Americans who grew up with nightmares of nuclear explosions should get ready for some terrifying flashbacks, for the Trump administration and its Republican enablers in Congress seem to be preparing to revive U.S. nuclear weapons tests, which were halted in 1992. This action, designed to intimidate U.S. rivals, would ignore treaty commitments and world opinion, encourage other nations to resume or begin nuclear testing, and pollute the environment with deadly radioactivity.
Published Articles by Lawrence Wittner
Currently, the world is facing onrushing catastrophes, including the coronavirus pandemic, an environmental collapse, and an increasing danger of nuclear war. And even if these disastrous developments fail to snuff out the human race, plenty of mass misery can be expected from rising economic and social inequality around the globe. But, over the course of history, human beings have been able to alter their behavior and institutions. So it's possible that they will rouse themselves and do so again.
Although a disease pandemic continues to plague the United States, a large portion of the economy has collapsed, unemployment has reached the catastrophic levels of the Great Depression, and the nation is torn by upheaval over racism, President Trump's top priority remains "winning" an arms race with other countries. This is reflected not only in his proposed federal budget, which earmarks most discretionary spending for the military, but in his strong support for weapons programs costing trillions of dollars and his scrapping of nuclear arms control treaties.
Nearly seven decades ago, New York City established a Civilian Complaint Review Board -- a pioneering effort to curb policy brutality, especially against racial minority groups. But it has not been as effective as it could have been, for the police and their friends in high places sabotaged its work.
Although most Americans currently face rising death and economic collapse, the nation's super-rich remain a notable exception. With their immense fortunes growing dramatically and their health safeguarded by privileges that great wealth provides, they are able to continue the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, including sojourns in their many mansions, travels on their lavish superyachts, and journeys to safe hideaways on their superjets.
Although farmworkers produce the food that we need for survival, they have been terribly mistreated over the course of American history. And that remains true during the current coronavirus pandemic.
If human beings behaved rationally, they would recognize the coronavirus as their common enemy and act accordingly. After all, why not work cooperatively to save humanity from massive global death and economic collapse rather than continue to devote $1.8 trillion a year to waging wars and engaging in vast military buildups with the goal of slaughtering one another?
We live with a profound paradox. Our lives are powerfully affected by worldwide economic, communications, transportation, food supply, and entertainment systems. Yet we continue an outdated faith in the nation-state, with all the divisiveness, competition, and helplessness that faith produces when dealing with planetary problems.
The 2020 World Happiness Report, based on an extensive global survey, finds that the world's major military powers, which are also among the world's richest nations, are failing badly when it comes to promoting public happiness. Indeed, ranked by their own citizens, they appear far down on the list of the happiest countries. What accounts for their dismal standing, as well as for the happiness of the ten highest ranked nations?
It's often said that government budget are "an expression of values." That's certainly the case with Trump's budget proposal for fiscal year 2021, which slashes funding for public health, public education, environmental protection, feeding the hungry, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization, while increasing funding for immigration restriction, fossil fuel production, war preparations, and new nuclear weapons.