Dear Friends of a world free of nuclear weapons,
There is way too much testosterone going around in Washington, D.Ceit these days. Of course, testosterone is nothing new in the halls of power. It manifests itself in destructive ways – from the seemingly endless spewing of harmful pollutants into our fragile environment to the continuing production of weapons of war and their use around the world. The corporate patriarchs reap the monetary rewards, while throwing a few crumbs to their dependents in the halls of Congress (who we elect to represent the people’s interests) to get their support for these destructive practices. There is high irony in the fact that the individuals (primarily men) claim to represent the people, while making decisions that will certainly doom humanity to a dismal future (assuming there is one), and selling out the futures of their own children and grandchildren. They have no shame!
The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) evaluated over 6,000 scientific research papers. It offers a dire warning: time is short and the water is rising (figuratively and literally)! The minute hand of the Doomsday Clock, was most recently moved forward to two minutes to midnight. The official statement said that, “In 2017, world leaders failed to respond effectively to the looming threats of nuclear war and climate change, making the world security situation more dangerous than it was a year ago—and as dangerous as it has been since World War II.” As bad as things were then, the current regime in Washington is dismantling any positive steps previously taken to deal with climate. Nero (and company) isn’t just fiddling; he is literally pouring gasoline on Rome!
While we hear token debate in the halls of Congress regarding the need to find the political will and money to deal with climate change, there is no end to the money free-flowing to build weapons of war, sell weapons to other nations, and prosecute endless wars (in Iraq and Afghanistan). The ultimate folly is the continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. U.S. nuclear weapons spending will cost taxpayers approximately $1.2 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2017 and 2046. Just imagine how much (and what) that money could do if redirected to deal with climate change?
It is no exaggeration to say that we, in our common humanity, are locked in an existential struggle – to survive long enough to abolish nuclear weapons before we drive ourselves to extinction. The stupidity and hubris that has brought us to this point is hard to comprehend, and now we must use all the imagination at our command to create a paradigm shift beyond anything in human history. This new paradigm is one in which nations uphold the rule of law and respect the rights of other sovereign nations, in which nations utilize their resources in sustainable fashion and need not plunder the resources of other nations, and one in which nations cooperate to save our small blue planet for the sake of future generations.
War hurts the earth, and nuclear war would devastate our fragile ecosphere, rendering the soil and waters dangerous to life. The residual radioisotopes, some of which last for countless generations, would make water and the food grown in soil dangerous for human consumption. People would develop cancers and other illnesses and diseases, and would pass on genetic defects to subsequent generations, some of whom would be born with birth defects. And then there is the widespread famine from crop failures due to the dramatic temperature reductions due to the huge amounts of particulates that would remain high in the atmosphere following a nuclear war.
This is the critical time for us to become truly disruptive of the plutocratic system that represents corporate personhood over real people. It is time to demand that human rights take precedence over corporate rights. It is time to call out the racist, misogynistic ruling class and bring about a nonviolent revolution of values in which there is enough for everyone and there is a place for everyone at the table.
While we need to get out the votes in a few weeks, nuclear weapons arguably remain the most pressing issue facing humanity. And while we need to keep pressing on to get more and more countries to sign on to and ratify the Nuclear Ban Treaty, I suggest that divestment should be a central strategy in pressuring the plutocrats where it matters – their bottom line.
The DON’T BANK ON THE BOMB campaign is the go-to place for everything we need to know about divestment – who builds and maintains nukes, who funds them, who divests from them, and how to take action. We can not only divest as individuals, but we can pressure our financial institutions, cities and townships, churches – any entity that invests on our behalf – to divest. Check out the DON’T BANK ON THE BOMB website for resources and their most recent report.
The Trident nuclear weapon system – based both here, just 20 miles west of Seattle, and at Kings Bay, Georgia – represents not only the largest operational concentration of nuclear weapons in the US (and possibly anywhere in the world), but also the most deadly, omnicidal weapon system ever developed. Companies like General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin are central to the Trident system, and while we must continue to protest and call them out for their complicity in preparations for nuclear war, divestment will send a direct and powerful message to their corporate boardrooms.
As for Ground Zero Center, we’ve had an active summer. We’ve reached tens of thousands of people with our bannering and bus ad campaigns. Activists showed up every Monday all summer long holding banners over Interstate 5 in Seattle, sending a clear message – ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” Our most recent bus ad ran over much of the summer on Seattle Metro Transit Buses, and is running this month and into November, carrying it’s own mobile message to “ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY.” And there has been much more, including mitigation hearings, the annual Peace Fleet and all the annual August events, culminating in a nonviolent direct action at the Bangor base, reminding people of the late Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen’s famous and provocative statement that “TRIDENT IS THE AUSCHWITZ OF PUGET SOUND.”
Click here to read the October 2018 Ground Zero Newsletter and learn all about all our many summer nonviolent exploits. The front page article provides context to Hunthausen’s famous quote. There is also a reflection on Hunthausen by Ground Zero co-founder Jim Douglass. We hope the Newsletter keeps you in touch with our work.
Whatever you do in these next few months, please keep spreading the word about the need to abolish nuclear weapons and disarm the dirty rotten (patriarchal) system that perpetuates war and human suffering. If you are not already divested from weapons makers (of any type), get started now. Share your divestment experience with us; this is our common struggle and there is strength in our stories. Contact us at either outreach@gzcenter or info@gzcenter. Keep up between newsletters at our website at gzcenter.org and our Facebook page. Together we can make difference.
On behalf of Ground Zero Center,
Leonard Eiger
