A Mickey Mouse View of Nuclear Fission and the Rams
Among the many subjects of which I am in almost total ignorance, nuclear fission and fusion are high on the list. Like any other layman, I am profoundly aware of their destructive power, having seen them demonstrated not only at Hiroshima and Nagasaki but also at test sites in the South Pacific.
However, if I were captured by the Iraqis and tortured to give up secrets about bomb construction, I’m afraid I would die screaming, unable to divulge even the most elementary details.
So, perhaps, in considering our chances of creating a brave new world the other day, I ventured beyond my element. Noting Isaac Asimov’s judgment of history--”a dark and turbulent stream of folly illuminated now and then by flashes of genius”--I said our flashes of genius didn’t seem to be saving us. “Look where nuclear fission got us.”
I have a letter from Alfred R. Hibbs, the distinguished Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist, demolishing that thought.
When Al Hibbs speaks, I listen, humbly. Hibbs is one of the brightest persons I have ever known personally. His superior intelligence is apparent even on my level, but of course it soars beyond my sight in his own field in science. For years Hibbs was the voice of the JPL space program, explaining its achievements to us earthbound members of the press.
To my remark, “Look where nuclear fission got us,” Hibbs replies: “Well, where did it get us!”
Hibbs’ thesis is that nuclear weapons have kept the major powers at peace in Europe. “There is an opinion that without the threat of mutually assured destruction (with its cute acronym--MAD), NATO and the Warsaw Pact would have been at each other’s throats years ago, in the bloodiest war of them all.
“Yes, we have fought our miserable client wars, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, but not the devastation of World War III--millions lost, and, again, the devastation of Europe.
“If this theory is true (and the science of history does not permit experimental tests) then two conclusions follow: First, that the discovery of nuclear fission has saved us from a horrible war; and, second, that the leaders of nation-states can be restrained from sending their young men to slaughter only by the fear of personal annihilation.
“The first conclusion demands our attention: For example, if nuclear weapons have prevented a major war, should they be destroyed? The second conclusion, though depressing, is probably true.”
Since history does not permit tests, it is just as hard to say what might have happened had some historical event not occurred, as it is to say what will happen in the future. We do not know whether there would have been a third world war if there had been no atom bomb to deter it; we do not know that the atom bomb will prevent war in the future.
It might be argued that the Soviet Union, having been devastated by World War II with the loss of 20 million people, might not have wanted another war. It might be argued that in the near future, with the Soviet’s nuclear arsenal in the hands of at least four upstart republics, one might be pressured to use its weapons or sell them to some irresponsible nation (like Iran or Libya) for desperately needed money. I am not reassured by the knowledge that nuclear weapons reside in the arsenals of several nations.
As I say, I do not presume to argue with Al Hibbs. Anyway, such lofty concerns probably belong on the op-ed page. But anxiety over nuclear weapons does not spare the least of us; we must all be concerned. None of our military and political experts foresaw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, so why shouldn’t I have a shot at punditry?
Meanwhile, my question inspired Walt Hopmans of Santa Barbara to pen this verse:
So clever was
The human race
They disappeared
Without a trace
Also, more at my level, I am excoriated by Bill Basehart of Playa del Rey for an offhand observation that the Los Angeles Rams are really the Anaheim Rams.
He calls my remark “a totally asinine statement” that exposes me as “a hypocrite, a despicable liar and a phony.” He goes on: “I loathe and despise phonies like you. Especially those who snow-job gullible readers with irrelevant, meaningless drivel and have it misrepresented as journalism. . . . If it was up to me I would have the garbage in most of those 6,000 columns (my career output) shoved down your own throat until you choked on them. Good riddance!”
I quote Basehart’s invective only to suggest that Al Hibbs could have used the same language in protesting my comment on the atom bomb, but he has too much class.
Meanwhile, I’ve decided to call the Anaheim Rams the Disneyland Rams, they’ve been playing such Mickey Mouse football.
