"No, sir, I deal with reality and think in terms of solving each problem. You politicians, sir, deal with the myth, like Yucca holding all our high-level wastes." I grinned to soften my words.
He smiled faintly, but then shook his head dismissively. "That may be true on some issues, but I deal with very unpleasant reality all day long." He sighed.
"I'm sure that is true, Mr. President, and it won't stop being such an unpleasant reality until you get organized and lead us in doing things right, in going after each problem in a realistic way and solving it. We can do this! If we just try."
I grunted in contempt and then settled back in my chair, suddenly savoring the moment. Here was a man who had so many horrible problems to deal with that it was a wonder he could function, and now, I was about to lay another one on him. So I took my time and spoke slowly when I finally did speak.
"You know the dumbest thing this country ever did, Mr. President?"
He looked at me with a frown, obviously no liking the question. He shook his head impatiently.
"Building nuclear power plants. Guess what will happen to all of those nuclear power plants if we get EMPed?" I paused to allow him to answer, but he just kept starting down at his desk. I continued, "Various stages of meltdown at all of them-and Canada's too. As we developed nuclear power generation, we built a gigantic trap, the trip wire of which is a large fusion weapon fired at altitude. Just one nuke and the country is forever shutdown and uninhabitable."
"That is devastating news, but thankfully, it is also not very realistic," he responded with a smug smile. "It's unlikely terrorists could pull off such a feat... according to all of my nuclear advisors."
"True," I responded quickly, "but it is also true that a disgruntled military faction in Russia or China could pull it off, posing as terrorists if caught. Or Russia or China could just get fed up with our aggression and shut us down for good." I had pulled a sheet out of my briefcase as I spoke, and I stood up and slid it to him across the top his big desk. "Terrorists or even two or three nut cases could destroy your beloved Chicago with a couple of these devices." I sat down.
I heard him sigh at one point in the two minutes it took him to read the page and study the schematic of a very devastating, cheap, home-made, conventional weapon that can zap a nuke power plant. When he finished, he got up from his desk and went to the window. I noticed it was now snowing outside. I had no idea whether I had depressed him or I had made a positive impression and he was wondering about what to do with me. He turned partially and said over his shoulder, "You always like to have an addition problem or piece of bad news every time I meet with you, so let me throw it back in your lap this time. What do you recommend we do about that?" He nodded at the sheet on his desk.
"Recognize that all high-tech civilizations are extremely vulnerable to high-tech weaponry and work from there. There is no counter to that low-tech weapon, so we have to eliminate the real problem: nuclear power plants that threaten us. That will take years, but has to be done if we are to be safe. But a larger question, sir; are you now beginning to see how ugly the nuclear problem is? The more you learn about nuclear energy, the more you wished you didn't know. The nuclear news always gets worse; it never gets better." There was a silence. "RSVP," I added.
He was still looking out the window and was slow in answering, turning back to his desk and to me as he did so. "I'll have everything you say checked out again, but as for now, I see your point and concede it. Ah... but your message seems to be, bad news whichever way I turn. Do you realize the accumulative effect... ah, your advice is beginning to have on me? I keep meeting you, and you keep driving home how horrible it all is." He grinned. "Do you have any good news to share with me?"
He was speaking quite seriously, but had softened his words after the grin. His point pierced me because I knew it was true. I had let it all hang out from the beginning, constantly kicking the sand of reality in his face. I stared at the carpet as I tried to come up with something positive. After a moment, I came up with two points I wanted to make and that might have a positive effect on him. I sat back in my chair and spoke emphatically.
"Yes, I would make two points, Mr. President. The first is the importance of the Malcolm X quote. We are all humans first and foremost, and in that fact lies our equality, that we are all equal as humans. It is the best argument against racism and sexism."
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