Friends,
On January 26th the Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists will announce whether the minute hand of the
historic “Doomsday Clock” will be adjusted. . The Doomsday Clock
is that icon of the nuclear age that, since 1947, has conveyed “how
close we are to destroying our civilization with dangerous
technologies of our own making.” The hands of the clock are
currently at 3 Minutes to Midnight, and one can only hope they will
not be set closer to that fateful hour.
Much of the world knows Dr. King as one
of the great peacemakers of all time. What many people are not aware
of is just how deep was King's opposition not only to war, but also
to nuclear weapons.
Dr. King warned us, in his famous
“World House” essay that:
When scientific power outruns spiritual power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men.
As we consider the current and pending
position of the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock in the context of
Dr. King's recent birthday it is hard not to consider the stark
contrast between his legacy and the legacy being created by U.S.
President Barack Obama. Two Nobel Peace Prize recipients - two
radically different paths.
Dr. King was an extraordinary orator.
His words flowed deep from within his spiritual consciousness that
was rooted in the struggles of human beings for their basic rights.
They inspired people to come together in the spirit of nonviolence to
build a better world. He most certainly lived out the words he spoke.
On the other hand President Obama, a
prisoner of the National Security State and Military-Industrial
Complex, is quite the orator, although his rhetoric has fallen far
short. In his famous 2009 Prague speech Obama stated, “America's
commitment to see the peace and security of a world without nuclear
weapons,” and specified that the United States would “reduce the
role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and urge
others to do the same.” Nearly seven years later these words are
nothing but empty promises.
Rebuilding the infrastructure that
develops, builds and maintains nuclear weapons is not "progress."
Rebuilding nuclear warheads and bombs is not “progress.” Moving
ahead with plans to build a new generation of ballistic missile
submarines, bombers, and land based missiles is most certainly not
“progress.”
As the President begins his last year
in office, and with the greatest nuclear weapons modernization effort
(since the end of the Cold War) underway, we must ask what legacy
will he leave?
What would Dr. King say to President
Obama as he approaches final year in office? I imagine him speaking
of the President's two daughters and asking,"Mr. President, what
legacy do you want to leave for your children Malia and Sasha, and
indeed what legacy do you want to leave for all the children of the
world? Mr. President, just when is our nation going to truly lead the
world to peace? When will we learn to live together in this great big
World House that we all share? You and I know, Mr. President, that
the alternative to disarmament is the dark abyss of annihilation? So
Mr. President, what legacy will it be?"
Getting back on track toward Obama's
vision in his Prague speech will require extraordinary vision,
engagement and decisive action. Engagement and action already
face strong opposition on many levels in both the civilian and
military sectors of the government and on Wall Street. The President
will not be moved to lead the world toward disarmament without
significant prodding from civil society.
Certainly, since the end of the Cold
War, a malaise set in as people assumed the peace dividend had
eradicated the nuclear menace, and so they went about business as
usual. Yet, the few in control of humanity's destiny have continued
to make preparations for the unspeakable.
It is time for all citizens, and not
just a small percentage, to be informed about the issues surrounding
nuclear weapons and how they affect all of us. It is time for
citizens to step forward and become engaged in decisions that were
never in their hands in the first place, but should have been. It is
time to bring nuclear weapons into the center of a public dialogue
and debate, and for the citizenry to make its voice heard loud and
clear in the halls of The White House, Congress and the Pentagon (and
beyond).
If this United States in which we live
is to be a true democracy, then it is up to us as citizens to make it
so. And there is no greater issue, in terms of the survival of
humanity, in which we can (and must) become engaged than the
abolition of nuclear weapons.
Dr. King once said that "The arc
of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
King understood that change (at least lasting change) does not occur
overnight. It is a long, hard struggle, as evidenced by every
struggle for human rights throughout history.
Therein lies one major difference
between Dr. King and President Obama. In his Prague speech, Obama
recognized that, "This goal will not be reached quickly –-
perhaps not in my lifetime." The difference is that Dr. King
didn't stop working toward his goals even though he knew they may not
be realized in his lifetime.
We, as citizens, must remind President
Obama that he needs to change course and be in this for the long haul - for the sake of
his children and all the children of the world. And – We must
do it now!
So - Happy Birthday Martin. May our
gift to you be our commitment to a nonviolent world free of the
scourges of war and nuclear weapons.
Peace,
Leonard
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