Fifty years of shame

The true face of patriarchy - the war god's erect weapon

On the 15th of May 1957 a Valiant bomber of the Royal Air Force released Britain's first atomic bomb over Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean. At 10.38 a.m. local time it successfully exploded. Thousands of miles away - and safe from harm in England - Prime Minister Harold Macmillan smiled. He and the patriarchs who rule had achieved the one goal they really, really wanted - a place at the top table of leaders in the post-war world.

By the standards of the biggest player - the United States Government - Macmillan's weapon was desperately small, a very unmanly 300 kilotons. So enlargement was hot on the agenda and everyone had to work flat out to achieve it. At the end of the very same month an 800 kiloton weapon had been exploded. This was followed by a 1.8 megaton device in November and a 3 megaton device in April 1958. At last the Prime Minister had a weapon every bit as manly and as satisfying as anything the US or the USSR governments could erect before the world.

For the prize of power our patriarchs were willing to compromise safety at Windscale where, on October the 10th 1957, the core of the nuclear reactor used to provide material for these weapons caught fire releasing substantial amounts of radioactive material. They were willing to risk the lives of their own military assembled to witness the firestorms. They were willing to ignore the peoples of the Pacific. They were willing to release radioactivity across our Mother the Earth. All this when Britain was bankrupt after the war and desperately needed resources to be channeled towards housing, education and health care.

And for what again - so our leaders could be "real men" before the United States Government and the world. So they could be proud to have the capability of far surpassing the worst biblical genocides with a weapon that could destroy not just cities - like Sodom and Gomorrah - but entire regions.

Fifty years later Britain is still a nuclear power - our leaders still want to stand erect as "real men" in Iraq and throughout the world even if only from the safety of their bullet-proof vehicles in London. Fifty years later Britain's offence expenditure stands at 33.4 billion pounds a year, second only to the United States. Fifty years of shame.

Fifty years later some interesting reports have been produced. The Economist ranked 111 countries on the quality of life of their citizens. They looked at important factors like gender equality, health, well-being and freedom. The top ranking country on this scale was Ireland, followed by Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. Britain came a poor 29th. The 2006 Human Development Index of the UN ranks Norway, Iceland, Australia and Ireland as the top four countries with Britain a poor 18th.

There is a pattern here. Countries with low offence budgets whose leaders don't feel the need to prove their "manhood" before the United States Government and the world are by far the best countries in which to live. Ireland is right next to Britain but does so much better.

Now, if you haven't already, take a look at Athana's blog. She points the way forward far more cogently then I.