The Golden Rule

Sorry, Mike

I'm going to hijack your LTE. First, a personal reflection. More than 40 years ago in early August, I was piloting a four engine Navy sub hunter from NAF Atsugi to Kadena AB in Okinawa. There was not a cloud in the sky as we passed over Hiroshima. I looked down and saw the city from a vantage point similar to what the crew of the Enola Gay must have seen thirty-seven years earlier. I felt numb. It was eerily silent on the plane. Everyone on board sensed the enormity of what happened in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Visceral and poignant.

Unrelated... my DJ subscription expires in about a week. I will not be renewing. I've made some friends along the way. In fact, I will be joining 4 or 5 of my DJ buddies for lunch in two weeks. I tried to expand that circle of friends, but there are some DJ readers who do not seem willing or able to set their politics aside and just be a mensch or menschette.

I'll toss in an LTE on occasion, but soon it'll be... Adieu, Mon Frère!

P.S. A tip of the hat to Tafhdyd aka David Amaral. Wilfred and I really miss him.

Hello All, I'm awaiting my ticket to Tahiti so I can invite Ray and all the rest of you guys.

As Terrence says, the toothpaste is well out of the tube but, to have ongoing discussions and hot lines as well as treaties to prevent proliferation (without Pearl Harbor sneak attacks as we have just witnessed to no good effect). There certainly is no good reason to develop or "modernize" that which is already lethal beyond all measure as it is. The ever-present accidents or "Strangelove" possibilities are a cosmic "Murphy's Law" just waiting in the shadows. Diplomacy and peace are far and away cheaper than the alternatives.

Cheers All

Hello, Mike

Good to hear from you. I was beginning to think you had won the Lotto and ran off to a deserted isle in French Polynesia.

You and I don't agree on a lot of things, but "de-escalating conflicts around the world such as in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Taiwan" is one thing most everyone should support IMO. We also agree on applying the Golden Rule. The Silver Rule will not get the job done. It says, "Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you." As a moral guideline, it works in a lot of situations, but it does not require that we do good... and de-escalating conflicts around the world will take a whole of good.

Mike: I much prefer the original, safer version, Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you!

Thanks for your letter, Mr. Caggiano, but I note a few issues… You assume everyone interprets a “golden rule” as you do. Since you don’t define it here, many would say different interpretations of the Golden Rule are causing conflicts around the world. You assume nuclear weapons can be eradicated but the toothpaste is out of the tube. I’d take the approach that the fact we have nuclear weapons is preventing the ending of humankind. Regardless, good luck with your nationwide peace/diplomacy push – but shouldn’t that push should be occurring in other parts of the world, not the United States?