A couple of years ago a book was published with the challenging title, 'Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change'. It tried to explain the mass inattention described in its subtitle. There is room to write another, perhaps even more striking, book called 'Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Ignore What a Nuclear War Could Do To Us'.
Commentators have generally agreed in condemning the media sensationalism of recent weeks. For Australians, the high - or low - point was probably reached with the alleged photographs of the alleged Prime Minister Mr R.E. Pealing allegedly cavorting topless with the alleged Secretary of the alleged Treasury.
Since the gulf war, many commentators have discussed its 'lessons'. But one important lesson has not received its due attention, although it must be only too apparent to third world leaders. In Europe, we have seen a few centuries of friction, incidents and wars during which borders were adjusted to correspond with the current strength and current demands (legitimate or otherwise) of the nation-states. (Even the past tense is inappropriate here; if we ever thought…
At most summit conferences the assembled world leaders seem to follow an unspoken rule or gentlemen's agreement: no one is to mention the radioactive elephant sitting with them - the threat to destroy civilization within minutes, that the nuclear stockpiles unarguably pose. There are probably enough survival problems already crowding the summit agenda anyway.
