“Nuclear weapons give no quarter. Their effects transcend time and place, poisoning the Earth and deforming its inhabitants for generation upon generation. They leave us wholly without defense, expunge all hope for meaningful survival. They hold in their sway not just the fate of nations, but the very meaning of civilization.”
-General Lee Butler, formerly responsible for all US Air Force and Navy strategic nuclear forces
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita… “Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
-Robert Oppenheimer, scientific director of the Manhattan project
“I hope my missions were the last ones of their kind that will ever be flown.”
-Charles Sweeny, pilot of ‘Bock’s Car’ the plane that dropped ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki
Prior to a few weeks ago your mind probably never drifted towards thoughts of the dangers nuclear weapons pose and you were probably perfectly happy. However now all over the news the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea and even so you’re probably only giving the whole thing a thought or two. “They’ll never be able to reach us” or “Our government will take care of it.” These are the thoughts most people have towards nuclear warfare. So why does the average, everyday citizen merely breeze by the thought of nuclear fallout while all the men who spoke the quotes above seem to have only the most upmost concern for the matter? It is because the men above all had firsthand experience with the danger and power of atomic weapons and the unspeakable danger the pose to our world, while we as everyday citizens are hardly educated about the number of nuclear weapons existing or the dangers associated with them. Because of the lack of knowledge we have we hardly ever think about it, let alone do anything to stop them. But if we knew more would we stand up? General Lee Butler was the last commander of Strategic Air Forces before it disbanded in 1992, and following his retirement from the military became an active member of the movement for nuclear disarmament. If we knew what General Butler knew, would we join the movement as well?
1. Intro
2. Facts and figures
a. number of weapons owned by each country
b. devastation/consequences of nuclear war
i. effects on environment
ii. long term effects
3. Movements
a. Nuclear disarmament organizations
b. what you can do to help
c. future goals
d. call to action
I’m really intrigued by this topic choice! I believe in disarmament as well; it’s a goal we should have accomplished with the end of the Cold War, to be frank. Very nice intro, just maybe take out a quote to make it a bit shorter. You address the apathy and jest current citizens have, a major issue in this pursuit. For some interesting insight, I suggest checking out Carl Sagan’s speech on nuclear disarmament: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6oZuj3Hgb4
wow, great video thanks Sam!
I think this is great topic for a persuasive essay because you can take such a strong stance one way or another; however, I want to know more specifically what your “call to action” is. You mention that if society knew more, would we stand up? Is your call to action that society should take an active role in the movement regarding nuclear warfare? Or are you trying to persuade people to become educated on the topic to realize the importance and urgency of the issue? Or maybe it is a little bit of both? Whichever is your true call to action, be sure to delineate it very clearly– this call to action can affect the overall impact of your essay regardless of how impressive your arguments are up to that point. I think it’s vital in a persuasive essay to not only raise tough questions such as, “If we knew what General Butler knew, would we join the movement as well?”, but elaborate on such questions and as the writer take a strong point of view saying we as a society SHOULD join the movement (if that is the stance you want to take).
At first I was concerned about the number of quotes with no analysis or reply to them. However, I think what you did in your intro made this strategy effective. Adding in a series of quotes at the beginning serves to give the reader a unique background knowledge. I also think that talking about North Korea grabs the readers attention well. Current events are more likely to make the reader keep reading. Good intro.
Bravo for hooking my attention!
With regards to this question: “So why does the average, everyday citizen merely breeze by the thought of nuclear fallout while all the men who spoke the quotes above seem to have only the most upmost concern for the matter?” I don’t think its a fair question because you’re comparing the the thoughts on the POSSIBILITY of nuclear war to the thoughts of the CONSEQUENCES of nuclear war.
As I read the brief outline of what you’re going to talk about, I began to think that you should make sure that you are realistic in your approach. In an ideal world, it would be easy to say “let’s all get rid of our nuclear weapons and never produce them again.” Be aware that the reader is going to be asking themselves, “is this possible? Is this likely?” Additionally, the reader is going to think, “what is the alternative?” so make sure you talk about that too. Without the likelihood and alternative methods, the reader will not be convinced.
Moreover, you could appeal to logos through hypothetical scenarios in which a nuclear head touchdowns in populous cities like NY, NY or D.C. – that’s scary. An interesting way of appealing to logos while at the same time capturing attention is to say something like “x-amount of people died from the Hiroshima bomb…years later, remnant radiation led to the death of x-people, and mutation of x-people” – that is evoking logos and pathos – two birds with one stone!
I don’t know how you can establish ethos…? The general feeling I get is of you being a mild pacifist (to the degree that you just don’t want to use nuclear bombs).
This is probably one of the more interesting persuasive topics. There’s a lot you can do with it (especially with pathos).