Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site reed.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!tektronix!reed!lydgate From: lydgate@reed.UUCP (Chris Lydgate) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics Subject: Re: We need the arms race Message-ID: <797@reed.UUCP> Date: Thu, 10-Jan-85 21:05:09 EST Article-I.D.: reed.797 Posted: Thu Jan 10 21:05:09 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 13-Jan-85 08:13:07 EST References: <734@loral.UUCP> Reply-To: lydgate@reed.UUCP (Chris Lydgate) Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon Lines: 38 Xref: watmath net.flame:7634 net.politics:6794 In article <734@loral.UUCP> rfs@loral.UUCP () writes: >Who cares about the arms race? I was born in 1947 and we had the bomb. >Since 1953 both the Soviets and the US have had the bomb. Gee, that reminds me of the guy who took shelter from a storm by standing under a tree. He wasn't worried about getting wet, you see, because he figured that since the tree had kept him dry so far... > No one has ever pushed the button. As a matter of fact, we have used the Bomb. Twice. >The arms race is good for peace. We make something then the Soviets >make it too. We have more money than they do. If we keep this up >they will go BANKRUPT and we win. Think about this. What do you think you'd do, if you were in Chernenko's place, and the country was running out of money. Would you say "Ok, Yankee, I give up."? Or would you be tempted to use your forces before you became hopelessly out- numbered? No one 'wins' the arms race, because our real enemy is FEAR. Spending roughly 300 billion dollars a year (I don't know the exact number- could someone post it?) on the pentagon hurts our economy, too. What are we fighting for? To prove 'who's best' ? To 'preserve freedom' ? Nuclear war won't help us with either of those objectives. Nuclear weapons are useless. Building more of them weakens our economy, and makes our opponents frightened, and therefore dangerous. Let's keep talking. Chris