Our Daily Lives Don't Amount to a Hill of Beans in the Face of Nuclear War
by Joyce Marcel
Under a bright blue Vermont sky, this year's foliage is
extravagantly
beautiful.
A friend worries about a proposal she's been asked to write for a
large non-profit organization.
The Dummerston Congregational Church's annual fund-raiser, the Apple
Pie Festival, sold 1,500 apple pies on Sunday.
I talk to a new editor about writing some stories.
We follow the latest political scandals.
We keep a baleful eye on the price of gas.
There is some question about Joe Torre's relation****p with George
Steinbrenner.
I'm nervous about an upcoming colonoscopy.
Randy gets his second flat tire in three weeks and decides to put on
his snow tires early.
The cat practices catch-and-release with another mouse.
The world turns. We live our daily lives. And all I can think about
is
the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, accompanied by a guided-missile cruiser,
a
destroyer and a fast-attack submarine, all of them now aiming for the
Straits of Hormuz off Iran.
Iran does not have nuclear weapons. The consensus is that the county
is years away from creating them. This is a fact. It does not matter.
It's no secret that President George W. Bush believes, in his blind
arrogance, that God is directing his hand. It's no secret that he's a
born-again Christian with a taste for Armageddon. It's no secret he
believes
he makes no mistakes. It's no secret he loves the idea of himself as a
warrior-president.
It's no secret he thinks Iran - an entire country! - is "evil." It's
no secret he wants "regime change" without giving a thought to the damage
he's already caused in Iraq.
It's no secret he ordered the Eisenhower's fleet to sail.
It's no secret he badly wants to attack Iran.
It's no secret he cannot learn. Therefore, he cannot gain by
understanding Israel's disastrous recent experience in Lebanon.
It's no secret that he and Vice President Dick Cheney believe that
the
nuclear option is not only a viable one, but a desirable one.
It's no secret that the U.S. military is stretched beyond its limits
in Iraq. Recruitment standards are being continually lowered to get more
warm bodies into uniforms. Even if attacking Iran was rational, it would
be
impossible to put men and women on the ground without bringing back the
draft.
Taking all these things together, it's not hard to visualize a
nuclear
attack on the good people of Iran.
Could we, as Americans, in good conscience, allow our country to use
nuclear weapons?
Former U.N. arms inspector Scott Ritter said in Chester, Vt. this
weekend that, "Congress has pretty much capitulated. The public debate is
over on Iran. Seventy percent of Americans says Iran is trying to get
nuclear weapons, so the Bush administration doesn't have to sell this war.
We're in a very dangerous climate right now."
Think about the possible results of dropping a few "tactical"
nuclear
bombs on Iran. Besides the cruelty of such an act, the horrific
destruction
to cities and towns, the burning, anguish and death we would bring to
thousands - possibly millions - of people, the poisonous clouds of nuclear
dust that would be released into the atmosphere to circle the earth, what
else might happen?
Pakistan, India and Israel have nuclear weapons. Once the concept of
MAD - mutual assured destruction, an idea which has kept the world from a
nuclear holocaust for over 60 years - is demolished, what will keep other
countries from using their nukes? India and Pakistan over Kashmir? North
Korea, which has developed and is testing nuclear weapons while we've been
busy destroying Iraq, on South Korea and Japan?
Europe would be horrified, traumatized. Asia would be repelled. The
Arab world, which already loathes the United States, would rise up in
howling violence. Terrorism would increase. Israel would be at risk. Chaos
would rule the Middle East.
Why aren't we, as citizens of this country and this world, screaming
for this to stop right now?
Maybe it's because we know we can't do anything to stop this attack.
Millions of us - around the world - poured into the streets to stop Bush
from attacking Iraq. He did it anyway.
Here in America, we are living our day-to-day lives as if nothing
will
ever change. What movie will we see? Which car will we buy? Who will win
the
World Series?
Yet I'm reminded of the last scene in "Casablanca," when Rick says,
"Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that
the
problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this
crazy world."
Someday, America, you'll understand that.
Joyce Marcel is a journalist and columnist in Vermont. A collection
of
her columns, "A Thousand Words or Less," is available through
joycemarcel.com. And you can write her at joycemarcel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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