Jericho Revisited

A few weeks ago, I talked about a new show on CBS called Jericho. It is the story of a small town in western Kansas that finds itself cut off from the rest of the world after an apparent nuclear attack on the U.S.

For me it is a welcome break from the mind-numbing sitcoms and crime dramas that dominate network TV. My question back them was, why did the government allow CBS to air the show? Since the 70’s, our government has trotted out expert after expert to assure us that if we become involved in a nuclear exchange, we will all be dead. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) I believe is the term.

After the paranoia of the 60’s when it seemed that everyone was building bomb shelters, including the government, the public with a sigh of relief accepted the official government position. The problem was the information was wrong.

Yes, nuclear war, even a limited exchange will be a devastating, horrible event, but for a large part of the population not living in a major city, it will be survivable. That is the war will be survivable. The real challenge will be surviving after the bombs stop falling. For those living in major cities, your chances of survival are slim and none.

The Russians have known this for years. That is why they never discontinued their civil defense program. They, to this day, continue to build bomb shelters that will house a large number of people. You see they have every intention of surviving the nuclear exchange that they see coming. They do not trust Americans and believe that some day soon America will use these horrible weapons against Russia and the rest of the world.

But back to Jericho. The only issue I have had with the show so far is that they did not stay underground long enough after the contaminated rains fell. Probably at least 14 days would be needed just to get past the worst of the radiation, but in a TV show that is progressing day by day in each weekly episode, it would have been difficult to keep everyone’s interest. Other than that, it is a fairly accurate story of what life will be like for isolated communities immediately after such a war.

In fact, I am now wondering if the government encouraged this series. It is almost like a nuclear war survival film for small communities who will be cut off from the rest of the world.

If the show stays true to form, the worst is yet to come. What we are seeing is a steady decay of society into chaos. The question will be, as things get worse and food supplies dwindle, will the townspeople have the character to stick together?

Stay tuned. Oh and by the way, there has never been a better time to move to a small piece of land away from any major cities and begin building a sustainable, small-scale farm.