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SESSION VI
295
never been translated into useful working knowledge on the part of
most of the people of this country who need to know it, and that's
almost everyone. Somwhere in here there's got to be some push,
some motivation, some real incentive for people to assirnilate that
information and to make it working knowledge. It has never been
done.
I don': know how you would do it.
FREMONT-SMITH:
In contrast, there is Sweden.
an entirely different situation there?
Isn't there
SPEAR: Of course; in Sweden you had the willingness of the
government to dedicate substantial funds to underground shelter
purposes for industry and for government.
FREMONT-SMITH:
And for people.
SPEAR: Yes. And Isuppose one could say that Sweden may have
-epent on civil defense what we have been spending on our military
budget.
FRFMONT-SMITH:
.
I wonder whether psychosocially this contrast
between two different nations isn't worth contemplating, because we
had this surge of interest and then apathy following, and it raises a
question of whether in a democracy such as ours or in a country
built the way we are, one can keep up a pitch of interest which fallout shelters require to keep them functioning when the war doesn't
come. Onthe other hand, what has Sweden done? I think this is
worth discussing.
SPEAR: I wonder whether the traditional stance of neutrality may
in some way that [ don't understand be responsible for this?
have much the s
1 ame thing in| Switzerland.
You
FREMONT-SMITH: And they are nearer to Russia, too.
SPEAR: The Swiss havea similar tradition of neutrality and I've
always wondered how they can keep it alive over the centuries, in
which they don't fight, the tradition of military responsibility of each
adult male. Arms are regularly issued to them and when the church
bells ring they assemble at certain points. They rehearse tuis periodically. How they do this. how they keep alive that interest, that
sense of obligation, without everr being called upon to really uve it,
I don't underatand.
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