#nukethemoon

I’m certain that my fellow #BiolaIRIS students have prudently completed their Handmaid’s Tale drafts in order to freely enjoy Halloween festivities (which may include dressing as a Handmaid). Whether my certainty qualifies as a properly justified true belief may be up for debate. In any event, I trust I can share some thoughts that have arisen amidst my writing process without fear of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the least of my fears; it’s fear itself I fear the most (plagiarized from FDR). I chose the prompt concerning control. I’m arguing that fear is a device used by the society of The Handmaid’s Tale as a means of control. My choice to make this argument was reinforced after watching Atwood in a recent interview.

Two fascinating insights from Atwood:

1. Fear should be feared: “One of the lessons of history always is: ‘Scare people enough, and they will give up civil liberties.’”

This is emphasized in Offred’s words on page 286:

I don’t want to be a doll hung up on the Wall, I don’t want to be a wingless angel. I want to keep on living, in any form. I resign my body freely, to the uses of others. They can do what they like with me. I am abject. I feel, for the first time, their true power.

2. This idea of fear as a means of control isn’t too foreign for us. Terrorism was a reality of our childhood and we’re afraid. We’re willing to take off our shoes and belts--our privacy is gladly forfeited in the pursuit of national security. Atwood explains: “[9/11] made it possible to introduce a lot more surveillance and a lot more control than people in America would have tolerated before that time.”

Fear is powerful and it can make people do crazy things. I think of the Cold War and the fear of the Bomb. Perhaps you’ve heard of Project A-119. Last year, a friend of mine shared an article with me about the recently declassified government project that was a plan to nuke the moon. 

Why? Well, primarily to improve American morale. You have to understand the context:

Traditionally, the brains/headquarters of military command have been in the center of a landmass--this is because attacks/invasions historically have come from the coasts, and it’s strategic to put the head of the military where it would take longest to get to. This all changed when Russia launched Sputnik in 1957. The first man-made satellite in orbit was a major source of fear for America--it meant that Russia had the potential to drop a nuclear bomb from space onto the middle of military headquarters (side note: it was this realization that prompted the need for a decentralized network of communication where a network would still operate even if one site was down; this need spawned ARPANET, which was a forerunner to the internet! No Sputnik = no memes).

The U.S. Air Force tried to match Russia by sending their own satellite into space but failed miserably, twice. America needed to act fast. We didn’t have the technology to launch a satellite, but we could nuke the moon. Project A-119 was carefully designed to be as visually spectacular as possible--it'd make a huge plume of dust on the surface of the moon where the sun would backlight it for the whole earth to see. That way, everyone would know ‘murica’s number one. This project was on track to launch even though there was a considerable chance of the bomb missing the moon and crashing back down to earth.

Thankfully, the plan was scrapped. We ended up completing the space race with a much more graceful moon landing in ’69. Quite a story. I think I heard somewhere that there’s a film about Project A-119 coming out soon or something...

What a gift to be free from fear. No matter what may come, our trust is not in our own control, but in the One who is ultimately in control--the One who bids us, “Do not be afraid,” again and again. What can the prospect of death do to the child who’s mortal life is but a blip in comparison to the life to come? We’re not alone. As the Psalmist writes:

“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” 

Ps. 118:6

I’ll end quoting the words of one of my favorite songs:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms; What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, Leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms; I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms.