Nuclear Weapons

In an ideal world, there would be no nuclear weapons of any kind. Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in. We live in an age when the possibility of nuclear war is always present. We live in an age when, at the push of a button, our world could be torn apart. We live in an age when global peace is hinged on the judgement of a handful of world leaders and governments. Even though the cold war is technically over, the tension between east and west is still present. Russia and China still have many nuclear weapons, as do the United States and some of it's allies such as Great Britain and France. It's terrifying to know that in mere moments, the world as we know it could be destroyed. Sure the United States and Russia have made joint efforts to reduce their nuclear stockpile but neither have completely disarmed themselves so the tension is still there. I shudder to think about the sheer destruction and devastation that could occur based on one of the worlds governments making a bold and rash decision. Another thing that is troubling, is some of the nations that are attempting to become nuclear powers. Iran is definitely one of those nations. To think of a nation with so much animosity for the west, with such powerful anti-American sentiments and rhetoric wants to become a nuclear power is deeply troubling. Thankfully, due to the deal we made with them, the possibility of Iran becoming a nuclear power is all but impossible. It helps me sleep at night knowing that they're complying with the west and don't currently, or in the future, have the capacity to make good on all of their promises. Another nation that concerns me, as well as many people all over the world, is North Korea. I've read that every North Korean is taught from a young age to hate America and everything that it stands for. Their leader quite frequently makes boisterous speeches of how he will bring down America and the thought of that man and nation having nuclear capabilities fills me with dread. I think that when it comes to nuclear war, we need to never forget the sheer scale of destruction we saw when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We need to remember the massive devastation that occurred and world leaders of nuclear nations need to understand the ramifications of using such weapons. Ultimately, however, I think that leaders of nuclear nations do understand the consequences that would come from the use of nuclear weapons and would only ever make use of them as an absolute desperate last resort after all other options have been exhausted. I hope and pray that we'll never see nuclear war in our time, but the fact that it's always a possibility is always present, and that's just something that we, unfortunately, have to learn to live with.