The Urge to Make Origami Cranes

Last night, after hearing Trump's anti-Korea rant on the radio news and seeing him say it on the TV news, I wrote this Facebook post:

"So today, on a day between the anniversary of the Hiroshima blast and the anniversary of the Nagasaki blast, the U.S. President threatens 'They will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen.'  I am struck with a sudden urge to make origami cranes and pray for peace and for bellicose leaders to shush."

When my spouse came home he said, "August 8 is also the anniversary of the day that Russia entered the war."  I had forgotten that part of history, or perhaps I never knew it.  With the exception of the nuclear issues, my knowledge of WWII in the Pacific is a bit spotty.

This morning, with North Korea's threats against Guam, it seems I may have a chance to catch up on geography.  Yesterday I wished I had an old-fashioned globe so that I could track possible ICBM routes from North Korea.  I suspect that South Florida is fairly safe.

Of course, a nuclear explosion means that we're not safe, not any of us.  I don't have any of my favorite nuclear war movies in any format that I can watch, but I did bookmark this site years ago.  Critics compare Threads and The Day After.  It's an excellent way to spend 50 minutes when one contemplates the possibility of nuclear war.

Threads is the most terrifying movie I've ever seen.  It's a very graphic look at what will happen with a limited nuclear exchange.  It's ghastly.

Trump should watch it too.  The government officials are safe in their bunkers, but they don't have an easy time of it either.

As I heard yesterday's news of nuclear saber rattling and Venezuela unraveling, I thought, we've seen these movies before.  And it doesn't end well.

I'm trying not to think of the events of August 1914, when world events escalated at a dizzying pace and before we knew it, the world was in flames.

Today I fully expect someone to bang a shoe on a table and bellow, "We will bury you."

Let me remember though, that out of the darkness of the 80's came lots of social changes that I would not have predicted.  Maybe unlikely leaders will emerge who will craft unlikely peace treaties.