In a memo for Ronald Reagan composed ahead of a May 1982 meeting with Pope John Paul II, Secretary of State Alexander Haig advised the president to emphasize his commitment to eradicating nuclear weapons, “the last great epidemic of our civilization.”
The last great epidemic? It’s hard to read Haig’s words today without a twinge of disbelief, if not jealousy. We’re now living through what might be termed an age of epidemics, both literal and otherwise. Haig’s “last great epidemic” has become our forgotten epidemic, falling to the back of the line behind climate change, gun violence, obesity, loneliness, addiction, and, of course, the Covid pandemic and its potential successors.
Read Full Article »