When you think about nuclear weapons, what is the first thought that comes to your mind? Destructiveness? Maybe, death?
For me at least, power, danger, and control are probably the first three words I associate with nuclear weapons. They are incredible pieces of technology, the pinnacle of human scientific progress, and are capable of unleashing unfathomable amounts of power in a single moment. Yet, they are controlled by imperfect people and are thus subject to accidents or misuse. Obviously there are safeguards to control their use, but with 5,113 known US nuclear weapons and an estimated 8,500 USSR nukes in circulation, there are about 13,500 buttons out there with incredible power, and 13,500 people out there with the power to push them. Even with a hierarchy, nothing more than a hive-mind effect and some bad information is needed to change a rational organization into a fit of terror. But this has been well documented, the Cold War was brinkmanship at its finest.
Still, this is assuming there are buttons or some sort of launching mechanism controlling the use of such weapons. Many a science fiction work has used the idea of a stolen or bought nuclear warhead being used against a superpower, thus igniting a larger conflict. Once this was science fiction but with the USSR-US Cold war mutually assured destruction tensions ended (or at least diminished), is this not the greatest threat to states?
In any case, for those of you who are interested in nuclear weapons, their role in the modern world, and the ethics behind their use, this Youtube video gives a pretty good preliminary guide to the beasts, as well as detailing some lesser known mishaps and quotes involved in their history. It’s worth a watch no matter what your personal knowledge level or opinion is on nukes, and offers a more informative angle rather than preaching a specific viewpoint. While formulating your own opinions and developing qusetions on a subject is great, seeking other insights on the issue is always beneficial.
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