“What line?” would I think have been bomb-virgin USA’s attitude. “It’s just a bigger kaboom”.
It’s hard to count the living. I think it’s almost certain the cold war would have gone nuclear, somewhere, perhaps only a proxy war at first—but I think it would have become a tit-for-tat habit. I think the damage would have been incalculably worse. Not just the usual stuff like climate and radiation, but also the whole experience of a city as a community rather than as ground zero waiting to happen. It would be a loss of subjective security comparable to the collapse of protected trade routes at the fall of Rome—and that was what wiped out their unitary culture. The Americans in the real world lucked out, so to speak—the war ended so soon, they got to feel guilt.
On the other hand… if only the pacific war hadn’t started! It was such a stupid, avoidable war. Innocent people (and beautiful cities) should not be blasted to ash, even for useful lessons. Circumstances should never have reached that pass!
“What line?” would I think have been bomb-virgin USA’s attitude. “It’s just a bigger kaboom”.
It’s hard to count the living. I think it’s almost certain the cold war would have gone nuclear, somewhere, perhaps only a proxy war at first—but I think it would have become a tit-for-tat habit. I think the damage would have been incalculably worse. Not just the usual stuff like climate and radiation, but also the whole experience of a city as a community rather than as ground zero waiting to happen. It would be a loss of subjective security comparable to the collapse of protected trade routes at the fall of Rome—and that was what wiped out their unitary culture. The Americans in the real world lucked out, so to speak—the war ended so soon, they got to feel guilt.
On the other hand… if only the pacific war hadn’t started! It was such a stupid, avoidable war. Innocent people (and beautiful cities) should not be blasted to ash, even for useful lessons. Circumstances should never have reached that pass!