Entering the Conversation

1. In an interview with Scheibach, Cindy Hoedel of the Kansas City Star asked what studying the atomic age told him about the American family. He said the bombing of Hiroshima was a demarcation line in the same way that 9/11 is a demarcation line for people living now. He adds, however, that it is fear of nuclear attack that underlies even the present terrorist attacks. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the effects of terrorist attacks on the American family of today with the effects of the threat of nuclear war on the American family of the 1950s.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - In an interview with Scheibach, Cindy Hoedel of the Kansas City Star asked what studying the atomic age told him about the American family. He said the bombing of Hiroshima was a demarcation line in the same way that 9/11 is a demarcation line for people living now. He adds, however, that it is fear of nuclear attack that underlies even the present terrorist attacks. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the effects of terrorist attacks on the American family of today with the effects of the threat of nuclear war on the American family of the 1950s.
2. Radosh says that the United States “had (and has) real enemies and…finding and prosecuting them is not evidence of repression” (par. 15). Write an essay in which you discuss the issue of the need for national security versus the individual’s rights to free speech and privacy.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Radosh says that the United States “had (and has) real enemies and…finding and prosecuting them is not evidence of repression” (par. 15). Write an essay in which you discuss the issue of the need for national security versus the individual’s rights to free speech and privacy.
3. Graham Allison, the author of the 1971 Essence of Decision, is credited with the creation of the discipline of public policy. His doctoral thesis in political science was a study of the decision making during the Cuban missile crisis. He imagined what must have happened:

   There was Kennedy looking over the cliff thinking, “Oh my God, we might really have a nuclear war.” He judged the chances were between one and three and even of us going to war. And then he’s thinking as he did empathetically of this poor guy Khrushchev who’s sitting over there also worrying about this. It seemed to me implausible that he wouldn’t give him something, especially if he could give it privately.

   Allison said that studying these frightening events shows that the roads to war are “paths of misperceptions, accidents, and unanticipated consequences.” He says that understanding the importance of the many possible paths can help prevent not only war but also “institutional and bureaucratic disasters.” Research the planning of the response to a potential disaster or the response to an actual disaster that you remember. Then write an essay in which you examine the decision making involved. Make sure, as Kennedy asked his military advisors to do, that you analyze the consequences of each decision, at least two or three steps down the line.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Graham Allison, the author of the 1971 Essence of Decision, is credited with the creation of the discipline of public policy. His doctoral thesis in political science was a study of the decision making during the Cuban missile crisis. He imagined what must have happened:There was Kennedy looking over the cliff thinking, “Oh my God, we might really have a nuclear war.” He judged the chances were between one and three and even of us going to war. And then he’s thinking as he did empathetically of this poor guy Khrushchev who’s sitting over there also worrying about this. It seemed to me implausible that he wouldn’t give him something, especially if he could give it privately.Allison said that studying these frightening events shows that the roads to war are “paths of misperceptions, accidents, and unanticipated consequences.” He says that understanding the importance of the many possible paths can help prevent not only war but also “institutional and bureaucratic disasters.” Research the planning of the response to a potential disaster or the response to an actual disaster that you remember. Then write an essay in which you examine the decision making involved. Make sure, as Kennedy asked his military advisors to do, that you analyze the consequences of each decision, at least two or three steps down the line.
4. Scheibach and Weart both use images from and references to pop culture to discuss the consequences of the atomic age. Write an essay in which you discuss the ways that popular culture has portrayed the atomic bomb. Be sure to use visual texts as support and illustrations.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Scheibach and Weart both use images from and references to pop culture to discuss the consequences of the atomic age. Write an essay in which you discuss the ways that popular culture has portrayed the atomic bomb. Be sure to use visual texts as support and illustrations.
5. In an essay, support, dispute, or qualify this statement by science-fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin:

   It is only when science asks why, instead of simply describing how, that it becomes more than technology. When it asks why, it discovers Relativity. When it only shows how, it invents the atom bomb, and then puts its hands over its eye and says, “My God what have I done?”

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - In an essay, support, dispute, or qualify this statement by science-fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin:It is only when science asks why, instead of simply describing how, that it becomes more than technology. When it asks why, it discovers Relativity. When it only shows how, it invents the atom bomb, and then puts its hands over its eye and says, “My God what have I done?”
6. Several singers and songwriters from the early 1960s to the present—Bob Dylan, most notably—have addressed the fears of the atomic age. Put together a song list of music inspired by anxiety about the atomic bomb and create cover art for an album using the visual icons of the atomic age. Write liner notes that explain your choices.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Several singers and songwriters from the early 1960s to the present—Bob Dylan, most notably—have addressed the fears of the atomic age. Put together a song list of music inspired by anxiety about the atomic bomb and create cover art for an album using the visual icons of the atomic age. Write liner notes that explain your choices.