Dear Friends of a world free of nuclear weapons,
it just figures that we couldn’t end 2018 without somebody threatening nuclear war (via Tweet of course; what’s up with that???); no, it wasn’t the Tweeter in Chief, but this Tweet certainly sounded like a Trump wannabe. Is this any way to run an airline (or air force), especially one capable of dropping nuclear bombs? It is most certainly NOT!!! Here’s the full Tweet:
“#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball…if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger,” the tweet said, adding the hashtags: “#Deterrence#Assurance #CombatReadyForce #PeaceIsOurProfession.”
The apologists at the Washington Examiner said of the Tweet that, “It might reflect military gallows humor, but it serves the simple purpose of allowing proud service personnel to speak to their readiness and their mission. If you want to attack them for that, fine. But the deterrence of China, North Korea, and Russia does not rest on political correctness. Its rests on America’s perpetual promise of their annihilation if they wage nuclear war against us.”
That last sentence should have read (particularly in the context of Russia, and perhaps even China) “their annihilation of all of humanity…”
We need to face down the absurdity of our situation in which nations, particularly the two nuclear superpowers with a combined total inventory of 13,300 nuclear warheads (92% of the global inventory), continue to threaten humanity and our precious planet with nuclear devastation, and even extinction.
Aside from the obvious violence embedded in the New Year’s Eve Tweet, something else stood out – the hashtag “#PeaceIsOurProfession”. the tagline “Peace Is Our Profession” was used by the Strategic Air Command” during the Cold War. “Peace…”??? Perhaps, “Ready To Wage Nuclear War On Command” would be a more correct tagline for our nuclear forces. We, as real peacemakers, need to take control of the dialogue on nuclear weapons (and war in general). Nuclear weapons do not keep any peace. Deterrence is a myth. There is no limited nuclear war. In reality, nuclear weapons threaten humanity with at very least a horrific future, and quite possibly extinction.
At Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, we remain hopeful in the midst of the madness (and steadfastly nonviolent in the midst of the violence). People around the world are coming together to do the extraordinarily difficult work of creating a paradigm shift away from the cult of deterrence and of the idea of nuclear weapons keeping the peace. There simply is no peace with nuclear weapons.
For me, 2019 will be the Year of the Treaties (and our work together to protect and strengthen them)! We must not lose ground on the good work done (and the treaties negotiated) to reign in the nuclear genie over the decades since it was unleashed. We need to protect existing nuclear weapon treaties (such as the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty and New START) and see that the recently passed Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force and that the nuclear weapons states and those under their “umbrella” come to their senses and embrace it.
The January 2019 Ground Zero Newsletter highlights the December visit of the Treaty Compliance Campaign to Ground Zero Center. It also features the seven resisters who appeared in court following their August 2018 nonviolent direct action at the Bangor Trident base. Click here to see photos of the December event. 
We are going BIG in 2019, with our three traditional events, and quite likely another round of bus ads, bannering, monthly leafleting at Bangor, and four issues of our Ground Zero Newsletter. We are honored, this year, to welcome Kathy Kelly as guest and keynote speaker at our Mothers Day weekend event (on Saturday, May 11th), and David Swanson who will speak at our August Hiroshima-Nagasaki event.
We will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Saturday, January 19th with a vigil at the Bangor base, and will join the Seattle MLK Rally and March on Monday, January 21st.
For those who have been awaiting the release of Frank Fromherz’s book, A Disarming Spirit: The Life of Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, the wait is over. You can order the book directly from the publisher by clicking here. Frank has designated that proceeds from sales of the book, after publisher’s profit, will go to the Ground Zero Community.
Please join us in whatever way(s) you are able in the coming year as we continue the journey of nonviolent resistance and the work of building a nuclear weapons-free world. Keep in touch with the pulse of the Center at gzcenter.org, and check out our Facebook page. And, I always welcome your thoughts and suggestions at outreach@gzcenter.org.
Wishing you peace and all good in the New Year.
On behalf of Ground Zero Center,
Leonard Eiger
