LOVING THE BOMB

 

One of the tragic realities for school-aged children today is their need to prepare for the unthinkable by staging active shooter drills at their schools. The very image of it sends chills up my spine, especially since we know that even drastic measures like this can only keep them so safe. But, if you are a child of the 1960’s like I am, then you may remember a similar illusion of safety that we grow up with, i.e. Duck and Cover. Yes, the brilliant illusion that one could save oneself from a nearby nuclear blast by crawling into a fetal position under a desk. Really.

Even as a boy I remember thinking of the folly of it all. I had seen the newsreels and TV reports of the horrors of nuclear weapons. I was familiar with the images of the destruction caused by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were terrifying. So, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how hiding under my desk could possibly save me from such a terrible weapon. And the political climate at the time, i.e. The Cold War made it all a very real possibility.

But then the reality of what global nuclear war ACTUALLY means set in. Men and women of vision finally realized that the destructive consequences of the use of ANY such weapon by ANY nation would mean nuclear winter and the potential end of humanity. It didn’t matter the ideology – there would be NO winners.  And, yes, that’s as frightening as should be!

So, the great nuclear powers of the world, including the United States, Russia, and China, have mutual agreed to turn down the rhetoric by limiting the creation and testing of new weapons. Various treaties were negotiated and signed to, if not end, at least limit the nuclear arms race. The U.S last tested such a weapon in 1992. China conducted the last such test in the world in 1996.

Just when we thought that sanity might have prevailed, we elected Donald J. Trump as President. It’s no secret that I find him not only flawed but willfully nefarious as well. But his recent declaration that he is instructing the Department of War (Nee: The Department of Defense), to begin testing of nuclear weapons may be his most frightening action of them all. It begs the question, “Why?” To what end, besides flexing his imaginary muscles and massaging his enormous ego, could this possibly lead? As the fact that China and Russia have responded that will react accordingly, the more terrifying answer is that it once again exposes the ENTIRE world to the prospect of its own destruction. Is this his plan?

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of catching Stanley Kubrick’s classic dark comedy/satire, Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb on TCM. Made in 1964, how could Kubrick possibly have known that the film would be so relevant and prescient today? Or perhaps he did. Intimately woven into the fabric of the movie are the characters whose behavior demonstrates the absolute insanity of trying to find out how they got into that mess in the first place! The resolution is that there IS no resolution, only destruction.

Once again, what this man and his administration is doing to the laws and the very NATURE of this Country is appalling. The idea of inciting another nuclear arms race, AFTER we know the potential consequences of such folly is – or should be – anathema to not only every American but every citizen of the world.

“Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.”

George C. Scott as General Buck Turgeson, Dr. Strangelove. 1964

 

SAY NO TO HUNGER

 

Words and Photo by F LoBuono

There were two noteworthy events that took place over this past weekend that I believe highlight the political chasm that currently exists in this Country. Both were triggered by the current Federal government shutdown (a story for another column). Because of the Congressional impasse, the funding for SNAP benefits, a.k.a. food stamps, was allowed to expire. This, of course, meant that tens of millions of Americans would shortly be in dire need of another way to feed themselves – or go hungry. Apparently, an emergency fund of millions of dollars that could have been made available to at least temporarily eased the crisis was for some unexplained reason not immediately released by the Trump Administration.

In response to the pending disaster, millions of my fellow Americans came through with profound kindness and generosity. Food drives were organized in virtual every corner of the Country filling food pantries with many tons of much needed groceries and cash donations. As is the case MOST of the time and with MOST Americans, our need to help others in a moment of crisis becomes the most powerful display of the American Way.

 Locally, the reaction to the loss of SNAP was immediate, coordinated, and enormously successful. In Nyack, where I reside, the Village council, under the leadership of Mayor Joe Rand and in coordination with several charitable agencies including Rockland County’s largest food bank, People to People, began a campaign cleverly called SnapShot. The goal was to organize food drop-off locations throughout the village, culminating on the same Saturday when the benefits were scheduled to expire. Over a hundred people participated in a two-hour shopping spree for food donations at the Nyack Fresh Market! Thousands of pounds of groceries were collected. And the effort continues throughout the village. I couldn’t be prouder of the place where I live or the people whom I live with.

 In contrast, the second telling event happened on the evening before. That Friday was also Halloween. The prospect of 42 million Americans about to thrown into food insecurity also loomed. Well, the President decided that would be a great time to throw a Great Gatsby themed Halloween party at his private residence, Mar-a-Lago. In addition to scanty glad dancing girls in over-sized cocktail glasses lining the walkways, guests were treated to a lavish meal and exotic desserts. Unconfirmed estimates of the cost for the bacchanalian feast are about $3.4 million. Whatever the cost may turn out to be, the fact remains that this stunt is more than tone-deaf, it’s downright cruel. Families and CHILDREN would soon go hungry! It will go down in the history books right next to Marie Antionette’s let them eat cake.

 His supporters will rationalize as they always do. However, once again the message is clear. It’s hard for ANY reasoning person to see anything but indifference at best and avarice at worst in staging such an affair. But this is no surprise to me. Mr. Trump has ALWAYS shown his disdain for those he feels lesser than himself. To this day, I’ll never know how anyone could look past him knocking a disabled reporter years ago. But now as the polling is being to show, more people are beginning to realize that cruelty IS the message because it lives within the man. What excuse could there possibly be that allows children to go hungry?

 On a positive note, there have been two recent developments that have at least temporarily eased the crisis. First, in an emergency session, the Rockland County Legislature appropriated $2 million to be used for food donations in the county. Secondly, a federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration MUST release the emergency SNAP funds and do so by Friday, November 14, 2025, once again proving people in this Country STILL have a conscience. At least most do. However, keep in mind, food insecurity is not going away. Resolving SNAP does not cure hunger. But we can.