Why Civil Defence—1970

Abstract

It is not necessary for me to tell you that I felt greatly honored when Mr. Patterson invited me to address your Seminar. At the same time, it was not clear to me what I should hope: that you already agree with what I’ll tell you about the necessity and usefulness of civil defence, or that some of my message should be, at present, foreign to you. In the first case, if you already agree with what I’ll say, I may bore you. Nevertheless, I would prefer it that way because, if you disagree with my message, my hopes of convincing you are modest. One can convince a disbeliever of a theorem in mathematics with a well formulated proof; one can well hope to convince a doubter in physics with a well conceived experiment. In human affairs, our subconscious is decisive; persuasion and arguments rarely affect it. Thus, my hope is that my discussion will bore you.