by Nischal Dahal
Published on: Jan 6, 2005
Topic:
Type: Opinions

Mankind, the most civilized creature of the world, is at the peak of his technological development. Those things people used to dream about and hear only in fairy tales have now become real.

Technology has changed the perception of the human race. Computers have redefined not only the information but each field we can conceivably imagine. Take for example; people have begun using computer technology even in washing machines these days. It can thus be said that computer technology has become an inseparable part from the human civilization. Technology has added comfort to our lives, from birth to death.

Meanwhile, the good story of such development has also brought with it the negative aspect whereby evil minds have benefited profusely. The disaster in Hiroshima is one of the black eclipses in the technology’s glorious history. The Nuclear energy developed as an alternative source of energy has been misdirected towards the Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). Rockets, which were supposed to be the tools for space exploration, have been extensively used for hitting the targets airborne with WMD. Today billions of dollars, which can feed every individual of the world, is being spent for the undeclared race of nuclear weapons. This clearly shows that technology itself is not good or bad but the hand that uses it will decide good or evil.

In retrospect, history reveals that such technological revolution took place after World War II (WWII). It is undeniable that the amenities that we have been enjoying these days are more or less the gift of that War. The invention of technology is always done for a noble reason; however it consequently gets developed for the destruction of ones race. War, the word itself is undesirable but from the development point of view, history witnesses say that war is essential for technological development.

When the warfare history is explored from the technological point of view, we come across several examples which prove the above statement. Rockets were developed by Nazis and for the intercontinental attack. Airplane’s supersonic age is the gift of WWII. The necessity of an air attack in defense has forced engineers to high-speed aircraft, which can carry tons of bombs while airborne. NORAD, a joint station of the USA and Canada under a granite hill, can detect a missile up to the size of a knot launched from any corner of the globe. It is said that NORAD can resist even q Hydrogen bomb. NORAD can detect the threat of the missile to the USA and Canada and launch a ballistic missile within four minutes to destroy the missile.

Radar technology is at the peak because of its development during WWII. Radar was developed to detect and destroy the fast developing airplanes. Radiation Laboratory set by USA in World War II employed hundreds of engineers, 24 hours a day and developed surprisingly, 120 designs of Radar in just four years. Internet, which has emerged as the backbone of the world economy evolved in the laboratory of the United States army. Global Positioning System (GPS), which can detect it’s receiver by satellite signals, with an accuracy of one meter, was developed by US army. It is said that every US soldier has a GPS receiver in his helmet.

Technology has also played a role in political situations. The third Reich was in its victorious journey of the USSR with the help of their advanced tanks but Russia on the other hand has secretly made even more advanced tanks to outsmart the German tanks.

This forced the Nazis to withdraw from Russia. In yet another story, the Nazis had almost starved Britain by destroying their ships carrying food with the help of radar equipped submarines. Fortunately, the English scientists developed a more advanced radar, which helped them destroy the submarines and win the war. We can, thus, say Nazi lost the technological race thus lost the war itself.

Development needs investment. It is fact that today’s nations are spending more on defense than on anything else, so it is quite obvious that the development will also accelerate in the defense sector. However, it takes decades for the civil society to use the technology which is developed by spending the taxes they pay to their government. The defense budget of the United States can feed the entire world population who are dying of starvation every day. But in the name of security, people are spending trillions of dollars to kill and destroy, which could be used to save lives. Theoretically, this means that they are killing twice the people being killed by bombs. Whatever be the reason to justify their evil, whether its self defense, religion, or racial war to kill people, it is neither sacrosanct nor can it be justified for any reason.


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