Nuclear Weapons and the End of the Universe - Essay Example

Nuclear weapons and the end of the universe Apocalyptic Myth or myth about the end of man has often been mentioned as an interesting topic that manyhave proposed various interpretations concerning it. Apocalyptic Myth has been a grave issue for majority of the religions in the world that they put forward their own versions about the end of the universe. Among these propositions the most popular one is from Christianity which predicts the end of the world as the last judgment day or Dooms Day. The religion follows the belief that Christ will come back at the time of the great flood which is supposed to engulf the world at the time of the last judgment.

But the Indian concept, especially the religious belief of the Hindus, the most prominent religion of India, does not propose a final judgment. Instead, they believe in ‘avatar,’ that is the rebirth of the God Vishnu into ten different human forms where the final one is Kalki, the form that represents destruction or the end of the world. As these religious versions of Apocalyptic Myth are not easily agreeable for many in the modern changing context where man is pursuing a fast paced life, they strongly believe that the world will come to an end as an after effect man’s owns deeds, especially as an outcome of man’s excessive invention and use of nuclear weapons which are truly harmful to all the living beings in the world including man.

Any sensible person will agree with the fact that nuclear weapons are capable of wiping off the humanity as world nations are hoarding thousands of nuclear weapons to their storage day by day. An editorial of the National Catholic Reporter rightly observes, ‘Nuclear weapons are incompatible with the peace we seek for the 21st century; they cannot be justified. The editorial continues to say that ‘These weapons are instruments of death and destruction’ (National Catholic reporter). World has already witnessed and still witnesses the real threat of such massive weapons and atomic power during and after the two world wars.

One can certainly state that the world is under the serious threat of nuclear weapons where America, Britain and other European nations on one side and Asian countries like Russia, China and India on the other. The United States has often been accused for exerting its power on other nations to establish its superiority. The superpower image of the United States causes for severe criticism against that nation and the enemies accuse thus, ‘Obviously now the foremost target of the United States -- and its only dependable partner in imperial overreach, Israel -- is the Middle East and Iran’ (carolmoore.net.).

They argue that ‘both the U.S. and Israel want to control Arab and Muslim resources and make big profits for their military and other well-connected contractors’ (carolmoore.net.). Therefore, they will have control over the Middle East region and can maintain a U.S.-Israel monopoly on nuclear weapons. The recent American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan has created such a menace among the people in the Asian region that they often feel that a nuclear war is at hand. American interruption in Pakistan and the killing of Bin Laden from Pakistan without seeking Pakistan government’s consent, the recent murders of Pakistani soldiers by the American army and so on have worsened the situations in Eastern region.

The American hydrogen bomb test on 1 April, 1954, itself have undoubtedly proved the impact of such bombs that could devastate millions of square miles. ‘The scale of destruction caused by the hydrogen bombs is so great that prominent scientists and philosophers in the 1950s, most notably Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell, began to argue that nuclear war with these weapons posed a threat to the human race itself’ (Lackery 93). The continuing arms race points out that if 100 thousand megatons of nuclear weapons are exploded, it will certainly wipe off the world.

As the world nations conceal the exact number of their nuclear weapons, one cannot really predict the real power or the devastating effect of such lethal weapons. Another threat is either the attacks or the destruction of the nuclear reactors or nuclear power plants due to natural calamities, as happened in China recently. This permits one to state that ‘A full scale nuclear deal will kill hundreds of millions of innocent people and the survivors will face a world barely capable of supplying their elementary physical needs’ (Lackery 94).

It clearly makes one state that such a nuclear deal will certainly mark the end of the universe. To conclude, one can state that the invention of the nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction will lead to the tragic doom of the world. Here one cannot think on the religious perspectives of world destruction as many believe them as outdated. The war for oil, under the leadership of the U.S. and Britain, causes for open wars. As it is evident from the recent studies, the stock of the oil wealth in the nations is decreasing day by day, that is, the stock of oil wealth in the coming future will be in a very low level or to zero by 2040, there would be great endeavor from the part of nations to keep their seat that world will follow the policy of survival of the fittest.

Therefore, America and other western nations will try to dominate the Arab as well as in the Middle East countries keeping an eye on their oil wealth and it will certainly cause for a nuclear war. The intervention of U.S. in Pakistan to suppress the terrorists also will not be desirable for America as it is already under the threats of terrorist attacks. Thus, the paper asserts that the world will come to an end with a nuclear war fought between the western allies and the Asian powers. Works cited carolmoore.net.. U.S.

and Israeli threats and plans to use nuclear weapons. carolmoore.net. Web. Dec 13, 2011 http://carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/ Lackey, Douglas P. Moral principles and nuclear weapons. Illustrated edn. Rowman & Littlefield, 1984. Print. National Catholic Reporter. If we don't end nuclear weapons, they will end us. An NCR editorial. Jul. 20, 2011. Web. Dec.14, 2011 http://ncronline.org/news/peace/if-we-dont-end-nuclear-weapons-they-will-end-us