Joseph Rotblat serves as a challenge to each of us: Do we possess the wisdom to recognize we have a choice and the courage to act as if we can make a difference?
Gerard Boyce is an Economist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. He writes in his personal capacity and can be reached at [email protected].. Based on a biography of the head of the Manhattan Project, the U.S.’s secret World War II program to develop the atomic bomb, this movie has received positive reviews from critics.
From here, it becomes relatively easy for the cinemagoer to be overwhelmed with a sense of dread and left with the impression that our nuclear fate is out of our hands. It follows that we should resign ourselves to this fact, for to think otherwise is futile. The more pervasive this attitude becomes, the less likely are ordinary people to feel that they can affect nuclear policy. If so, far better to leave nuclear decision-making to the technocrats and powers that be who decide such things.
Despite the gloomy scenario depicted and the helplessness it could so easily engender, there is always room for individuals to act on their conscience in the belief that doing so could change nuclear destiny. This can be clearly seen in the actions of Oppenheimer’s contemporary and fellow scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project, Sir Joseph Rotblat.
While his name will probably never be as widely known as that of the other illustrious scientists who worked on the project that ushered in the nuclear age, and even less likely that a major biopic will be made about him, his example serves as a reminder that we always have a choice. It also serves as a challenge to each of us: Do we possess the wisdom to recognize we do and the courage to act as if we can make a difference? For the sake of humanity, let us hope we do.
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