"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
The Prophets of Oak Ridge
Last summer, in the dead of night, three peace activists penetrated the exterior of Y-12 in Tennessee, supposedly one of the most secure nuclear-weapons facilities in the United States. A drifter, an 82-year-old nun and a house painter. They face trial next week on charges that fall under the sabotage section of the U.S. criminal code. And if they had been terrorists armed with explosives, intent on mass destruction? That nightmare scenario underlies the government’s response to the intrusion. This is the story of two competing worldviews, of conscience vs. court, of fantasy vs. reality, of history vs. the future.
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Government always takes out the lowest person in a chain of events to protect the psychopaths above. That is the reason citizens or members of this land mass are expendable.
The firing of the guard was one of the more disturbing parts of the story considering he evaluated the situation, realized the 'invaders' were peaceful, and he didn't escalate the situation. If his superiors had their way the three would have been shot on sight.
The man who used his brain and did his job is the only one punished.
Deeply agreeable. Some of the miserableness to this story exists in the pseudo authorities in the fact they refused to recognize the true fault of the system (themselves). Ergo, too protect their precious positions their ego required them to blame someone else for their personal failure. It is a defense system they all use--corporately and government (and other areas). It is always easier to blame someone else for wrong actions than yourself. The buck stops at the bottom and never at the top.
The three invaders should have received a medal of honor or a grand civic award for proving government is impotent to perform at any level requiring leadership with honesty.
At this point, unless I missed it in my reading I have no idea what has happened to the three infiltrators of the facility. For some reason I believe they will, in all likelihood be prosecuted and do time in a steel cage.