It's a near miracle that nuclear war has so far been avoided.

The philosopher and critic of power, Noam Chomsky, once spoke with chilling simplicity: “It’s a near miracle that nuclear war has so far been avoided.” In these few words he reveals both the fragility of our existence and the folly of our age. For though mankind has harnessed the atom and split the fire of the stars, we live each day balanced on the edge of destruction. The miracle is not that we are wise, but that, by chance or restraint, the final catastrophe has not yet come.

To call it a miracle is to admit that reason alone cannot explain our survival. Since 1945, when the first atomic fire consumed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nations have stockpiled thousands of warheads, each capable of ending millions of lives in an instant. By the logic of history, which has always turned invention into weapon and rivalry into war, we should already have perished. Yet for more than seven decades, the weapons remain, terrible and waiting, like swords suspended above the earth by a single thread.

History provides moments when the world stood within a heartbeat of annihilation. The most famous is the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Soviet missiles, armed with nuclear warheads, were placed in Cuba, within reach of American cities. For thirteen days, the world held its breath as leaders on both sides weighed whether to fire or to retreat. One misstep, one spark of pride or error, could have ended civilization. It was not wisdom alone but the trembling hand of fortune that turned the tide, as back-channel negotiations and a measure of restraint led both sides away from the abyss. Truly, as Chomsky declares, survival was a miracle.

But there were other times, less remembered, when only chance preserved us. In 1983, a Soviet officer named Stanislav Petrov received alarms of an American nuclear strike. By protocol, he should have reported the warning and unleashed retaliation. But something in his judgment held him back—he believed it was a false alarm. He was right. His single decision spared the earth from a holocaust. One man’s refusal to obey the machine became another of history’s miracles.

Chomsky’s words warn us that we cannot forever rely on such fortune. A world balanced on miracles is a world courting doom. To live as if survival is guaranteed is to be blind; to live as if it is fragile is to be wise. The great powers still keep their arsenals. Accidents, miscalculations, or madness remain possible. The only true security lies not in weapons but in restraint, dialogue, and ultimately disarmament. The miracle has lasted—but it cannot last forever if pride and fear continue to rule.

For us, the lesson is clear. We may not command nations, but we can command ourselves. In our own lives, we also carry destructive power—anger, pride, vengeance. Like nuclear fire, these forces can burn all that we love if unleashed. We too must learn restraint, humility, and patience. Just as the world has survived by small acts of wisdom at the brink, so can our relationships, our communities, and our spirits endure when we choose peace over destruction.

Therefore, let this teaching be remembered: be grateful for the miracle of survival, but do not rest in it. Work to ensure that what has so far been chance becomes choice, that what has been miracle becomes wisdom. Support peace, resist the glorification of war, and cultivate the discipline of restraint in your own heart. For if mankind is to endure, it will not be by the endless mercy of fortune, but by the courage of conscience, the humility of wisdom, and the unyielding will to preserve life rather than destroy it.