Alex WellersteinVerified account

But I told a lot of people that it wasn't my #1 reason to be worried. Economics, social issues, attacks on the press — these looked worse.

I didn't think he, and his advisors, would be quite so obtuse about North Korea. I thought they'd see through the bluster.

I thought they'd see that it's relatively easy to seem tough, without starting an all-out war. Plenty of Presidents have managed it.

But I'm actually fairly worried. And my friends know, I am not a worrier in general. If anything, I think I err on the side of blasé.

I'm worried that the people at the top are not asking the right questions. I worry that they are going along with very risky notions.

I worry about groupthink. I worry about impulsiveness. I worry about pride.

I worry that bad ideas will rule the day, because no one will stand up and take responsibility. I worry that the buck will be passed.

I worry that they will come up with a "compromise" solution that will be far too risky for what is warranted,

because the only "other" voices in the conversation will be extreme and foolish.

It's more possible than I think a lot of people realize. I think history shows us it has almost happened more times than are safe.

And I worry that the consequences will be horrendous.

I also worry that the American populace's lack of real understanding the nature of the nuclear era has made them brittle to risk.

That they think a nuclear-armed DPRK makes them much more threatened than before. Rather than just a bit more. That they were never safe.

I don't think we'll ever live in a world where the nuclear risks of this sort will ever diminish. I'm not that optimistic.

But there are more and less dangerous times, even if the danger is never zero. Right now, the danger feels very high. Unacceptably high.