If We Are to Be Destroyed

“Do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation…If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.” -CS Lewis

This is a snippet from CS Lewis’ essay On Living in an Atomic Age. It’s worth the full read. It was first published in 1948, three years after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. This August it will be 80 years.

Now you can argue that worrying about the bomb is exactly what has stopped the bomb from being used again, but was it really your worries? If you’re reading this from a situation room in Washington DC, then yes and thank you. But for the rest of us, no your existential worry about forces out of your control doesn’t actually prevent them from coming to pass.

So either channel all that worry into running for political office, or go to the pool this afternoon. Go try the new Italian place down the road. If your fears are realized let it be while eating a plate of ravioli.

The last three books I read…
The Bomber Mafia
Impact Players
Essentialism