The Countdown

It is 11:59 on New Year's Eve, 1984.  The countdown begins:  10, 9, 8. . .  3, 2, -- in one second, we begin celebration of the new year.  But this time, there will be more than idle laughter and resolutions.  Many people will celebrate our continued existence for another year.  It isn't a pleasant thought, but not everything is.  And the threat of nuclear war rests heavily in the minds of the people of the world.  It is no longer just the burden of the adults or those who've made an effort to be aware.  This is a topic of everyday life.  Young children have gone beyond inquiries of Santa or the Tooth Fairy.  Today, they must ask, "What is nuclear war?"  The people my age are quite aware of the nuclear threat in the world.  Unfortunately, they feel there is no answer.

On the weekend, I find myself over at a friend's house, and we bring up the issue of war and Nicaragua.  "I'd go to war," says one of them, as he toys with a model machine gun.  "If I were president, I'd nuke 'em," says the other.  Is this the mentality of the people my age?  I ask them why they'd kill so quickly.  "I hate the Russians.  I always have."  This IS the mentality of the people my age...

(unfinished)

- Dec. 31, 1984, A.D.