THE TEST OF MAN

Self-discipline Rather than Freedom

IN 1945, a single atom bomb named “Little Boy” destroyed the entire city of Hiroshima. This was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare exploding with an energy equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT causing widespread death and destruction. By today’s standards, this was a “little” bomb as most of the nuclear weapons tested since then had a yield of over 100,000 tons of TNT with the most powerful weapon tested having a yield of 50 megatons of TNT, each megaton being equal to a million tons of TNT. Now, nearly seventy five years later, the world’s nuclear arsenal contains 14,575 nuclear bombs with a combined power of unimaginable destruction. As Jonathan Schell has pointed out in his best-seller The Fate of the Earth, man is now in a position to destroy life on earth many times over.

What, basically, are these weapons? Like any other weapon, they are just a misuse of the resources of nature. A sword is a misuse of steel, a nuclear bomb a misuse of nuclear energy.

Modern man takes enormous pride in the freedom he has won for himself. But it is self-discipline rather than freedom that is needed for peace to prevail on earth.

The things from which weapons are made were in the possession of nature for millions of years, with no havoc or destruction being caused by them. When man gained control of them, however, they suddenly became destructive. Why? The reason is that nature has no freedom. Man, on the other hand, is free to act as he pleases. The fact is what philosophers call a ‘problem of evil’ is simply a misuse of human freedom.

Modern man takes enormous pride in the freedom he has won for himself. But it is self-discipline rather than freedom that is needed for peace to prevail on earth. The freedom of choice that man has been given in the world today is a test; it is not his right. If he uses his freedom correctly, and makes the right choice for himself, he will be successful. But if he misuses his freedom, he is doomed to failure.

Resources that remain in the control of nature function properly. When man gains control of them, however, they cause havoc in the world. This fact shows us how order can be maintained in the world: man must learn how to utilize these resources in the way that nature utilizes them. The model of nature must be applied to human life. This is the real task facing both individuals and societies in the world today.