Wednesday October 24, 2007
A modest proposal
North Korea claims it already has nuclear weapons. Iran may have them. Israel probably does, but won\’t admit it. India and Pakistan certainly do.
The original five members of the nuclear club – The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China – have defended its exclusivity as vigorously as any all-male club in London resisting the admission of women. Currently, 189 states have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferating Treaty to limit any further spread of nuclear weapons.
But why?
Restricting nuclear technology to an elite group of nations makes as much sense as gun registration. It presumes that unarmed individuals will be safer if no one but criminals possess guns.
With apologies to Jonathan Swift, I offer a modest proposal.
To bear armaments
Surely the solution – and I admit that I\’m indebted to the National Rifle Association for this insight – is to arm everyone. No idiot would pull a gun while robbing a convenience store if he knows that he will immediately perish in a hail of bullets. When every passenger in an airplane carries a loaded sidearm, hijackers lose their advantage.
The same holds true for nuclear weapons. Restricting nuclear weapons to a small minority of nations automatically gives them bullying power over unarmed nations. Instead of restricting nuclear weapons, we should expand their availability.
The benefits of such a policy go far beyond mere national security considerations. This is also a matter of principle. It is, I submit, a basic human right to own and if necessary to use a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear weapons will be the great social equalizer. Size will no longer matter. One nation can no longer dominate another simply because it has a larger population, greater resources, or a more prosperous economy.
When the alternative is annihilation, antagonists will be forced to negotiate their differences peacefully.
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An open market for nuclear weapons will enable arms manufacturers to offer more products. Competition will increase efficiency and force prices down, making nuclear weapons more affordable for poor nations.
As arms producers increase their profits, stock markets will soar. Pension plans will benefit. Seniors will enjoy a quality of living in retirement that they could not have imagined in more restrictive times.
There will be other social benefits, too. Societies will no longer function in a climate of fear. They can operate with the confidence that they can instantly retaliate against any aggressive acts.
Exclusivity will be replaced by inclusivity. Instead of a nuclear “us” versus a non-nuclear “them,” everyone can be equally lethal to everyone else.
Of course, those who choose to remain non-nuclear, whether by innate orientation or acquired ideology, will have to recognize that their lifestyle choice involves a certain sacrifice – just as gays, lesbians, dark-skinned peoples and Muslim women do currently.
Obviously, some implications of my modest proposal still need exploration. But I submit that even in its formative stages, it offers great potential for hastening the second coming of Christ, to reign unchallenged by any human presence.
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Copyright © 2007 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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