Angry, disheartened, frustrated

[canetoad]

One man. One fucking ageing man with a shitload of power and money. And nukes.

That's what is threatening to plunge the world into nuclear annihilation and winter. One fucking man.

What did we learn from WW2, from Hitler. Didn't we all say, 'Never again?" I really need to know why one fucking man is holding the world hostage.

[7wo7rees]

1. Feeling the same, Canetoad. Feeling the same.

7wo7rees and I started this journey in '98. We were hopeful and naive.
We are both discouraged.

[Hortensis]

24. I think it's the naive that does it, not the hopeful. But goals have to be realistic.

Realizable. Some always go for what will never be in a healthy democracy, their only chance to win, even temporarily, lying in somehow overcoming the choices of large majorities who don't want the same things.

But, frankly, if most people don't want it and won't vote for it, should it ever have displaced achievable goals?

For people who believe in the principles of democracy and pluralism, adjusting their dreams to what majorities share and will support is a highly moral action, as well as practical. Those who do are also very fortunate to be able to thrill to what they are achieving and look forward to continuing in future.

Majorities have achieved a great deal in the past 20 years alone, not just been pushed back more steps than usual by anti-democratic extremists and populist mobs.

And on the topic of war, we didn't all die 60, 30, 20 or 5 years ago in some planetary holocaust. Something to feel encouraged about? In our extremely imperfect way, we've managed to pull that off and are in a much better position to continue than we were 70 years ago.

We do advance more than we lose.

"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part." John Lewis, eyes ahead, both feet on the ground

[SleeplessinSoCal]

2. That one guy has veto power over the aims of the one body meant to protect all.

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization aiming to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It is the world's largest and most familiar international organization.

Time to rewrite the charter. Like TODAY!!

[RockRaven]

3. Our system also has world nuclear annihilation in the hands of one man (man, so far anyway)

And as recently as 14 months ago, that particular man was a fucking crazy murderous ghoul who speculated about and toyed with actions which would inevitably lead to that result, if various WaPo/NYT/etc reports are to be believed.

The thing which enables the fact of a single nutjob shitbag being able to threaten the destruction of humanity is the mere existence of nuclear weapons on ICBMs/in submarines. It's not just this one particular nutjob that has them.

[canetoad]

5. Meh

You're nitpicking. I'd like to believe that despite protocol, there was an element in the US military who would not have obeyed an order to nuke.

The world really needs to believe the US are the good guys, despite the shock and repugnance at the state to which your politics fell.

[RockRaven]

10. There are many things I would *like* to believe, but they are not what *is* which is the thing we

must grapple with. AFAIK, and this was much discussed when TFG was in office, there is no legal or procedural mechanism in the US nuclear protocols for anyone in the military to review or delay or over-rule a nuclear strike order by the POTUS.

Also, people like Mike Flynn should be a cautionary tale/example regarding trusting in the rationality/professionalism/etc of the upper military brass. There is no reason to expect there to be a savior in the officer corps anyway. That kind of defiance would be professipnal, social, or literal suicide. The whole string between POTUS and the last physical button could realistically be entirely sycophants, nutjobs, or cowards.

I see no reason at all to feel secure about the US nuclear arsenal not being misused by an asshole.

[canetoad]

12. I'm well aware that my own

Thoughts and wishes are simply hypothetical excercises.

However I seem to have a deeper belief in the innate sensibleness of long term employees and advisors or the Pentagon. When TFG was in power, I would have bet anything that an order to deploy nukes would have been bypassed.

No, I have no proof. No certainty, but a belief that I must hang on to; the US is not the enemy of the world.

And speaking of learning lessons - will the US, having learned its lesson, never install another fucking nazi fruitcake again?

[Boomerproud]

21. I'm waiting on whether almost half of our population has leaned

it's lesson regarding installing, or reinstalling a nutjob in the Oval Office.

[Calculating]

6. Nukes, all nukes just plain need to go

Idk how to accomplish that, but it's what is needed for the long term success of mankind. It's only a matter of time until some crazy leader actually uses them

[Calculating]

4. It's definitely disturbing

Nukes are easily the worst creation of mankind. Devices so powerful that one man can effectively ruin the world with the push of a button. It's fine when the good guys have them, but if the bad guys have them it's a real problem.

[Frasier Balzov]

7. I contend that it's more than one man, since others are following his orders.

And as was established at the Nuremberg trials, "simply following orders" is an insufficient excuse to avoid some harsh penalties which civilization is compelled to impose.

[canetoad]

9. I know that I made the Hitler analogy

In the OP, but it's not strictly correct.

There was a whole gang of dedicated Nazis sharing Hitler's ideaology and aims.

I'd like to know if there was a group, a philosophy a national outlook .... that is propping up and enabling Putin. Somehow I think that such a group does not exists, and his prolonged grasp on power has depleted to the point of extinction, all opposition.

[Frasier Balzov]

11. This black comedy illustrates that all it takes is a bunch of paranoid, conniving ass kissers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Stalin

[Roy Rolling]

16. $$$$$

Who sponsors FoxNews? Same group paying to destroy America..

[Mariana]

23. Who sponsors Fox News?

Everyone who subscribes to a cable or satellite TV service that carries Fox News sponsors Fox News.

[Irish_Dem]

26. There are a number of world leaders who believe in brutal autocracies.

North Korea, China, some Latin America and MidEast regimes. Putin is not alone.

[appalachiablue]

27. +1 The ugly truth

[SheltieLover]

8. When will the world stop rewarding scum like putrid & tfg?

I agree, CT!

Something is fundamentally wrong with this scenario.

Very wrong.

[Cheezoholic]

13. We are stuck with Nukes

Lets be realistic. All of the countries that have them can agree to totally eliminate them. But then you need a process to guarantee that everyone eliminated them. The fact that a process is needed to do that says it all. No matter what everyone will keep one hidden in their pocket just in case. The only way we eliminate nukes is if humans evolve socially at light speed or some alien civilization oversees the nukes going away. Even then, every nation will keep at least one hidden from everybody... just in case.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I couldn't agree more, it's heartwrenching

And most of the rest of the world feels the same way.

[SheltieLover]

15. And just a few human males controlling them

Gee, what could go wrong?

[stillspkg]

17. Late to the conversation

I hear you. Your thoughts are shared by
a multitude of people—good people—
who do all we can besides exercise our one vote, which we also have to fight for.

One thing continues to baffle me, and I will continue to lift it up in the hope that someday it is dealt with. That is, how on God’s green earth absolutely anyone, any nut job, can be allowed to to become President of the United States of America; the highest office in the land.

Almost every other professional position has qualifications: related work history, certifications, state exams, drug testing, interviews, references (professional and character) for some, a battery of Psychological tests, background checks, and for most government officials this includes known contact with foreign nationals. And yet, there are relatively few qualifications to become President of the USA.

We know our democracy cannot exist on the merits of respectable people with a conscience and good ethics and we don’t understand why we don’t safeguard it.

Knowing we risk our democracy every election year makes me feel more helpless than being at the mercy of one man with the power. In our country it can happen every four years.

[Magoo48]

18. I feel it too.

Our world must find ways of protecting itself from the power madness of our own fucking leaders. It may take layers of protections, none of which any of them will want to agree to.

[John Ludi]

19. I've always considered it

a "design flaw" of human nature that millions of people will follow a blatantly corrupt megalomaniac right off of a cliff while people who genuinely want to make the world a better place often get marginalized or, at times, assassinated. Like Trump, much of the time all they have under their hats is an excess of arrogance and hubris and a sense of their own infallibility (that usually is masking a deep level of insecurity and paranoia), and there are those of us who see them as obviously naked emperors while the majority, seemingly, don't.

So yeah, one man...one tiny little heartbeat that any of a number of things could stop, that gets to slaughter thousands at will...and possibly destroy the planet itself.

It pretty much sucks all the way around. Civilization isn't suited to beings wired like ourselves, in my opinion; we have a lot of growing up to do before we should be allowed to determine the fate of an entire planet and play with many of the toys we've invented.

Just my take on it, for what it may or may not be worth.

[uponit7771]

20. K&R, There needs to be a UN based 'War Fact' Clearing house. There is no war if Russians ...

... weren't bold faced lied into it.

[USALiberal]

22. So what's your plan to change it? Nt

[Hahn_Bikey]

25. I think you sort of answered your own question

…. You nailed it when you asked if we learned from WW2… we didn’t.

As far as nukes, we’re the country who developed it, and we’re the only country who used them in a war, so our credibility as a nation isn’t exactly there.

[appalachiablue]

28. Your state is shared, scary & stunned. Past is Prologue

at times unfortunately. And power, greed and humans can mean danger, decline.