SAVE THE DINOSAURS OF WAR
Although my knowledge of biology is quite limited, I clearly understand what happened to the dinosaurs. Powerful beasts, ruling the earth, perished because they failed to adjust to massive and abrupt changes in the world. Actually, I am more interested in my dogs than in the prehistoric creatures, but modern times remind me of the era that resulted in the death of the dinosaurs.
We are facing abrupt and massive changes in the world. The entire Communist system that was built on bones and cemented by the blood of millions of people finally has collapsed. The idiotic and criminal theories that were used to divide, conquer and rule almost half of the mankind finally have been widely rejected (maybe except by some universities). I can easily visualize the last Communist dictator in the cage of the Havana Zoo.
It is time now to assess the damage caused by seventy five years of the Communist rule. Unable to exist in the natural environment, Communism has created an artificial one by destroying religions, cultures, democracies, market economies, by raising a special breed of under communist humans. As the result, the largest fields in the world are barren, the largest rivers in the world are poisoned, and the largest manufactures of warfare are unable to supply their own workers with pants and boots. The hope of the former Soviet Union is aimed now in the same direction that its nuclear rockets were aimed for decades. As has already happened in the past, America indeed is ready to provide food, money and technical assistance to its former deadly enemies (I hope not for free but in exchange for Russian nuclear bombs).
But there is something that America cannot provide even in exchange for nuclear bombs: democratic, working and business traditions of free people. This is and will be for many years the major reason for starvation and bloodshed under the former iron curtain. This problem, however, is not new and is not incurable either. Moses, who many years ago, lead my people to freedom, spent forty years wondering in desert not because of poor navigation. Forty years, the average duration of human life at that time, were needed to purify people from the spirit of slavery. I do not propose, however, a sixty five year purification period for Russians: satellite communication, Internet and television will do the job much faster.
Back to dinosaurs. Years of hostility and especially the last forty five years of continuous nuclear threat have changed America. It became the center of gravity of the free world and provided home for millions of intelligent and hardworking people, escaping from Communism, who helped America become what it is today. Awakened by the danger of destruction, driven by the instinct of self-preservation and the law of supply and demand of its market economy, the sleeping giant used his wisdom and wealth to create mighty dinosaurs of defense-related science and technology. We can be proud of these dinosaurs. They helped to end World War II, saved Europe from slavery, prevented nuclear war, started the computer era, opened the door to space and conquered the moon. For centuries mankind will benefit from the knowledge generated in order to save the world from Communism.
Should we let our dinosaurs die in the changing world? They will not die as peacefully as their forefathers. Their death will result in the elimination of numerous jobs, the loss of income for hard working taxpayers, who will stop buying new cars and building new homes... How will every American get his chance to earn a living in dignity? Who will pay taxes? Who will be able to afford a university education? Where will my students find jobs? How would we afford to help those who are sick or poor? Sometimes I think that it makes sense to supply Castro with nukes, put his people on food stamps and continue the arms race. We are saving whales. Let us save the dinosaurs of war.
I understand that the slogan "save dinosaurs of war" would not make me popular among my students. I suggest providing the dinosaurs with employment with tenure and declaring a new war. Let us fight black holes in space. Let us triple our space exploration efforts forming an "all-star team of the world" of Mars explorers. We may never reach black holes and find Mars expeditions childish, but we have to feed our dinosaurs, turning the tax money toward the salaries of well-trained scientists, engineers, and workers, who will share their income with the rest of the country. Remember that the emotional rather than practical Apollo program resulted in the tremendous progress in many apparently unrelated areas of science and engineering and was beneficial for the entire country. Let us fight our oil-dependence. Nothing can withstand the tremendous pressure of knowledge, money, and modern military technology. Our dinosaurs can and should produce clean nuclear power, give birth to practical electric cars, and fight diseases on all levels, from re-coding genes to using artificial organs.
Let's never again turn into a sleeping giant.
Published in the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, September 1997