Nuclear Fallout?

The NY Times ran an article yesterday, "U. S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable," about the American public's preparedness for a nuclear attack. Apparently there's plenty of educational information available now but a reluctance to disseminate it for fear of alarming us.

The article brought to mind a vivid memory from childhood: air raid drills in elementary school where we would huddle under our desks--with our hands clasped over our tucked-in heads--readying ourselves for "the unthinkable." (It turns out that these drills weren't as ridiculous as they seemed; studies show that we're best off staying inside buildings rather than heeding an impulse to flee.)

At any rate, I'm struck by how much has changed. We didn't worry back then about scaring the public; everyone knew those were scary times and we were advised to think and plan accordingly. Contrast this with today, where people often comment on how dangerous our world is, but addressing this reality is itself unthinkable.

Indeed, we learn in the Times article that the Obama administration had planned to simulate an attack involving about 10,000 emergency personnel in Las Vegas; the drill never took place, however, because "casinos and businesses protested, as did Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. He told the federal authorities that it would scare away tourists."

It's like everything else in America. Business interests dictate priorities.

We used to be scared of things that mattered. Now we're scared of shadows, and, as a result, we're becoming shadows of what we once were.