{"id":124617,"date":"2018-12-31T12:02:29","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T12:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=124617"},"modified":"2018-12-29T15:57:30","modified_gmt":"2018-12-29T15:57:30","slug":"nuclear-war-and-me-annihilation-inscribed-across-time-and-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/12\/nuclear-war-and-me-annihilation-inscribed-across-time-and-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear War and Me: Annihilation Inscribed Across Time and Place"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is the way the world ends,<\/em>
\n\u00a0not with a bang, but a whimper.\u201d<\/em>
\n— The Hollow Men<\/em> (November 23, 1925) T.S. Elliot (1888-1965)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhimper!\u201d<\/h2>\n

Time awaits Poet T.S. Elliot\u2019s prophetic words! And who would be left to affirm Elliot\u2019s insights amidst a nuclear \u201cwasteland?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why T.S. Elliot\u2019s claim of a \u201cwhimper?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhimper!\u201d \u201cWhimper\u201d murmurs! Whimper is subdued, timorous, surrender, like a final gasp! \u201cWhimper\u201d a sound preceding silence!\u00a0 I imagined myself \u201cwhimpering\u201d in a final surge of\u00a0 life. Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

August 10, 2018: 4:00 AM<\/h2>\n

I awake in the silence of night.\u00a0 It is 4:00 AM, Friday, August 10, 2018. My mind is alert, a reflex from graduate school days. My mind turns to inscribed visions of the past few days: atomic bombs dropped on Japan!\u00a0 Anniversaries of still evoking fear, grief, guilt. Warm blankets, soft pillows, body-contoured mattress, offer no comfortable or relief. I am 78! Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On August 6-9, 1945, two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were erased from the Earth.\u00a0 It was sudden and total! \u00a0A new age of impersonal mass destruction etched into minds across the world.\u00a0 An iconic mushroom cloud rose from a devastated land. Inquisitive faces gazed upward at a single plane, oblivious to their fate, another day in a war-torn ravaged nation, their final moment. \u00a0Not another day for the world, however, aware now an apocalyptic fate could befall anyone, anywhere, anytime.\u00a0 Annihilation<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

My fears were multiplied when I learned the frightening reality of military and moral event: \u00a0Two men, controlled life and lives, across the world. Two men, studies in contrast, drawn together by unfolding events neither could have imagined in their youth.\u00a0 Once they played in the mud and rain, laughing and frolicking with abandon, never imagining their lives would one day seal humanity\u2019s fate. Two men, human in all ways, would command destiny! Annihilation!<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Two men: J. Robert Oppenheimer<\/em>, a theoretical physicist, born in New York City; Harry S. Truman<\/em>, a haberdasher, born in small-town Missouri, thrust unexpectedly into the Presidency. Years later, their encounter arbitrating survival.\u00a0 Annihilation<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los Alamos Testing Grounds: July 16, 1945<\/h2>\n

Now I am become Death, <\/em>
\nthe destroyer of worlds.<\/em><\/p>\n

— Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture) Recited by J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) Father of Atomic Bomb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is said, J. Robert Oppenheimer uttered these words from the Hindu mythological scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita,<\/em> <\/strong>as he witnessed the first test of the atomic bomb in proving grounds in Los Alamos, New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Bhagavad Gita, <\/em><\/strong>an allegory for eternal human conflict: Duty<\/em><\/strong> and Conscience<\/em><\/strong> (Dharma<\/em><\/strong>)!\u00a0 Duty<\/em> <\/strong>calls! Duty, obligation, responsibility are glues of societal survival! Conscience,<\/em><\/strong> do what is right, do not compromise!\u00a0 Compromise risks moral decline, chaos, societal collapse.<\/p>\n

Past as Prologue<\/h2>\n

The clash of duty <\/em><\/strong>and conscience<\/em> <\/strong>reaches an apocalyptic climax in the Gita,<\/em><\/strong> when Vishnu, <\/em><\/strong>mythical Hindu protector and preserver of life, responds with fury to the crisis of choice between Duty<\/strong> and Conscience, <\/strong>an ancient choice still defining the human condition.<\/p>\n

Vishnu\u2019s <\/em><\/strong>presence is revealed in a swirling cloud, furiously threatening world survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one\u201d. . . \u201cA thousand simultaneous suns arising in the sky, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 might equal that great radiance, with that great glory vie. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Bhagavad Gita) <\/em>(Oppenheimer, 1945, quoted in Temperton, 2017)<\/p>\n

On July 16, 1945, in Los Alamos, a mushroom cloud rises into the sky, expanding, unfolding, unfurling, grasping the sky, (\u201cA thousand simultaneous suns . . .\u201d), analogous to the image in the mythic Bhagavad Gita. Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How can this be?\u00a0 Coincidence? Ancient wisdom? \u00a0What mind created this mythology? What heart weighed \u201cDuty<\/em>\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cConscience<\/em>\u201d<\/strong> in Oppenheimer and Truman? A synchronistic confluence of different \u201ctimes,\u201d no longer different!\u00a0 Tremble! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Childhood Mind: \u00a0Fear, Trembling, Annihilation<\/h2>\n

For those of us born in the 1940s, annihilation<\/em><\/strong> was, and remains, a punishing reality.\u00a0 Our childhood minds were concerned with Easter bunnies, holiday feasts, Santa Claus. Then, in a bewildering moment our invincibility was lost.<\/p>\n

I recall family members mumbled, \u201cOh my God!\u201d<\/em> in shock and awe, as we listened to cabinet radios, and read morning newspaper headlines! I looked at my silent family members.\u00a0 In that moment, fear and trembling were inscribed in me, shields of childhood ignorance, we lost! A new existence architecture was born. \u00a0Annihilation!<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Across time, from August 6-9, 1945, leading to my 4:00 AM awakening on August 10, 2018, no longer shielded, I have tried to understand humanity\u2019s maddening pursuit of war, a hopeless addiction assuring death! \u00a0Annihilation!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

My thoughts today are now consumed by \u201cwar\u201d and \u201cpeace.\u201d I write daily of these concerns.\u00a0 I know and recognize war! I yearn for peace, a release from an omnipresent fear and trembling. Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Militarism, an ideology, culture, institution, overwhelms humanity with hubris, deceiving us with patriotic claims! \u201cWar<\/em> . . .,\u201d generals claim, their chests adorned with ribbons and medals, \u201c. . . is glorious<\/em>!\u201d Harbingers of death, I say! Mythical figures, now saluting, waving flags, promising security! Presidents, generals, admirals, marching in parades, arguing for more money for building new destructive weapons! Within their absolute hierarchy, protest, dissent, opposition, are considered treason!<\/p>\n

Do these military and Congressional minds, consumed with power and position, not grasp the costs and consequences of wars? Build another base! Take more land from indigenous people! War and profit are priorities. And when they retire, they go to work for corporate war industries at huge salaries, their training paid by public funds. And for government supporters, contributions to presidential or senatorial libraries, buildings, bridges, highways, schools, airports, ensuring an enduring legacy of war.<\/p>\n

No one wins in war! Get it! War begets war, hate beget hate. There is no victory! There is only illusion! Does the poem Ozymandias<\/em><\/strong>, have no meaning for you, shifting sands, a broken statue?<\/p>\n

And on the pedestal these words appear:<\/em>
\n‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
\nLook on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
\nNothing beside remains. Round the decay
\nOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
\nThe lone and level sands stretch far away.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Folly, Insanity, Madness . . .<\/h2>\n

Is this possible? Is this what national leaders have succumbed to in their efforts to protect us from annihilation<\/em><\/strong>? To protect us from annihilation,<\/em><\/strong> create more weapons for annihilation!<\/em><\/strong> Let us be sure annihilation<\/em><\/strong> is total and complete!<\/p>\n

China, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, Russia, UK, and numerous other nations and groups nuclear weaponry and other weapons of mass destruction! This the legacy of the Duty<\/strong> and Conscience. <\/strong>\u00a0Nuclear bombs (i.e., hydrogen bombs, neutron bombs, dirty nuclear bombs) are distributed today across nine nations, with the USA and Russia possessing the largest number.<\/p>\n

Tragically, and I can think of no other word, President Barack Obama,\u00a0 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, called for a budget increase of one trillion dollars to modernize the USA\u2019s nuclear arsenal. President Donald Trump augmented this budget to 1.2 trillion, with the possibility of a final amount reaching two trillion dollars (Kuznick, 2018). The race is on, until someone somewhere, concludes \u201cenough!\u201d and a slight smile appears on Ozymandias <\/strong>face!<\/p>\n

There is a pervasive \u201cmadness,\u201d a preoccupation with violence, war, death! Inappropriate emotions are omnipresent: arrogance, superiority, pride, hate, rage, anger, loathing, impulsivity, paranoia. \u201cYou are either with us or against us!\u201d \u00a0<\/em>Elected leaders, appointed staff, career professionals, corporate gift givers, hidden powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeep State,\u201d \u201cSecret State, and the \u201cMilitary-Industrial Complex\u201d privilege our neo-liberal and neo-conservative economies (e.g., Military, Corporate, Government), bringing mass inequality in wealth, health, opportunity, and wellbeing. Annihilation! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Childhood Days . . .<\/h2>\n

WWII Soldiers Return Home: I listen to War Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

War\u2019s horrors were inscribed in me as we welcomed back relatives and family friends who served in in WWII.\u00a0 Women shrieked, kissed, hugged returning veterans, those who survived combat!<\/p>\n

I stared at uncles and family friends, with childhood awe and reverence. How courageous!\u00a0 I listened as they sat around tables quietly speaking to each other. No children or wives were permitted to hear their words; I hid behind a basement furnace or crouched underneath a table, listening, thinking.<\/p>\n

Family and family friend veterans would sit together alone after dinner dishes were cleared.\u00a0 Ash trays and a bottle of Four Roses<\/em> whiskey, shot glasses, and soiled napkins still gripped in hands. Salute!<\/em> Shot glasses would be raised. Names and places, memorialized: Patton, Nimitz, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Bradley, Clark; Places: France, Bulge, Aleutians.\u00a0 Heads nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n

Cigarette smoke hung in the air: Camels, Lucky Strikes, Chesterfields<\/em>. No filters! Veterans sat with bent elbows on table, looking down, occasionally wiping watery eyes with a crinkled napkin. Crying was unacceptable. Soldiers don\u2019t cry!<\/p>\n

Uncle Jimmy B . . . <\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember a close family friend we called, Uncle Jimmy, who came to visit after the war! Even as a child, I recalled his appearance as he went off to the wars in the 1940s. Uncle Jimmy was typically Sicilian in appearance and temperament: dark complexion, black wavy hair, a big smile on his face, constant jokes with me and cousins, a show of bravado, a display of courage to comfort those who would await his return.<\/p>\n

When Uncle Jimmy returned to our Sicilian home after the war, however, his hair was white, his skin pale, his eyes had bags, and his demeanor was serious and detached. There was no bravado, no Sicilian joviality, no presence; a few hugs, soft voices, silence. Family faces were grim! They understood something I could not imagine.<\/p>\n

Jimmy sat quietly at the dinner table as my mother and aunts brought him and others pasta and salad: \u201cEat, Jimmy, eat!\u00a0 Do you want some more?\u00a0 Nina!\u00a0 Get Jimmy some bread.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 My aunts kissed his head and shoulders.<\/p>\n

Uncle Jimmy was an infantry soldier! He ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the major battles of WWII.\u00a0 In December, 1944, Germany made a final effort to stop allied advances. The German military massed tanks and artillery in an area in the Ardennes region of Belgium and France, surrounding the American troops between December 16, 1944, and January25, 1945, pounding them daily artillery and fresh assault troops.<\/p>\n

American soldiers fought back gallantly, but were over-matched in supplies and weapons; the American Airforce was grounded because of dense cloud cover. I remember my Uncle Jimmy saying the frontline troops hunkered in frozen foxholes, shitting and pissing, awaiting a deadly shell or German attack. It is estimated 19,276 American troops were killed; the second highest number in any battle.<\/p>\n

As I tried to understand my Uncle Jimmy\u2019s face and behavior, my mother, Nina, took me aside and said: \u201cUncle Jimmy was in battle. Don\u2019t talk with him now. He doesn\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I shuttered.\u00a0 And then the child\u2019s obvious question: \u201cBut why is his hair all white now, and why does he look so sad?\u201d He survived! He should be happy!\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>My mother never answered.<\/p>\n

Uncle Jimmy died shortly thereafter! It was called \u201cshell-shock.\u201d No care was provided for many of the WWII vets who served. This remains a problem today for returning veterans from the Middle-East wars; there are 22 suicides each day. War! War!<\/p>\n

Crouching Under School Desks as Warning Sirens Blared<\/h2>\n

By the latter days of the WWII, fear of nuclear bomb attacks gripped our nation. For children in elementary school, the shrill blaring sound of a siren meant you were immediately to stop what you were doing and crouch beneath your heavy wooden desk. As l learned more of the atomic bomb\u2019s total destruction in Japan, I wondered how a desk would protect us?\u00a0 There was barely enough desk-top for coverage.<\/p>\n

Was this the best our school, our city, our nation could offer for protection? Did they care? I accepted neither I, nor any of my school mates, would survive. I was bewildered! Should we stand bravely and sing God Bless America?<\/em>\u00a0 Was this assertion of courage better than hiding beneath a desk, cowering, awaiting death? Should I assume leadership for the class: \u201cGet up from your knees, if we are to die, then let it be as brave children, not hunkered victims? We don\u2019t kneel to foes! John Wayne never did!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

I awaited death for reasons I could not understand? We were told there was the possibility of war. War! What do I have to do with war? I am just a kid living in a basement in trying to survive, caring for family and friends, hurting no one! I was confused, torn between passively awaiting death, and struggling for survival. Movies were socializing my mind! War movies, cowboy and Indian movies, cartoons imitating good and bad in life.<\/p>\n

I reflectively complied with the teacher\u2019s orders: \u201cGet under your desk! Stay there until I tell you to leave.\u201d<\/em> Where did the teacher go? Did she hide under her big desk?\u00a0 That was protection!\u201d\u00a0 Her desk was an old-fashioned wooden four pedestal teacher desk. I remember she turned it away from the windows. Did she take off her high heel shoes?\u00a0 No email or tweets at the time. Just loneliness!<\/p>\n

Was this a drill or the real thing? In the moment, we never knew. We relied on the teacher to tell us! What would she say? Some kids were frightened, I could see it on their faces.<\/p>\n

I tried not to show any fear. My uncles, veterans of WWII, told me always be brave! Do not cry! It was what a soldier would do. This was my foxhole. We stared at each other, smiles, fear, resignation on faces. Some classmates whispered: \u201cAre we going to die?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

So be it! I would die with my buddies, and with some pretty girls dressed with ribbons and bows in their hair, crouching modestly protecting any stares at their panties from peaking boys who took advantage of the situation.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Patti has pink panties! I saw them when she crossed her legs.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Patti stuck her tongue out at Howard; Howard laughed!<\/p>\n

At least if you are going to die, make sure a girl\u2019s panties are inscribed in your mind for eternity.\u00a0 Then, relief!\u00a0 The all-clear siren blared. We had survived the unimaginable. At least for the time. No annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1950\u2019s \u2013 1960\u2019s New Wars, Threats, Villains, Words:<\/h2>\n

Childhood fears of war and nuclear annihilation<\/em><\/strong> were compounded when the end of WWII did not bring an end to war. Within years, the Korean War furthered my fears of injury and death.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere the hell is Korea?<\/em>\u201d New battle fields! New terms and villains: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Communism, China, Russia, Stalin, North and South Korea.<\/em>\u00a0 Does it \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ever end? These guys have atom bombs too; some American citizens \u00a0\u00a0 gave them the plans. Who did that? The bastards!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mid 1940s\u2019 war movies added to my fears. For ten cents, I could sit in the Union Square Theater all day:\u00a0 Back to Bataan, Wake Island, Guadacanal Diary, Sands of Iwo Jima.<\/em>\u00a0 John Wayne could not protect us! Neither could William Bendix, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Jaeckle, Henry Fonda, Errol Flynn, Randolf Scott, Anthony Quinn.<\/p>\n

Screen images were burned in my mind. I watched bayoneting, shooting, flame throwers, bombs, machine guns, and dead bodies. \u201cJesus, a soldier shoved a flame throwers into a cave and pill box filled with people!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I recall a dream! A nightmare, returning today, usually prompted by some words or events I see on TV.\u00a0 My recurring dream:<\/p>\n

The Chinese Communist soldiers are running down a hill toward our \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 position, screaming, firing guns. There are endless numbers. We wait\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for commands to fire. We are afraid, and know we cannot win!\u00a0 I accept \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 my fate! I \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 look \u00a0 at my rifle.\u00a0 It is my toy rifle, bought for me by my \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 uncle in 1940s. I have no weapon! I need a real rifle! How can I protect \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 myself or others? I am going to die.\u00a0 I wake up sweating, breathless, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 afraid.<\/em><\/p>\n

War Legacies<\/h2>\n

I have never forgotten the anniversary days for the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945). Years later, images remain in my mind. Rising, unfolding mushroom cloud.\u00a0 As I a kid, and now as an adult, I try to grasp the bizarre meaning of events! A mushroom cloud.<\/p>\n

I became hyper-religious, reading the Father Peyton Catholic Bible sold to us by a door-to-door priest salesperson. He convinced my mother to \u201cdonate\u201d $20.00.\u00a0 The words and pictures were fascinating. I even read the Catholic Newspapers, with their list of forbidden movies. I would go to the darkened Church, sit in silence and awe at the statues of saints and Blessed Virgin Mary.\u00a0 Clusters of candles were burning in red votive jars. There was mystery about it all, but I could not understand! Should I become a priest?\u00a0 Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Movies of Nuclear Catastrophes<\/h2>\n

In the 1950s there was an omnipresent fear of nuclear war. Scores of protests and anti-war organizations emerged. One of these organizations was Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR), <\/em>founded by Alex Red Mountain with the help of many others (e.g., Anne Anderson).\u00a0 I later served as the President of PsySR<\/em>,<\/strong> 2005-2007. Destiny!<\/p>\n

In 1959, the movie, On the Beach, <\/em><\/strong>brought tears and sobs to me and others as a group of survivors from a deadly nuclear attack gathered on a beach in Melbourne, Australia, awaiting a nuclear dust cloud.\u00a0 Couples and families took suicidal pills to escape the horrible consequences of surviving. The movie was a poignant reminder of horrors of a nuclear war.\u00a0 I was 19 years old at the time, a college student, confused and still afraid.<\/p>\n

Another nuclear war left an impression on me: Stanley Kubrick\u2019s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. <\/em><\/strong>This 1964 movie was supposed to be a dark satire of Soviet Union and USA nuclear threats.<\/p>\n

How could anyone forget the last scene? A mis-communication resulting in the image of an rabid American soldier shouting as he rode a hydrogen bomb from orders for a first strike on the USSR. The President of the USA and his staff tried to recall the bombers to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. They failed!\u00a0 (see Wikipedia, 2018, 11:00AM)<\/p>\n

Like many others, I remember vividly where I was during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962.\u00a0 The confrontation between President John F. Kennedy and USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev! We watched and waited. No desks to hide under! We learned it was the closest we had come to nuclear war.\u00a0 Both countries continued to build more powerful nuclear weapons. Annihilation!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nuclear-War Risks Continue<\/h2>\n

I continue to have memories of total destruction and death of hundreds of thousands of human beings. I visited Nagasaki. I could not escape the guilt. I was alive, but death was inscribed in the name and place.<\/p>\n

I still recall crouching beneath school desks as sirens blared. Classmates, giggles, and fear and trembling!\u00a0 Victims in Japan below saw a circling plane; it was their last sight!\u00a0 The legacy of horror of remains!<\/p>\n

History is the story of survival! \u00a0We recall and remember! Until the time lessons are learned, we remain, as Bishop Tutu of South Africa poignantly stated, we remain, \u201cPrisoners of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

References and Background Readings:<\/h2>\n

Bhawuk, D.P.S. (2011). Spirituality and Indian Psychology: Lesson \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 from the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bhagavad-Gita.<\/em><\/strong> NY: Springer SBM (now Springer-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nature).<\/p>\n

Kuznick, P. (2018 August 9, 2018). Interview: 73 years after atomic \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bombing of Japan: Nuclear threat more immediate than ever. The \u00a0\u00a0 RealNewsNetwork.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Marsella, A.J. (2011).\u00a0 The United States of America: A \u201cculture of war.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 International Journal of Intercultural Research, 35, 714-728. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Marsella, A.J. (March 25, 2013) A lexicon of war \u201c(redux): Does excessive \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 word use result in a loss of meaning?\u201d <\/strong>TRANSCEND \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Media Service.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/…\/A-lexicon-of-war-redux-does<\/strong><\/a> excessive-word-use-result-in-a-loss-of-meaning\/\u00a0 <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Marsella, A.J. (2014). War, Peace, and Justice<\/em><\/strong>. Alpharetta, GA: Mountain \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arbor Press.<\/p>\n

Maurer, W. H. (1986). Pinnacles of India\u2019s Past: Selections from the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RigVeda.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamin Publishing<\/p>\n

Radhakrishnan, S. (1971). Bhagavadgita.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Bombay, India: Blackie & Son; \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Calcutta, India: George Allen & Unwin (Calcutta, India)<\/p>\n

Temperaton, J. (August 9, 2017). \u201cNow I have Become as Death, the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Destroyer of World\u2019s.\u201d The Story of Oppenheimer\u2019s Infamous \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quote.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>Wired. Retrieved August 10, 2018, 11:00AM.<\/p>\n

___________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a>, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Emeritus Professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii\u2019s Manoa Campus in Honolulu, Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. \u00a0He is known internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 21 books and more than 300 articles, tech reports, and popular commentaries. His<\/em> TMS articles may be accessed<\/em> HERE<\/a> and he can be reached at <\/em>marsella@hawaii.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time awaits Poet T.S. Elliot\u2019s prophetic words! And who would be left to affirm Elliot\u2019s insights amidst a nuclear \u201cwasteland?\u201d Why T.S. Elliot\u2019s claim of a \u201cwhimper?\u201d \u201cWhimper!\u201d \u201cWhimper\u201d murmurs! Whimper is subdued, timorous, surrender, like a final gasp! \u201cWhimper\u201d a sound preceding silence! I imagined myself \u201cwhimpering\u201d in a final surge of life. Annihilation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":68088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}