Clear & Present Danger
03/10/2006

Clear & Present Danger

By Marilyn Aligata
Where is our Nation and the World headed on issues of war and peace? This is a question I ask myself often as I have been a peace activist since the Cuban Missile Crisis over 40 years ago. Russian Nuclear Missiles were pointed at the United States from Cuban bases, my first child was about six years old and I was so terrified that these missiles would be launched at our country and we would see a nuclear holocaust.

In the face of this threat, I wanted to do something to help protect my family so I joined Civil Defense. I learned how to deliver babies, but only in a fallout shelter, and I was taught to go into public schools and teach children to go under their desks in the event of nuclear attack. Slowly I began to realize I didn’t want to work to prepare for nuclear attack, I wanted to work to prevent it. It was then I became a peace activist.

Fortunately our governments resolved this crisis. Whew! I thought the world was dangerous then, it is nothing compared to now.

Since the Bush presidency we are in a war in Iraq. The hate of Americans has escalated in the world. Our government is not happy with North Korea, Venezuela and Iran. Most recently there has been verbalization by our President that we must do something about Cuba. Big Goliath threatening little David. Castro is not going to take this sitting down, he has moved to stay strong and extended invitations to the Presidents of Iran and Venezuela according to syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker. Cuba, Venezuela and Syria voted against the International Atomic Energy Agency’s resolution to refer to Iran to the United Nations Security Council over it’s nuclear program. It’s not okay for Iran to build nuclear weapons, but I ask you, do you blame them?

According to Women’s Action for New Directions fact sheet produced by desk nuclear weapons, the United States has 7,300 suspected strategic and approximately 4,000 tactical nuclear weapons. The US is the only country to station nuclear weapons outside of its borders. Like Russia, the US also maintains some 2,000-2,500 nuclear weapons on “hair trigger” alert ready to launch at a moments notice. And we aren’t talking about the nuclear weapons in China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan and Israel. The global totals about 24,000 to 33,507 nuclear weapons.

Of course it’s dangerous if Iran makes nuclear weapons, terrorist have already threatened to explode an atomic bomb in America.

Libya and North Korea want atomic bombs. But I ask you, who gives us the right to tell people “No!” when we have all these nuclear weapons pointed at countries we consider a threat and say to other countries you can not? It only makes the world more dangerous.

Don’t forget, the United Sates has already used two atomic bombs in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan killing women and children, not troops.

How can the rest of the world feel safe? We threaten other countries with our might! Wouldn’t it be a safer world if the United States started to actively lead the world in the area of disarmament of nuclear weapons? Countries would be less likely to want to build nuclear weapons if we started to educate them to the danger of the world. There are some in the world that would not want to see weapons production end. The vast military industrial complex that President Eisenhower talked about, profits in the trillions of dollars. But I ask you citizens of America, is this a reason to continue?

The US government spends one half of the budget on the military. Can’t we be more creative? We would all have healthcare, Social Security, the best education programs, we could eliminate much of the crime by educating people in love and parenting.

Every city and highway would be re-developed, and the environment could be clean up. We’d even invent a vehicle that doesn’t pollute instead of using all our scientific minds on weapons development. The earth would be in good shape.

In May of 2005, Dr Tariq Rauf of the International Atomic Energy Agency was keynote speaker at the Northwest Connecticut Chapter of the United Nations Association. According to the UNA, Dr Rauf was joined by Connecticut people, many of whom have served in various capacities in the United Nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. According to Dr. Rauf, “Controlling the spread of nuclear weapons may well be the most important issue of our time.” Many scientist, doctors and other professionals, are calling for an end to the war. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in their book, “Peace, A Dream Unfolding”, tell of co-presidents and their 1985 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. “Man is probably unique in making war on his own species.”

War is not an option anymore as weapons of mass destruction are just what they mean – “mass destruction”. Is it worth it? According to Dr Helen Caldicott’s book, “The New Nuclear Danger”, there is enough explosive power in the combined nuclear arsenals of the world to “overkill” every person or living thing on earth 32 times. This is mind boggling and terrifying!

Simon Tisdall of the London Guardian calls President Bush’s arms development “A reckless ach of weapons proliferation.” This as we can see, is leading to an international arms race.

There are things we can do. Write our President, Congressmen and Senators. There is a Connecticut Opposes the War march in Hartford on Sunday, March 19 at the Old State House on 800 Main Street at 2pm. The American Friends Service Committee, The Culture of Peace, A Season of Non-Violence which runs till April 4, helping us think of 64 ways in 64 days to have non-violence. There is more. Probably the most unique action is non-action. Recently I read “Peace is the Way” by Deepak Chopra. On the jacket of this passionate book inspired by a saying from Mahatma Gandhi, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” In a world where every path to peace has proved has proved futile, the one strategy that hasn’t been tried is the way of peace itself.

“We must not bring one war to the an end, or thirty,” Chopra tells us. “But the idea of war itself.” Sounds logical to me. Why not? Chopra asks us to form a peace movement that isn’t an antiwar movement. The difference is crucial he says.

The next step might be a “peace cell”, a group of ten people who want to further peace through a seven-step program outlined in the book. Finally, as consciousness grows, you might want to join a global community of peace cells. A special website has been set up to list all peace cells.

Now this sounds hopeful.

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