My parents lived in the mountains for much of the Cold War. We crowded around the radio daily to listen if the risk of the actual apocalypse was any closer. Several times we thought it was about to happen. Several times it really did almost happen.

I hope we don’t get to that point again. I really thought for most of my adult life that the USA’s deep trade ties to the rest of the world along with other super-powers would ensure some level of stability and peace. And it did.

Past tense.