When I asked @LKrauss1 to write this for @cosmo_globalist, he kindly agreed, but warned me no one would pay attention. Something about the prospect of nuclear annihilation, he said, prompts people to tune out. claireberlinski.substack.com/p/the-most-urg… I believe it's this:
A particular set of cognitive biases that keep us from thinking clearly about catastrophic and existential risks. claireberlinski.substack.com/p/the-apocalyp… Now that you know your aversion to reading that article is just an aspect of a common cognitive bias, why not read it?
And then--this is another aspect of the cognitive bias--instead of throwing up your hands and saying, "Well, nothing I can do! So I won't think about it!" why not write to your Congressman or your Senator--you can even find them on Twitter:
(Hi @MarkWarner! Hi @DonBeyerVA! Hope you're well) and say, "Look, we have a secure second strike force. Can you explain to me why you think @LKrauss1 is wrong? Why wouldn't modernizing the Triad this way make us *less* safe, not more safe?"
"Do you think we'd survive a nuclear war? Do you think these weapons exist for any purpose but deterrence? If so, what do you think's wrong with the sea- and air-based legs of the Triad? Why *exactly* do we need to renovate the Minuteman III?
"Can you explain to me why you think we'd be protected by missile defense given that we haven't been able to make it work well enough in any experiment that it couldn't be overcome by more missiles and decoys?
"Do you seriously think *Russia* has managed to pull that off? Who's telling you that they have? Russia? Are you just trusting them? Or do you have evidence of this? Or is this just some expensive and dangerous trinket the military wants because they haven't thought it through?
"Seriously, do you think the Minuteman III is *not scary enough? You ever seen one of those things?
"And why are you proposing to spend gobs of my tax money on new plutonium pits when no evidence whatsoever suggests there's a problem with the ones we've got?"
"And why are you proposing to spend gobs of my tax money on new plutonium pits when no evidence whatsoever suggests there's a problem with the ones we've got?"
"I don't want to die in a nuclear war, and I expect you don't either. As my elected representative, I expect you to vote against any proposal that makes my death in a nuclear war less likely. This idea is nuts. We don't need it."
"If you think otherwise, tell me why. I'm open to hearing the argument. Heck, I'll publish it even."
You can all send messages like that to your representatives. That's how democracy works. It works for big issues as well as small.
You can all send messages like that to your representatives. That's how democracy works. It works for big issues as well as small.
We, the People, are in charge. And if we don't do anything, all of this will happen and the risk we'll die in a nuclear war will rise. So don't just shrug and say, "What can I do? It doesn't bear thinking about." Do a small, prudent thing to reduce the risk.
"more likely," I mean. Please don't vote against any proposal that makes it less likely. I want you to do that.
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