A Heroic Question

[Genichiro]

Article here

"How do you know the president hasn't gone mad?" That's the question former Air Force Maj. Harold Hering asked, of being issued the order to launch nuclear weapons, a question that led to him being fired from the military. In retrospect, he's seen as a man of courage to pose the question, even held as a hero by some. He made a very good point when he asked that question. The ramifications of such an act go deep. The main deterrent to nuclear war is Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD, and some would have to be to want to bring forth such a thing without fully realizing just what was being called for. In the instance of the US, the line between nuclear war and peace is as thin as the one between sanity and insanity in the mind of the president, the person holding one of the most stressful jobs a person can hold. Then you think about it like that, all you can do is hope that bridge is never crossed.

[Cirno]

I don't want to be around the day someone decides to start launching nuclear weapons. It would be a terrible, terrible day

[Genichiro]

Well, odds are, if we are around, we won't be for too much longer. You really do have to wonder about giving that kind of authority to just one person.

[Cirno]

I wouldn't trust any one person with that myself.

[Genichiro]

That wouldn't be my first choice, either, but that's how it goes sometimes. Oh well, best not to think about it too hard, or you'll end up giving yourself a headache.

[Cirno]

That's fair; I don't like thinking too hard, anyway.