Countdown to Zero Discussion Questions

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Sarah Clemens

1. In your opinion, what is the most pressing issue concerning nuclear proliferation and/ or disarmament today? What course of action should our world leaders take? Explain your answer.

The biggest conflict is which countries can have nuclear weapons and which countries cannot. Who has the right to say that one country cannot have these weapons yet others can, this has created conflicts between countries and it truly is a dividing issue. Of course the ideal answer is to say that every country should destroy their nuclear weapons so that no countries have use of them, however that is unrealistic and will not happen; the most practical course of action that I can see is to continue our policies of diplomacy and discussion, and especially keeping communication open through the United Nations so that all nations are aware of what each other nation possesses and is capable of. While this method has not been completely effective and comes with many complications and conflicts, it is our only realistic way of trying to keep peace.

2. Is global nuclear disarmament possible? Why or why not?

I do not believe it is; possessing nuclear weapons means power, and power is what our world runs on. Giving up nuclear weapons would take that power from countries. For example I could never see the United States destroying its nuclear weapons because that means we would no longer have an advantage over other countries, we would be no longer on the level of countries who may have nuclear weapons, and we would become vulnerable to attack. This same mentality is not just applicable to the U.S., but to Russia, China, Great Britain, and all other countries who either possess or want to possess nuclear weapons. There is a constant competition for power between nations in our world, and this means that true world peace is impossible to attain.

3. What portion of the video do you find most interesting/ disturbing/ surprising? Why? 

The most interesting, disturbing and surprising part of this video was the simulation of what would happen if missiles were to be launched. The casualties and just how rapid everything would happen was pretty shocking to me. 

World is Flat Reading Questions pages 51-71

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Question #1: The second chapter outlines “Ten Forces That Flattened the World,” ranging from the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, to the open-source software movement. In what way did politics influence entrepreneurship in the 1990s? What psychological impact did November 9 have on the world, particularly when paired with new means for global communication?

 Kayla – It influenced it because after the fall of the Berlin Wall it allowed democracy to take place. It added the countries separated by communism to the world market and the wall falling allowed the spread of ideas. It allowed the ones who were separated by communism to be free. The spread of democracy also came capitalism. 

Question #2: Freidman points out that with the second flattener of internet and global communications many positive connections are made. What are some of these connections? How has your life been affected by the development of the Internet? Are there any negative effects?

Kayla – Individuals are able to allowed their things to be seen by anyone. This allowed the spread of ideas to be more easier and allowed ideas to be spread faster. Communicating has improved a lot since the internet. Thanks to the internet I am able to easily contact my family who lives in Vietnam, France, Germany, and other areas very quickly. My education has improved a lot since we now have internet and we have a more vast range of knowledge available to us at the click of a button. There are also bad things about the internet such as cyber bullying, hackers, and pedophiles. 

North Korea Video 2-11-13

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Kayla Pham

What I knew going into watching this video was that North Korea is a very cruel and harsh country who takes the family of those who “commit crimes” and put them into camps where they will be held for the rest of their lives. I want to know how many people tend to escape from North Korea each year. I would like to hear other people’s accounts of living in North Korea and hear from people who have not lived in the prison camps. I learned that the families who are arrested to go into the prison camps are kept away from the family member that committed the crime and the family is not told why they are in the camp. The conditions are very harsh and if they work hard enough sometimes they are rewarded. The prisoners father was rewarded with his mother when he did hard work and that is why the prisoner was born into the camp.

Sarah Clemens

I knew about the harsh conditions and the brainwashing that occurs within North Korea. Although I went in knowing this, it was still shocking to hear the horrors of the former prisoner’s story. I want to know how many people escape from North Korea into China and South Korea every year, and it would be interesting to know North Korea’s response to the number of escaped people. I learned how psychologically broken people can be after such a traumatic experience. Before the video, I thought anybody would be horrified with their lives in North korea and would be ecstatic to have freedom. However, I now see how complex the mind is and how brainwashing can alter a person forever.

Lane Tucker

What I knew about the country before hand was that North Korea was a militant country that had no care for it’s citizens, but whose citizens saw their leaders in the light of gods. the country is one that suffers mass famine, and whose people are so brainwashed that even after receiving aid from other world powers, they vow to destroy those countries. What I want to know is why the leaders do this to their people, and how they could possibly think that taking on the United States would be a good idea. And not only do they think it’s  a good idea, but they think they would win! How could they think that? What I learned is that  the country is in a much more desperate state than I previously believed, and that their military camps are as cruel as they are.