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Anish Bhatt 

29 June, 2003

A lasting hypocrisy

 

Do you like receiving postcards in the mail? I very much like getting them from time to time. It makes you wonder about the fun being missed in far off lands, while the person who sent it is having an adventure you can only dream about.

A few weeks ago, I received a postcard from a good friend of mine who is currently living in Japan. She had recently visited Nagasaki and sent me a postcard from there. The card featured a picture of a building that was destroyed by the atom bomb dropped there a little more than half a century ago. In the photo there is a rusted metal sculpture (or what appears to be one) in the center of a hollowed out structure, surrounded by mounds of dirt, bricks, and rubble. According to the postcard, this particular building is now a monument and learning center, built to educate anyone who goes there, about the tragedy that occurred there.

The nagging question, especially after seeing a photograph like that, is why? Why did we (humankind) embark on this path of
creating such powerful and destructive devices? Unfortunately, that is a question to which there are far too many answers. What we
can do, however, is understand the causes of why we continue on this caustic path.

It is my unequivocal belief that several changes should begin at home, right here in the United States of America. We (Americans) are the spearhead of proliferation, having first developed "the bomb" and also being the only country ever to use such a bomb on other human beings, not once but twice.

1) Successive administrations have attempted to reduce the number of nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile, with a small degree of success. However, the current administration's lack of engagement in these matters is disturbing. There is no denying that one of the main foreign policy objectives for President Bush before he took office was missile defense. With the tragic September 11 attacks as a backdrop, the goal of missile defense has become an obsession for some in the administration. As a result, America has backed out of one of the hallmark agreements of disarmament, the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Thus, we are free to make our missile shield, ignoring the fact that in so making this shield, we may protect our stockpile; the very same stockpile that should have been reduced from 3 START treaties. Also, never mind the fact that the shield has yet to work successfully while being tested.

2) In addition to the ABM hypocrisy, our government is also working on new types of nuclear weapons. These are so called "bunker busters" or "mini-nukes" that dig into the ground and set off a "small" nuclear explosion underground. By small, those under development yield in the single to teens of kilotons. Does this mean when it is time to test these bombs, that we will also withdraw our name from those countries that signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty? What trust is there that George W. Bush will not use nuclear weapons? Is he any deeper a thinker than Harry Truman? My intention is not outright condemnation of Truman and Bush, but to say, that no president should have this sort of power.

3) Furthermore, and possibly most important, there is a third and most glaring hypocrisy at work here. That is the fact of our mere possession of these weapons. We have them, but we do not want others to also possess them. So in that case, what shall we do? Some conjured up the idea of invading another country and starting a war. The reasons behind invading Iraq were supposedly concerns over that country having among other things, nuclear weapons. Since the war has ended, the only thing found has been death and misery for both our troops, and Iraqi men, women, and children. Where are the weapons? Yet, at the time leading up to the invasion, two out of three Americans believed, and still do, that Iraq played a role in September 11, despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence of it. That is the power of propaganda and fact manipulation. I am afraid the weapons and evidence may very well be a figment of someone's imagination. In the opinion of this writer, our leaders have shown utter failure in leadership, an absence of vision, and a dangerous abdication of America's role as a moral standard-setter for the world

The culmination of hypocrisy is now visible. More countries have proliferated in the past 10 years than in the previous four decades. In addition, quite disturbing, is the fact that this nuclear propagation constitutes a new and formidable international threat through potential links to international terrorism. Our pre-emptive war has formed what may be long lasting holes in our relations with other friendly nations. AH the while, none of this has been in our names, has it?

The current war/occupation of Iraq offers a unique teaching experience for those among us who wish to emphasize peace. When standing back and looking at the situation, it looks quite hopeless. However, knowing that there are individuals and organizations dedicated to peace the world over is a great motivator. I have come to learn that violence breeds violence. It is for this reason that we must do everything within our power to teach and educate the next generation about these glaring truths and this hypocrisy I describe. When I see any of my young students engaged in physical or verbal hostility, I am quick to remind them that at this very moment, there are many wars occurring around the world. Do not bring the war here to our classroom, I tell them. They understand this simple message, and are better for it. Now if I could only wield this influence on a broader scale, it would truly be an equalizer that makes the pen mightier than the sword, or in this case, the bomb.