The Ultimate Necessity of an International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
by E. Martin Schotz, M.D.
rat haus reality press, 11 Feb 2018
Recent comments by the leaders of the United States and North
Korea have reignited public concern about the danger of nuclear
war. The Nobel Peace Prize was
given this past year to The
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
At the dawn of the nuclear age Albert Einstein
warned,
“The splitting of the atom has changed everything except the way
we think. Thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”
What did Einstein mean? And what are the
logical implications of Einstein’s insight? What changes
must occur in our minds to avoid “unparalleled
catastrophe”?
There are at least three ways that the existence of nuclear
weapons compels us to change our thinking—the way we think
about self and other, the way we think about war and peace, and
the way we think about democracy.
Self and Other —
Many think that our military protects us and
only endangers others. But with nuclear weapons this idea
doesn’t hold. If you live in the United States, a
malfunction on Russian radar could be catastrophic for us if it
were to mistakenly register a US nuclear attack. We are left with
the hope that there will be no problems with Russian radar.
Similarly everyone must hope that there are no problems with our
radar systems. The vast destructive power of nuclear weapons has
entangled us with our “enemies” such that the less
secure they are, the less secure we are. Furthermore, the
destructive power of nuclear weapons means that using a fraction
of the nuclear bombs in the United States arsenal would kill and
injure immeasurable numbers of people, seriously damage the
environment and disrupt agriculture on a worldwide scale.
Nuclear weapons have turned the moral imperative “Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you”, into a
practical necessity, because what we do unto others will be done
to us. Can we understand that only by seeing to the other’s
security will we be truly secure?
Peace and War—
People commonly think of war and peace as
opposite states of being. Peace ends and wars begin when the
weapons start going off. But with nuclear weapons such thinking
is not permissible, because nuclear war doesn’t begin when
the weapons go off. Nuclear war ends when the weapons go off.
If this is how nuclear war ends, how does nuclear war begin? It
begins by building nuclear weapons, testing them, amassing them
and preparing to use them. Any talk today of preventing a
nuclear war misses the point that we are actually in a nuclear
war right now. The question is not how can we prevent a nuclear
war, but how will the nuclear war end? Will it end with the
weapons abolishing mankind, or will mankind end this war by
abolishing nuclear weapons? Just as war is a process, so is
peace. Peace is a process of educating people about nuclear
war, helping them organize against this war. Peace is a process
of building institutions which can help people negotiate
solutions to differences and conflicts without resorting to war.
Democracy —
Could there be any condition more at odds with
democracy than a situation in which a few individuals can make a
decision that could destroy all of mankind? The most basic
democratic right, the right to live, requires the abolition of
nuclear weapons. We ordinary people can seize the democratic
right to live by joining together in a worldwide peace movement.
Through this peace movement we can create the political will and
power to compel the nuclear powers to negotiate a treaty
monitored by the United Nations, which will abolish all nuclear
weapons and safeguard the true security of all peoples.
Everyone has a role in this process.
To learn more go to
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an organization which is building support for
the International Treaty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Please share
the following brief video by Dr. Ira Helfand on the danger of nuclear weapons:
“Can we prevent nuclear war?” (9:13),
and seek out and support organizations in your area that are
working to abolish nuclear weapons.
At the dawn of the nuclear age Albert Einstein
warned,
“The splitting of the atom has changed everything except the way
we think. Thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”
What did Einstein mean? And what are the
logical implications of Einstein’s insight? What changes
must occur in our minds to avoid “unparalleled
catastrophe”?