The Shadow of Nuclear Weapons
October 1, 2025
“I must study politics and war, that our sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philospohy.”
— John Adams, Founding Father and second President of the United States of America
Human history is filled with war. It is filled with disgusting, violent and painful war. Time and time again we slaughter each other for one cause or another. It has been the way of things since our very first civilization with the Sumerians warring against the Elamites around 2700 BCE. We humans are emotional and reckless and sometimes will do evil things to get what we want.
At the end of World War II the United States had conducted the Manhattan Project to create one of the most devastating weapons humanity is still held hostage to more than 80 years later. On August 6, 1945 the Americans dropped this devastating power on Hiroshima, Japan, and three days later again on Nagasaki. Though it brought the end to a long and bloody war, it did so by killing roughly 100,000 to 200,000 people. The devastation was incomprehensible. Now today I am here to highlight the past and talk about why I think there are reasons for which we should never have to use these weapons again. Though I will never claim to make a full judgment on those who created and sent those bombs. War as I stated before is horrible and the decisions are horrible. I myself probably don’t have the guts to go out and do what that generation had to do.
Four years later after the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon in August of 1949. The rest of the 20th century—well we could go on and on about the Cold War. A war of fear. A war in which we are held hostage to our own devices.
While doing some research on nuclear weapons I came upon something that truly terrifies me, something I wanted to highlight: Russia's "Dead Hand." The Dead Hand, also known as the Perimeter system, was a Cold War–era automatic system that would launch ICBMs at an aggressor in the event that all Russian leadership was wiped out. Some would say this is an example of MAD—mutual assured destruction. Maybe. Though I really don’t know if I want to stake humanity's survival on “well, as long as you won't do it I won't.” Seems like a pretty horrible way to go out. I mean imagine first that Russia would be wiped completely and even then there would be no hope. The moment a singular bomb goes off all hope is lost.
My question is why we hold ourselves captive. We do not have an exact number but according to the Federation of American Scientists (2024) in 1986 the world had around 70,000 nuclear bombs — enough to destroy the world multiple times over. Since then humanity has lessened its arsenal to around 12,000, which is a step toward nuclear peace but not enough to ensure our survival.
North Korea in 2006 — just under 20 years ago — tested its first nuclear bomb, adding to the list of countries with this devastating power. I think the answer is simple: destroy them all. What possible good can these weapons bring? Let alone their power of leveling a city. With one you could kill millions and leave long-term effects on the people and the land — and I'm just talking about one. Imagine thousands. It would engulf our world in fire and would leave the survivors, if any, with a desolate lifeless world. I refuse to accept this. I refuse to have these governments hold this power. I understand holding true to your own country and protecting it. I understand that if they have it it means I must have it. Though if just through a little bit of dialogue — a little bit of "hey, I understand you and I don't want to destroy you" — maybe that can take us a long way. The solution is not complicated. What is complicated is keeping the human race alive.
What happens when the bombs go off?
It is such a terrifying thought. I will not pretend to know all the ins and outs of how atomic weapons work but, from research, I can describe the effects and some actions that would be taken. If, in an event, let's say North Korea were to launch ICBMs at the Pentagon: the Americans would know immediately from all their in-orbit satellites watching and scanning the sky. From there the game of time begins. A response would be given by the president in about six minutes while being rushed out to safety from the White House and onto the doomsday plane where he can give orders away from the destruction. To take a quick step back — what a decision for anybody. Let alone the nature of your politics. I cannot imagine what that does to a person emotionally. You have to be one selfish person to make that decision; that much is clear. The bombs launch. All hit their targets. From there the situation can vary. In escalation the world is thrown into hell. These bombs would have dangerous repercussions not just for the aggressors but for the whole world. In the wake of these repercussions people like us die. It could quite possibly cause the deaths of billions of people and poison the planet beyond recognition. It does not matter that this is exaggerated or unlikely, the problem is that we have the power to do that to ourselves and each other. That is why I think these things have no place among our weaponry.
Imagine what we would lose: the rivers, the land, and this big beautiful blue rock would be blown away and no one would even know what was there. No one would even know what we were able to accomplish. We have come so far. We have created miracles with medicine. We have reached the stars and learned more than we could have ever imagined. We have found new ways to love each other and help each other. We have created beautiful works from all over the world: places like the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the Blue Mosque in Turkey, the Empire State Building in New York, the pyramids in Cairo — and I could go on and on. These things display our will to survive, to learn, and to move forward to do something amazing. Something unique. A future where we build in the universe for ourselves and our wellbeing. So I say: tell me, what do these weapons add to any of this besides the risk of losing it all? The risk of burning it all to the ground over disagreements on policy and ideology so that the human footprint on this great and expansive universe is gone — never to be seen again. What a shame that would be. What a waste it would be. There will always be another way. Another way to solve our problems is through peace and discourse. By listening and using our very powerful speech we can do almost anything.
Please keep talking to each other. It's the best we can do. To the leaders of this world — including the so-called enemies of my home country, the United States — I beg your caution and I beg for humanity because at the end of the day that is what we all are. Humans.
I also would love to hear your thoughts. Please educate me on things that I might have gotten wrong. I want to be better and live my life in truth.