The Eternal Race

Iran and North Korea have defied the nuclear non-proliferation policy of the United States and the West and gotten away with it. Weapons of mass destruction are now in the hands of rogue states and will shortly be in the hands of non-state actors, who will most assuredly use them. Nations, kings and potentates have tried to ban or control the use of weapons from the dawn of history, all to no effect. The Pope once banned the crossbow as being too horrific a weapon for use by civilized men, and all the treaties, conferences and memoranda of understanding banning nuclear weapons have worked every bit as well as the Pope’s edict against the crossbow. Might as well ban sticks and stones. 

 

 

He looked upon the carnage wrought

By the new weapon all had thought

Should never be in use by civ’lized man

Sticks and stones should be enough

But clubs make warfare mighty tough

So he proposed the club face future ban

They argued for a good long while

And as they talked the warfare style

Progressed beyond the club that raised such fears

For now the weapon form of choice

Was one that had its own cruel voice

As men were killing men with swords and spears

Conferences were called again

And hopes were raised that if and when

Agreement could be reached no mat how slow

That spears would be forever banned

And peace would reign upon the land

But by that time some people had the bow

And so it went as time went on

That new replaced the weapons gone

At first the musket then the Gatling gun

The breech-load rifle then the tank

We have the inventors to thank

For giving us this most delicious fun

It must be fun if not then why

Do men then fight and men then die

With and by the weapons that they knew

It hasn’t worked this banning biz

Because there’s always some smart whiz

Who comes up with a weapon fresh with dew

So if you try to ban the nukes

Be sure that somewhere’s a Klaus Fuchs

Who smiles and says those fools don’t have a clue

The man who says we’ll have world peace

If we can make the science cease

Is either fooling him or fooling you

 

 

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