Saturday, July 08, 2006
Behold a pale horse
There's an old saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We are living in a time when the leader of a country can single-handedly decide the fate of every man, woman and child in that country. This is true in many countries throughout the world. One man can set forces into play that can spread death and destruction to every corner of the Earth. We like to hope that there will always be enough good men and responsible leaders to hold the wolves at bay and keep us reasonably safe from harm. Ironically, one such man that comes to mind is the late Russian premier, Nikita Khruschev. When he and president John Kennedy were faced with the possibility of going to war over the Cuban missile crisis, Khruschev backed off and everybody breathed a sigh of relief.
Everybody that is, except Chairman Mao of China who chastised Khruschev for giving into the Americans. Mao told him that the Americans were paper tigers. Khruschev responded by saying, "The paper tiger has atomic teeth." I believe that the Russian premier was one of the first adversaries in the cold war to realize that nuclear war could never be an option simply because it would be a war in which there would be no winner. It wouldn't matter who fired the first shot, because a retaliatory response would never be necessary. The radiation resulting from all the bombs dropped in the initial assault would be sufficient to wipe out most of the population in both countries.
Today we are once again standing in the doorway to hell. There are fanatical men in positions of leadership that have learned nothing from the dangers of the past and are ready to drop us into the cauldron of world wide armagedden if their demands aren't met. Now Nikita Krhuschev may not have been a Rhodes Scholar and he often appeared to be brutish and crude, but in his way he proved to be a lot wiser than anyone gave him credit for. He knew when to blink. He folded his hand when he knew the cost of calling the bet would be disastrous. If there are such leaders among us today, will they please step forward?
George Morin
Auburn, GA
Everybody that is, except Chairman Mao of China who chastised Khruschev for giving into the Americans. Mao told him that the Americans were paper tigers. Khruschev responded by saying, "The paper tiger has atomic teeth." I believe that the Russian premier was one of the first adversaries in the cold war to realize that nuclear war could never be an option simply because it would be a war in which there would be no winner. It wouldn't matter who fired the first shot, because a retaliatory response would never be necessary. The radiation resulting from all the bombs dropped in the initial assault would be sufficient to wipe out most of the population in both countries.
Today we are once again standing in the doorway to hell. There are fanatical men in positions of leadership that have learned nothing from the dangers of the past and are ready to drop us into the cauldron of world wide armagedden if their demands aren't met. Now Nikita Krhuschev may not have been a Rhodes Scholar and he often appeared to be brutish and crude, but in his way he proved to be a lot wiser than anyone gave him credit for. He knew when to blink. He folded his hand when he knew the cost of calling the bet would be disastrous. If there are such leaders among us today, will they please step forward?
George Morin
Auburn, GA
