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Now We Know What the Cuban Missile Crisis Felt Like
Praying for the people of Ukraine, contemplating our lack of evolution, and thinking about the end of times
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. — Carl Sagan
In my early teens, before we had cable TV, I’d fall asleep to the documentary about Bob Dylan called No Direction Home. A scene I remember well was an interview with a fellow folk singer who talked about how, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, they would sit in a Greenwich Village cafe, drink to the possible end of the world, and play music.
Around that time, Dylan wrote the song A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall. Many believe it was about nuclear war or bombs raining now, but in typical Bobby D fashion, he never really said exactly what it was about — maybe he has at some point, but not in the countless hours of docs/interviews I’ve seen.
