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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