Apocalypse?

For most of my life, in my conscious recollection, I've lived with the underlying threat of nuclear war and human obliteration. This was particularly strong in the 1960's during my adolescence at the height of the cold war, and this must have influenced my attitudes then and helped shape my views now.

Added to that, my parents were religious and served up an unhealthy portion, regularly, of apocalyptic prophesy from The Book of Revelations, which left me scared stiff and waiting for 'Kaboomba' at any moment. I claim now, more than forty years on, that this was not good for a developing mind and may have been the reason for my rebellion and somewhat unpredictable, foolhardy, and antisocial behaviour in my later youth. In common lingo, I was screwed up, without understanding why.

I'm not bitter about this. It's nobody's fault. Seven years before I was born atomic bombs destroyed entire cities in Japan in one swift hit. This historic event was witnessed by my parents in the medai of the day after six years of World War 2 during their adolescence. Then came the arms race and the cold war with the Soviet Union. The whole world was screwed up.

It's still there, the threat of nuclear destruction, but probably we've all relaxed a little thinking that if nobody has pushed the button yet then there's a good chance they won't. Who knows really?

A couple of years ago I bought a book in an op. shop, an auto biography called 'Dr. Helen Caldicott, A Passionate Life.' I came across it this morning and had a quick look. She starts of by saying how she read a book that changed her life when she was nineteen, 'On The Beach', by Neville Shute. That must have been in 1957, and led her to spend 25 years of her life in political activity campaigning for nuclear disarmament.

A little into the first chapter Helen revealed that as a baby she was suddenly abandoned by her parents for two weeks when her mother was pregnant with a second child and in the interests of her health her husband organized a holiday while Helen, 18 months old, was placed in an institution that cared for babies.

I quote, "Years later when I became a pediatrician, I discovered that when a baby is suddenly abandoned by its parents, it screams for about two days for no avail and then gives up and sits in the corner of its cot, uncommunicative and severely depressed. It often takes months for the baby to forgive its parents and it may never completely return to normality and a state of trust."

What amazed me was that I never expected to find common ground between Dr Helen Caldicott and brother Jod. When mum was pregnant with me, her and dad, at Auntie Clare's insistence, went on a holiday to West Australia with Clare, who paid, and left Jod at mum's friend Zoe's. When she came back Jod was a different child and hardly recognized her, and she felt terrible for having left him, a guilt I think she still carries. Jod is two and half years older than me so he would have been about two years old. He turned 60 last month and for much of that 60 years was at war with his parents and the world in general.

After describing how desperately ill she became while her parents were absent, DrHC continues, "These events changed my life. From being a trusting happy child I put a wall around myself and never reall trusted anybody again, and to this day I let very few past this barrier."

My childhood best friend, Graeme 'Bubs' Forster, whom I haven't seen for probably more than 20 years, said to me the last time I saw him, when we were discussing our childhood, "We're all victims of victims." It's not a bad way of looking for understanding of people.

In Dr HC's second last paragraph she says, "However the work of global preventative pediatrics is not over.
The lives of my grandchildren are now threatened with on going ozone depletion, the perils of global warming, pollution of the air, water and soil with a multiplicity of chemicals and radioisotapes, deforestation, and species extinction combined with the rampant overpopulation of human beings.
I paid a personal price for the intense political work that I conducted over a twenty five year time span, through the pain I inflicted on myself and those dear to me. That said, I must continue."

DrHC's book was published in 1996 but the message still packs a punch. The ozone one has diminished but the others are bigger than ever. As far as I can gather HC is still writng and campaigning on environmental issues. She must be a remarkable lady whom I'd love to have to dinner.

Let's hope this Copenhagen thing can help save our children's children.