destruction that resulted when atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.   Some people were blinded by the intolerable light. Others were poisoned by radiation. Many were killed by fire and heat. The combined death toll for these two cities is estimated at nearly 300,000! 

Of course, some would argue that the bombing of those cities prevented many deaths that would have occurred had the war continued by conventional means. Nevertheless, appalled by the tremendous loss of life, some began to lobby for worldwide control over this gruesome weapon.   Indeed, many began to fear that man had developed the capacity to destroy himself.

Has the development  of nuclear weapons made peace more likely?  Some say yes.  They point to the fact that these powerful weapons have not been used in warfare for over half a century. Nevertheless, Nobel's belief that weapons of mass destruction would cause war  to suffocate itself has not proved true, for wars with conventional weapons continue.  Besides, at any given moment, says the Committee on Nuclear Policy, thousands of nuclear devices are on hair-trigger alert.  And in this age when terrorism is a grave concern that a single accident  could plunge the world into a thermonuclear catastrophe. Clearly, when it comes to destructive weapons, this is not the peace that Nobel envisioned. 

 Note: Well, the idiot should have thought of that before he invented dynamite. He should have thought a little further, about the damage could be done from his idea and invention.  I would not have given him the time of day, much less a reward.  But, then,  probably at some point down the line, some fool would have thought of it.  But then that would have given us more time to live without all that destruction. All I say that, it is wrong for all those people to die, regardless.

Next time: A CENTURY OF VIOLENCE/ Biological and Chemical Weapons

From the Awake! magazine