Old Cold War fears are suddenly new again, nuclear war.


Miniaturized warheads, intercontinental ballistics, fools at the helm; impetuosity has replaced diplomacy, and it's become a dangerous game that's put us all at risk. Nuclear war seems real again, one stupid tweet away.

And we don't know what to make of it. Our apocalypse will find us still glued to our screens: streaming movies, watching porn, posting selfies, oblivious of our end. Our comedians have told a few jokes, because that's all they can do. Our varied media vary in their assessments, torn as they are between the responsibility of truth and the profits panic promises. An unexpected, antique anxiety, it'll take some getting used to again, this 20th-century memento mori, our new nuclear fear.

Some, of course, view this religiously; many always do. Some see our elected leaders as anointed, chosen clearly by God to wield the sword of righteousness against evil for the good of our godly nation. All of it right and just, according to the unrolled scrolls of providence.

Such is the belief of pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas, as he made clear a few days ago. God has given our president authority, he and many others believe, to wage war to "take out" evil dictators, namely North Korea's Kim Jong Un. "Thank God for a president who is serious about protecting our country," he said. Finally, an administration no longer "sheepish."