Friends,
When was the last time we had to vote on a bond issue to fund the construction of new Trident submarines or nuclear warheads??? “What?!?!”, you say. Of course the U.S. government would never do such a thing. That’s for schools, hospitals and sewers. Funding (or defunding) nuclear weapons is up to our elected leaders, and therein lays the rub. If we leave it completely up to Congress and President Obama (for all his good intentions and rhetoric), nuclear weapons could well be with us (and the rest of the world) for a long time to come, assuming no one finally uses them.
Susan Crane and Lynne Greenwald of the “Disarm Now Plowshares” Five spoke with Mike McCormick this morning on KEXP (90.3) Radio about the November 2, 2009 plowshares action in which Lynne, Sue and the others entered the Trident submarine base known as Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor and made their way into the secure nuclear warhead storage area before being arrested. They were able to hang a banner saying, “Disarm Now Plowshares”, poured their own blood on the fence and road, and pounded on the road with hammers in what is known as a plowshares action, inspired by the Biblical prophet Isaiah who said that it will up to us to beat our swords into plowshares, and make war no more.
Susan spoke of the symbols they brought with them. As for the simple, household hammers, they are a powerful symbol of Isaiah’s call, and she made the point that, “they in the scriptures are us.” “We brought baby bottles that had our own blood… sprinkled some of the blood on the road along the way and also at SWFPAC [Strategic Weapons Facility-Pacific].” Besides the symbolism of shedding their own blood so that others may live, it was also referring to “the rivers of blood that are starting there[Bangor].”
One other symbol they carried on their journey were sunflower seeds that they sprinkled along the way. Sunflowers have become a
symbol for a world free of nuclear weapons. Those seeds will lay there waiting to grow (hopefully) next season. As U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry said in 1996, “Sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would ensure peace for future generations.”
When asked about their senior citizen status – the Disarm Now members range in age from 60 to 83 -Susan focused on their being, “old enough to know that nuclear weapons are a danger,” and that the U.S. has still not pledged to No First Use.” Lynne said that as an adult, human being and parent, she has a duty to see that nuclear weapons are never used again.
One of the final questions related to the point that many critics of the action have made. Mike asked, “Why didn’t you try proper measures”, like going to lawmakers in Washington, D.C? Susan said, “I have spent half my life trying these other ways.” The problem is that not enough people have done so. We MUST engage (and educate) other citizens to get involved. When given pennies to put into cups labeled War, Schools, Healthcare, etc., – an exercise that Susan has used to educate and build awareness) – “people don’t put half their pennies into war making.” They put them into schools and other positive endeavors that build up society and the world! But alas; in the real world, roughly half of U.S. taxpayer dollars go to war, while we struggle to fund even the most basic services. You certainly won’t be hearing about bond issues to fund war and nuclear weapons.
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The Nobel Peace Laureates held their 10th World Summit in Berlin, Germany this month. Their Final Conference Statement titled, “Breaking Down Walls For A World With Peace And Justice” is a powerful statement, presenting the world with all the elements necessary to break down the barriers to a just and peaceful world. The statement leads off with how to break down the “walls that stand in the way of a nuclear weapons free world.”
