John Tallmadge is Professor of Literature and Environmental Studies at the Union Institute, where he currently serves as Dean of the Graduate School. He is a scholar and practitioner of nature writing with a longstanding interest in the spiritual aspects of wilderness travel, nuclear disarmament, and peace issues generally. He has taught at Yale, Carleton, Dartmouth, and the University of Utah.

This essay was originally drafted in 1984, during the height of the Reagan military buildup and the increase in Cold War tensions throughout the world. The author had gone into counseling and learned about relationship dynamics, double binds, and the addiction model. These new ideas seemed strikingly relevant to the nuclear dilemma by which we all felt so victimized and oppressed. Subsequent events in both East and West have confirmed the importance of the spiritual viewpoint and given us new reason to hope. Great dangers still remain, however, and thus, this updated essay offers insights into the post-Cold War era, when we will still be faced with planetary challenges of peace and survival.