But now I am worried that I might need to take cover. Our President told the media while standing with a group of military families that this is "the calm before the storm." How does one plan for that?
While I would argue that our President is an evil idiot instead of an evil genius (see: Hitler, Pol Pot, any other leader who has orchestrated genocide), Trump still has tremendous power to cause widespread destruction without having to think. All he has to do is press a red button and he can wipe out millions of people by releasing nuclear weapons. The act of pushing a red button needs no special skills or brain power, just the will to say yes.
My new copy of The Atlantic came in the mail yesterday with an article on Google's Moonshot program where "regular investigation into the absurd is not just permitted, but encouraged." I propose a question for the group:
What should we do to prepare for the a nuclear holocaust?
First, we need to ask:
Would we die or survive?
If we plan as if we are going to die in a thermonuclear blast, then preparation would be different than living in a nuclear winter. Let's call death Scenario 1 and survival Scenario 2.
Scenario 1: My preparation would be "Screw everything. I am going to die anyway. Might as well have good time." This would be something just shy of hedonism. I often wonder if I were to be diagnosed with terminal cancer if I would get chemo or take a world cruise. I think I'd take a world cruise. Maybe. I don't know. I have enough money saved that I could live to be 112, but what would be the point if I didn't see the world because I died at 48?
Preparing for Scenario 1 would be fun, but highly problematic if a nuclear holocaust did not occur. I'd look ridiculous having oysters and Veuve Clicquot for breakfast when everyone else is having coffee and a bagel. "Why is she drunk at 8:30 in the morning?" people might say. I might lose my job and if the nuclear holocaust didn't happen, I'd be unemployed and hard pressed to explain why. HR people would write "Unstable" across the top of my file. (I would say type or enter that comment into a database instead of write, but there would need to be a field for that comment.)
Most importantly, I don't want to be one of those people who then hopes to die in a nuclear war because I've spent all of my money, have a nasty hangover and don't want to face the rest of my life.
Scenario 2 is far less inspiring.
- What will run out sooner if there were nuclear destruction: electricity or gasoline? If I bet gasoline will run out, then I should buy a Tesla.
- What would be the risks of drinking contaminated water versus dying of thirst? There is no food left because trucks that deliver food to the Pacific Northwest can't drive here because of lack of fuel. Should I eat my dog?
- I have enough money. Should I buy a gun and bully my way on to a plane to another state that hasn't been obliterated? Should I pack up my panniers and try to bike to Idaho where the air and water isn't as polluted?
- Would I leave my kids behind and fend for myself? More likely, would they leave me behind?
- Would people in Idaho or Ohio have a ban on nuclear holocaust refugees?
- Would I have to live my last days, weeks, months, or years in a fallout zone, surrounded by death and decay? What if I were one of a dozen people left in Seattle, ala Station Eleven? What would I do then?
Perhaps it is time to invoke Occam's Razor: the simplest solution is often the best. Instead me and possibly the Google X people trying to figure out how to plan and prepare for a nuclear holocaust, perhaps we shouldn't give the power of negotiating world peace to an unhinged bully.
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