Thomas Friedman: Our Three Bombs

I am a 56-year-old baby boomer, and looking around today it’s very clear that my generation had it easy: We grew up in the shadow of just one bomb ”” the nuclear bomb. That is, in our day, it seemed as if there was just one big threat that could trigger a nonlinear, 180-degree change in the trajectory of our lives: the Soviets hitting us with a nuke. My girls are not so lucky.

Today’s youth are growing up in the shadow of three bombs ”” any one of which could go off at any time and set in motion a truly nonlinear, radical change in the trajectory of their lives.

The first, of course, is still the nuclear threat, which, for my generation, basically came from just one seemingly rational enemy, the Soviet Union, with which we shared a doctrine of mutual assured destruction. Today, the nuclear threat can be delivered by all kinds of states or terrorists, including suicidal jihadists for whom mutual assured destruction is a delight, not a deterrent.

But there are now two other bombs our children have hanging over them: the debt bomb and the climate bomb.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Defense, National Security, Military, Economy, Energy, Natural Resources, Politics in General, The National Deficit, The U.S. Government, Young Adults

7 comments on “Thomas Friedman: Our Three Bombs

  1. rugbyplayingpriest says:

    none of which are as dangerous to our children as the rise of a fascist liberal elite who have no time for the love of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel

  2. BillS says:

    Like most liberals, for Tom Friedman it is do as I say, not as I do. Here is a picture of Tom Friedman’s house: http://www.mnftiu.cc/2009/01/16/thomas-friedmans-house/

    Not exactly a small carbon footprint. And how does he travel. Mostly on a private airplane.

    If Friedman truly believes that global warming is a threat to human civilization, rather than a gimmick that keeps him on the editorial page of the NYT, then he needs to act.

    He needs to tear down his big house, build the 1200 square foot house he wants the rest of us to live in, and take Amtrack everywhere he goes, regardless of the loss of time and convenience.

  3. Phil says:

    Ah, Tom, if only we could call the People’s Liberation Army into the streets and into our homes and ram the truth down everybody’s throat. Well, keep dreaming, and enjoy the below-normal temperatures this winter.

  4. Tired of Hypocrisy says:

    There’s the nuclear bomb, the debt bomb and the “climate bomb?” Remember the furor over the “population bomb?” Wonder whatever happened to that inevitable crisis. No, I think we ought to be more concerned about the hype bomb

    [Edited by Elf]

  5. Mitchell says:

    [Comment deleted by Elf – please do not make personal comments directed to other commenters]

  6. Tired of Hypocrisy says:

    Elf? I thought my comment was pretty vanilla! Oh, well.