For those unfamiliar with the Cuban Missile Crisis, the National Archives provides a succinct summary.
At the height of the Cold War, for two weeks in October 1962, the world teetered on the edge of thermonuclear war. Earlier that fall, the Soviet Union, under orders from Premier Nikita Khrushchev, began to secretly deploy a nuclear strike force in Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States. President John F. Kennedy said the missiles would not be tolerated and insisted on their removal. Khrushchev refused. The standoff nearly caused a nuclear exchange and is remembered in this country as the Cuban Missile Crisis. For 13 agonizing days—from October 16 through October 28—the United States and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. The peaceful resolution of the crisis with the Soviets is considered to be one of Kennedy’s greatest achievements.
During the crisis, Air Force General Curtis LeMay tried to goad President Kennedy into bombing the missile sites in Cuba. LeMay believed that a massive display of US force would force the Soviets to capitulate. Kennedy and his brother Robert opted for a more cautious approach and ultimately struck a deal with the Soviets to remove the American Jupiter Missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing their missiles from Cuba. President Kennedy had the intelligence, prudence, and confidence to say no to General LeMay.
Two years after the crisis, Stanley Kubrick released Dr. Strangelove, a dark satire of nuclear brinkmanship. As insane as the film may seem, it’s extraordinary dramatic and comic effect is achieved because it closely resembles the insanity of our ruling class in Washington.
For decades I have watched the U.S. government blunder from one misadventure to another, with our rulers making wild assumptions and gambles, expressing a persistent lack of accountability, rarely if ever performing serious risk-benefit analyses, and showing reckless disregard for the health and security of our people. Whenever one of their schemes goes wrong, the ruling class acts surprised by the unforeseen outcome.
Last night I had a nightmare in which President Kamala Harris finds herself in the crucible of a nuclear crisis similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Much of my terrifying vision derived from scenes in Dr. Strangelove, only with Harris playing the role of POTUS.
I told McCullough Foundation intern Nic Hulscher about my nightmare in vivid detail, and asked him to recreate it in the form of a video montage. Though the video is satirical and hyperbolic, it nevertheless raises a question that everyone should be asking—namely, if it comes to an existential crisis that requires exceptional intellect, judgement, and prudence to resolve, will Kamala Harris be up for the task?
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