"FATE OF THE EARTH, THE"   Term Paper ID:18433 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: (Jonathan Schell). Critical review of work on nuclear war from governmental perspective.... More...

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Paper Abstract: (Jonathan Schell). Critical review of work on nuclear war from governmental perspective. Paper Introduction: This study will examine Jonathan Schell's The Fate of the Earth from a governmental perspective, including consideration of the theme of the book, the author's purpose, reactions to specific ideas, and the reasons for those reactions. From a governmental perspective, Schell's book is profoundly threatening because it strikes at the very heart of the government's policy to continue its plans for nuclear war and to increase the intensity of plans which can lead inadvertently or accidentally to nuclear war. The book charges that the policy of the government (specifically, that of the United States, but, in general, any government which practices the same nuclear stockpiling and planning) with respect to nuclear war is both insane and immoral. The theme of the book, then, is that the future of the human Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. , I was horrified, indeed, at the sight of a stark naked manstanding in the rain with his eyeball in his palm. This study will examine Jonathan Schell's The Fate of the Earth froma governmental perspective, including consideration of the theme of thebook, the author's purpose, reactions to specific ideas, and the reasonsfor those reactions. In fact, Schell argues, there is a major defect in the policy ofnuclear deterrence which shows the insanity or ignorance of governmentsusing such a policy: "If we try to guarantee our safety by threateningourselves with doom, then we have to mean the threat; but if we mean it,then we are actually planning to do, in some circumstance or other, thatwhich we categorically must never do and are supposedly trying to prevent--namely, extinguish ourselves" (2 1). From a governmental perspective, Schell's book is profoundlythreatening because it strikes at the very heart of the government's policyto continue its plans for nuclear war and to increase the intensity ofplans which can lead inadvertently or accidentally to nuclear war. We deny the truth that is all around us. Works CitedSchell, Jonathan. Arousal and action would give us access to hope, and life would start to mend; not just life in its entirety but daily life (23 ). Schell attempts to dispel this sense of overwhelming denial andimpotence on the part of the people of the United States and of the world. We drift apart. He looked to be ingreat pain, but there was nothing I could do for him" (39). We have thus far failed to fashion, or to discover withinourselves, an emotional or intellectual or political response to them.This peculiar failure of response . We are silent. It is not Schell's intention merely to frighten us with the detailedand specific consequences of a nuclear war. We look away. What makes Schell's book so effective as a landmark examination ofthe reality and potentiality of nuclear holocaust is his use of a reasonedargument, step-by-step, as he endeavors to educate and inspire his reader.He eschews hysterical claims and instead takes the reader through thedetails of the reality of a nuclear holocaust with such prudent regard forthe truth that the reader is more able to consider the "unthinkable." Ifhe had attempted to merely terrorize the reader, he would have likelydriven that reader more deeply into his denial of the possibility orlikelihood of nuclear holocaust. One such recollection:"While taking my severely wounded wife out to the riverbank by the side ofthe hill . The Fate of the Earth. But if once we shook off our lethargy and fatigue and began to act, the climate would change . The author argues that the potential horror of nuclear war is sooverwhelming that the people of the world have in effect chosen to turntheir backs on that possibility, and this fear on the part of the peopleincreases the likelihood of the occurrence of nuclear war.Schell writes, for example, that "in spite of the immeasurable importanceof nuclear weapons, the world has declined, on the whole, to think aboutthem very much. The author's purpose is to educate the people of the United Statesand of the world as to the threat of these policies and to inspire thosepeople (and any leaders who Might be vulnerable to his convincingarguments) to take action which will be effective in altering and reversingthose policies. The nuclear-armed government, on the other hand, can take actionwhich will annihilate, ultimately, the entire human race and the planetitself, unless its policies and practices are reversed by the people of theworld, in conjunction with enlightened leaders who defy those policies andpractices. New York: Avon, 1982.----------------------- 7 Theman with the eyeball in his hand is obviously in a state of shock, much aswe ourselves seem to be in as a result of being confronted with thepossibility of nuclear war and feeling as if we are unable to do anythingabout it. Indifferent to the future of our kind, we grow indifferent to one another. Schell argues that the governments of nations capable of initiatingnuclear war (and those who fear such a war but are themselves not inpossession of nuclear weaponry) have regularly issued statements about thehorrors of such a war and the desirability of avoiding such a war at allcosts. His intention, therefore, is to re-connect us to life and to our ownpower to do something as individuals and as a group to change the policiesand practices of governments: At present, most of us do nothing. This recollection is indeed horrifying, but it is also important interms of understanding our own consciousness today with respect to ourdenial of the threat of nuclear war (at least insofar as we, as a race anda society, are failing to do anything to reverse governmental policy). No aspect of life on earth, argues Schell, is immune to the threat ofnuclear war, from human beings to fish and other life in the oceans. We remain calm. He argues, to the contrary,that we are already paralyzed by fear to such an extent that we haveeffectively disconnected from life in terms of nuclear reality. Schell, in this context, is performing delicate surgery on theconsciousness of the reader and of society, an operation which might belikened to the work of a person trying to gently awaken the alcoholic indenial that he is indeed an alcoholic. Schell believes that it is important to be specific about these"horrible consequences" in order to awaken the emotional, intellectual,political, and moral responses in individuals and in society which willeffectively alter such policies and practices on the part of governments.Schell effectively argues that the governments of nuclear-armed countrieswill not, by themselves, alter or reverse their policy, any more, as mightbe added, than the alcoholic in denial will stop drinking if left to hisown devices--unless something so horrible happens to him as a result of hisdrinking that he is forced to awaken to his problem and do something aboutit. . . Schell's book is a threat to the nuclear policy of governmentsbecause it destroys the myth that nuclear deterrence will continue to"protect" us from nuclear war as it has apparently done for over fortyyears. . This description includes detailed examinations of such factors ofnuclear war as the thermal pulse, the blast wave, and the three stages ofradiation sickness. The theme of the book, then, is that the future of the human race andof the planet itself is threatened by such policies, and that the longersuch policies are in effect the more likely it will be that such a nuclearcatastrophe will indeed occur in the future. It is the aim of the author to awaken in the individual and insociety this "emotional or intellectual or political response" to thethreat of nuclear war. For example, Schell attempts to educate tho reader as to the effectsof nuclear war on the individual human being. . . The man who has witnessed this horror admits that there wasnothing he could do for the man, just as we on some level of our thinkinghave accepted the "fact" that there is nothing we can do to prevent nuclearwar or to affect the policies of our governments. . . Thebook charges that the policy of the government (specifically, that of theUnited States, but, in general, any government which practices the samenuclear stockpiling and planning) with respect to nuclear war is bothinsane and immoral. Again, using the analogy of the alcoholic, this situation can belikened to the alcoholic who warns that horrible consequences will resultif he continues to drink and drive, and yet he continues to drink anddrive. Schell advances this purpose by first describing "the consequencesfor the world, insofar as these can be known, of a full-scale nuclearholocaust at the current level of global armament" (4). We take refuge in the hope that the holocaust won't happen, and turn back to our individual concerns. Thiseffort in part is based on the recollections of survivors of the atomicbombing of Japan by the United States in 1945. The analogy of the alcoholic and the government who pursues nuclear-based war, however, is inadequate after a certain point, for the alcoholicwho continues to drink and drive, for example, will only kill himselfand/or a few others if those "horrible consequences" occur. However, the governments capable of starting a nuclear war have,despite these statements, continued to pursue policies and practices whichmake increasingly likely the outbreak of such a world-wide catastrophe. has itself been such a strikingphenomenon that it has to be regarded as an extremely important part of thenuclear predicament" (3-4). He wants to removeconsideration of nuclear war from the realm of dry and abstract statisticsand bring it down to earth, to the level of fragile human reality. . We grow cold . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.