NINE
Afterthought
As I have reviewed these actions on Strong, it has called up vivid memories of situations where it seemed almost impossible to come to grips with the reality and consequences of events unfolding before one’s eyes. I have already mentioned the difficulty of grasping fully the fact that the bombing right there on the beach—is war! People are fighting and dying! The same hypnosis seemed to be generated by “blips” on a radar screen—or the roar of a spread of torpedoes on the sound stack. It was dramatically visible in the stunned complacency on the faces of individuals on a mortally wounded ship—”This can’t be a real happening. We’ll wake up pretty soon and you’ll see.”
As electric wonders increase theoretical capabilities but isolate individuals more and more from the reality of war in the outside world, will these “electronic moles with push buttons” be able to grasp the fact that they are not involved in a giant make-believe video game—until it’s too late?
