Nuclear Peacekeepers – Bowen, Grade 12

Nuclear Peacekeepers – Bowen, Grade 12

This persuasive essay is written by one of my grade 12 students. He has presented his argument in favour of nuclear weapons as peacekeepers. He has successfully applied the rhetorical appeals to persuade the readers. The rhetorical devices, the vivid imagery, the literary devices, and the occasional second-person perspective have made it all an engaging essay.

Nuclear Peacekeepers

              Millions of people are dead. In seconds. Nothing can describe the destructive force housed in a mere cubic meter of metal, a bomb that can wipe out entire cities before one can finish a sentence. Only two uses of the most primitive of atomic bombs resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, with hundreds of thousands more dying in the aftermath due to radiation poisoning. One shudders at the prospect of a modern nuke, whose destructive capacity can erase entire countries off the face of the Earth. But it is exactly this fear that has kept the whole world in a relatively stable peace. Without these devices that obliterate all and everything that dares to stand in its wake without mercy or discrimination, the world would be a far more dangerous place. Fear has always been one of humanity’s greatest deterrents, so nothing motivates countries to yearn for peace than mutually assured destruction. In the present day, nuclear weapons no longer serve as weapons of mass destruction but rather as humanity’s greatest shields against a full-scale war, our last defence against utter destruction.  

              How is it that the sharpest sword became the toughest shield? How did a weapon used to kill hundreds of thousands of innocents become something that protects billions more? Fear. Following the fateful bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, the world saw, for the first time, a weapon that could mean the extinction of humanity. The ever-present danger of sharing the same fate as the Japanese cities has crushed any and all provocations of wars between the great powers of the world. To start a war as large of a scale as WWII or even WWI would cause the deaths of billions. In order to prevent such a grim fate from befalling the world, countries have been forced to negotiate to develop strong international relations with each other rather than fighting wars. It can be said that it is because of the looming presence of nuclear weapons that has caused the economic boom of dozens of countries and the strong bonds between countries that are present today. The nuclear bomb watches over countries like a mother watches over her children, without whose presence, the children would fight and squabble, but when she is home, the children behave, bond, and grow.

              Nobody wants to see a loved one die. All those that have had the unfortunate fate to suffer through the death of a loved one cannot even begin to describe the pain, anguish, and suffering which they live through every day because of their loss. Human life is sacred and must be protected at all costs, which is why the thought of mutually-assured destruction is so frightening. Imagine witnessing a hellfire of radiation rain upon you as children scream in the rubble of searing hot streets and skyscrapers topple over like clay. Countries understand that this is their fate, should they launch a nuclear strike against another, which is why no weapons of mass destruction have been used in the past half-century. We all want to be safe, and the only way to achieve that goal is if everyone else is also safe.

              Nuclear weapons are unfortunately a necessary evil required to maintain world peace and stability and are one of the main factors contributing to the increasing number of partnerships and unions among countries. There is no logical reason to get rid of these weapons for the fear they induce is the only reason why most countries have resorted to democracy and diplomacy rather than violence and chaos to achieve their goals. As the world moves towards a safer and brighter future, countries can continually disarm and deactivate their nuclear weapons, but the need for nukes will never be gone until the human race unites under one flag.

              Nuclear weapons are but a blessing in disguise. They are the reason for the decades of peace and happiness. No war will ever be fought again on the scale as the world wars, and no more children will be forced to die a premature death in the name of their country. The destructive capacity of nuclear weapons will always be a concern, but their use in combat will not. They are merely sheep in wolf’s clothing. They may seem menacing, but they are nothing to be concerned about. Nuclear weapons have evolved from their original purpose as weapons of mass destructions into global sentinels of peace.