Harry Targ
Lyrics from “Presidential Rag,” Arlo Guthrie, 1974
Nobody elected your family,
and we didn't elect your friends,
no one voted for your advisors,
and nobody wants amends,
You're the one we voted for, so you must take the blame,
For handing out authority to men who were insane…
Mothers still are weeping for their boys that went to war
Fathers still are asking what the whole damn thing was for
And People still are hungry and people still are poor,
And an honest week of work these days don't feed the kids no more,
Schools are still like prisons,
cuz we don't learn how to live,
and everybody wants to take, nobody wants to give
Yes you will be remembered, be remembered very well,
and if I live a long life, all the stories I could tell,
A many who are in in poverty of sickness and of grief,
hell yes, you will be remembered, be remembered very well…
August 6, 2020 is 75 years after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, incinerating 80,000 people. The accumulated research tells us that the Japanese were near surrender, much of the country had already been bombed into submission, Truman insiders knew this new weapon would transform the world for ever, and military and scientific advisors had advised against using this horrific new weapon. Yet President Truman, with the support of some key advisors, ordered the bombings (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Best estimates are that the Truman decision was made, not because it was required to end the war, but rather because the United States wanted to send a signal to the Soviet Union that it possessed a powerful new weapon. The United States, this perspective suggests, now had the power to establish a new economic and political world order.
In addition, August 6, 2020 occurs in a year in which the United States and the world is experiencing a pandemic of historic proportions. It has required governments everywhere to shut down their usual activities: commerce, production, education, entertainment, and public sociability. The best estimates are that people everywhere need to wear masks, not congregate in crowds, practice social distancing, and when necessary get tested for the corona virus. It seems clear from the example of countries that have adopted these policies to prevent the spread of the virus that they are the only way to diminish this public health disaster. But in the United States the President, some governors, many Senators, some members of Congress, and university and school administrators have been advocating and implementing policies that could spread the pandemic further.
For example, a number of universities and public schools are reopening around the country. Indiana Senator Mike Braun praised the former governor and President of Purdue University for reopening that university. “Thank goodness we have a guy like Mitch Daniels, who never looked at the status quo or the conventional of being the way to do it.” Educational institutions planning in-person education are trying “in a mitigated way, to get back to where you’re most effective; teaching kids, whether it’s in elementary school, secondary or post-secondary.” Braun’s advice to educational leaders around the country was to “take a little risk.” (Dave Bangert, “Sen. Braun to Schools Amid COVID-19: ‘Take A Little Risk,’ Journal and Courier, August 6, 2020).
In Indiana’s Fourth Congressional District, incumbent Jim Baird, in addition to supporting STEM education, bills himself as a “pro-life champion,” supporter of “our law enforcement,” and particularly getting “tough on China.” His campaign literature said that “the Chinese Communist Party has proven time and time again they are a bad actor on the world stage.” To combat China, Baird recommends creating “a national research investment strategy” in quantum computing and artificial intelligence; developing incentive programs to encourage the semiconducting industry to shift all manufacturing to the United States from China; and passing legislation “to end U.S. purchases of pharmaceutical ingredients or prescriptions manufactured in China” (all this from a campaign mailing).
Are there any common threads that run from 1945 to 2020? Looking at the decision to drop the horrific bombs in 1945, several points can be made. First, a small number of politicians, elected and appointed, made decisions of monumental importance to the victims of the bombing and the subsequent danger of nuclear war.
Second, the decisions were made in the face of overwhelming evidence that the use of these horrific bombs was not needed to end the war in Asia.
Third, Truman and his aides made their decisions in contradiction to warnings of the dangers of atomic war for civilization. Opposition came from significant sectors of the scientific community, including some scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the bomb.
Fourth, the decision to use atomic weapons was profoundly political. Demonstrating that the United States had this powerful new weapon sent a message to the Soviet Union. In addition, key decisionmakers including General Leslie Groves, Director of the Manhattan Project; James Forrestal who would become the first Secretary of Defense; and James Byrnes, Secretary of State, were virulently anti-communist. Also, the decision to drop the bomb, whether a motivation or not, communicated to the American people that President Truman, not seen as particularly qualified for the job, was tough and potentially a great leader. He, like some historians and former advisors, continued to defend the decision for years to follow.
So if we fast-forward to today we see crises of different sorts. Again, decisions are being made by small numbers of individuals, not necessarily representative of the population, or of workers who are affected. Decisions are being made to open educational institutions despite the fact that there is overwhelming evidence that doing so may be detrimental to public health. Experiences of other countries and statements from the scientific community indicate that opening up the society while the pandemic is still spreading might create a public health disaster. And, most important, critical decisions are being made that are motivated by elections, how to maintain the economy, and/or how to respond to challenges to United States dominance in the world.
To quote another musical voice, Pete Seeger, “Oh when will we ever learn.”
