Future Weapons is a show on Discovery Channel that is all about guns, armor, missiles and etc that are in development by governments, gun manufacturers and military contractors all over the world. While I do like this show I can’t help but to think of a couple things.
One, I am watching a show about weapons and while the show is interesting and the devices impressive, these are weapons meant for killing. This makes me feel uneasy when I say, “Whoa, that was badass.” It feels that when we watch a show like this it disconnects us from the weapon. We see it as a intresting device not something that destroys life, regardless of who’s life it is. Not everything on the show is a weapon, some are related to defense.
Which brings me to #2, how we are defending the US. They had a missile defense system on the show today. It was a radar guided missile that had no payload but would lock on and slam into the incoming enemy projectile destroying it. They did a demo and it was pretty amazing. But then I thought, “When have we had missiles pointed at the US and or shot at us?” I understand that there is likely a good chance that the public doesn’t know if we have been shot at. But from what we do know is that during the Cold War we had missiles and maybe Saddam had some pointed at us. Currently, terrorism seems to be a larger threat than attacks from the developed or second world (albeit Iran and North Korea are likely threats). 9/11 was proof of that, it was also proof that we cannot expect anything. If we have a missile defense system, it will not protect us from airplanes or car bombs, only missiles. It’s not hard to believe that having a missile fly from the Middle East and hit us is much more difficult than hijacking an airplane and doing the same. Also easier would be buying a plane ticket flying to the US and then create a bomb from urea, nitroglycerin and other chemicals for cheap. The missile system that would be needed to shoot a missile at the US from the Middle East is expensive and throws off too many red flags to be a sneak attack.
Anyway, it’s still an interesting show and the explosions cool. Regardless of the of moral, societal, political and govermental implications of the equipment described.
