Rhetoric of having a Nuclear Weapon

Everyone that has grown up in the United States has interpreted the possession of nuclear weapons as a bad connotation. Then why do other countries pursue the possession of a nuclear weapon as if it is the Holy Grail? The real answer, it is looked upon as a measure of prestige, but not only that, it is looked upon as a measure of defense. There is a very tight knit club in the world that has the possession of nuclear weapons, and other countries that aren’t in that club look upon it with envy. This club is one that lists as its members the most powerful nations in the world, so what nation wouldn’t aspire to its membership? The next and more important reason is that the possession of a nuclear weapon deters potential attackers. Just knowing that your enemy has a nuclear weapon will cause you to think twice about attacking them, because then they could use their nuclear weapon against you. This aspect was key in Libya, as Gaddafi had relinquished his nuclear weapons efforts several years before the Arab Spring. Some argue that if he had kept these nuclear weapons, the U.S. wouldn’t have proceeded in its aid towards Libya’s rebels. These two aspects, a symbol of prestige and as a defense, are the two major reasons why a country will attempt to gain control of a nuclear weapon. So if nuclear weapons are sign of prestige, why does every American grow up seeing nuclear weapons with a negative connotation? The answer is that other countries having possession of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable in the mentality of the U.S. The U.S. and other countries that are a part of the closely knit group that possess nuclear weapons, believe that they should be the only ones to have possession. They feel that other countries cannot be depended upon to use their weapons wisely. The images of death and destruction are what comes to an American’s mind, because in America they are solely seen as such, while in North Korea nuclear weapons are seen as prestige and power. This difference really comes from the spin the governments of these respective countries put on their efforts to attain such weapons, and that is why the connotation is so different in these countries.