Lessons from Oppenheimer

I saw Christopher Nolan's new movie, Oppenheimer, during opening weekend and now I am about to read the book that inspired the movie, American Prometheus (599 pages!). J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project during World War II. He led the scientific team that would develop the first nuclear weapons to be used on Japanese cities during the war. He was a friend and confidant of Albert Einstein, but he ultimately made a lot of enemies and lost his high-level national security clearance due to his alleged political ties, strong opinions on ethical use of nuclear weaponry, and opposition to the development of the hydrogen bomb. We see in the film how his legacy was shaped and tarnished by forces outside his control, even after he achieved an extraordinary feat for his country.

The questions that arises for me after seeing the film...

- When is nuclear war justified? Just because science can create it, should it be done?

- Who deserves more credit for the atomic bomb - Oppenheimer or Truman? (If you've seen the film, you know what I am referring to)

- Who are our allies and how can we be sure they can be trusted?

- Is it worth defending yourself if you know the cards are stacked against you and truth is not the actual agenda?