Monday, August 6, 2007

But Are They Relevant To World Peace?

Sixty two years ago today, "Big Boy" exploded over Hiroshima instantly
pulverizing 70,000 humans going about their daily tasks.

In my first letter to World Citizens (circa 1956) written from
Bangalore, India, I claimed that The Bomb was "our" bomb, that "We,
the People" at whom it was pointed "deserved" it. Why? Because we
remained mentally, socially and politically attached to our latter-day
tribes: the nation-states. Between them was anarchy. World anarchy.

The Bomb was an omnipresent and omnipotent reminder of our failure to
recognize our fundamental unity.

Einstein, who wrote President Roosevelt that from the equation e=mc2,
a new weapon could be constructed, "the ultimate weapon." He was
right. But when it was finally demonstrated, he told the world that
"Everything had changed except our ways of thinking politically. It's
presence in the world," he added, "rendered war obsolete. Because it
was 'indiscriminate' in its violence, thereby a socially genocidal
threat to the human race."

To consider its use therefore was madness. To eliminate it from the
human scene was evidence of sanity.

Last Saturday evening ABC-TV's ten o'clock show was called, "Masters
of Science-Fiction." As a Scifi fan, I watched it. An elderly man was
being "interviewed" by a woman psychiatrist in a posh office. He
didn't know why he was there, he exclaimed. He had an appointment in 2
hours to pick up his wife and two daughters. Gradually, it was
revealed to him by the clever interrogator finally showing him the
burnt remains of his wife-the clue was the ring on her finger-that he
was actually the former president of the United States who had given
the order to launch a new-type bomb which resulted in the elimination
of most of the human race. He broke down sobbing, devastated. "What do
you remember now, Mr. President?" she demanded harshly, "I have to
know." (Her two children had died in the holocaust) "Do you remember
where it would strike?" she asked harshly. Down on his knees, head
between his legs, between sobs, he wailed, horrified "..to protect the
democracy..I believed in what I was doing,..I considered the
options...I thought things through.. of course, there would be
consequences. I didn't back down." "Democracy?" she replied coldly.
"The nation you protected? It prevailed. It's 871 strong. Mission
accomplished, Mr. President. And we are all here in an underground
fortress in Virginia."

Only a world government, Einstein claimed, would be able to outlaw,
not only the nuclear "option," but war itself. "Either we eliminate
war," he warned, "or war will eliminate us."

Only a world government, Einstein claimed, would be able to outlaw,
not only the nuclear "option," but war itself. "Either we eliminate
war," he warned, "or war will eliminate us."

Barack Obama, responding to a journalist's question, after claiming
that as president he would never order its use backtracked immediately
by adding "against civilians" as if the indiscriminate violence
distinguished between "civilians" and soldiers. This mindset indicates
a blatant denial of the deadly reality threatening the human race
itself by nuclear "weapons." (To use the word "weapons" incidentally
for nuclear violence is misleading because it connotes a legitimate
instrument of war, an option as opposed to "conventional" weapons. In
short, it is not a "weapon" of war being genocidal or total in
character. Hence Einstein's original claim of the need for a
revolution in thinking).

Hillary Clinton, feeling upstaged, replied that even to mention the
nuclear option in a campaign was "naive." Apparently, eight years in
the White House have not yet penetrated to her that the president has
his/her fingers poised directly above upwards of 3,000 hair-triggered
nuclear missiles all directed at Russia. And vice versa.

Talk above naivete!

But you may ask, so why is The Bomb ours? It's obvious. We paid for
it!

Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Dodd, Biden, Ron Paul, Kuchinich, Gravel,
Giuliana, Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Brownback, Tancredo and Thompson
(if he runs) are obviously on the wrong level to execute world laws
outlawing The Bomb and war itself. First of all, there is no world
parliament or congress yet to make such laws. For instance, we talk
glibly about "global warming." But where is the world constitution
incorporating nature within its legislative framework? And also, is a
war fought with nuclear "weapons" winnable? Do you not see the
contradiction? "Winning" and nuclear "weapons" just don't compute. No
one "wins" total destruction. So how can these so-called intelligent
national candidates seek a political office which not only can not
protect the citizenry but has the potential of destroying it? With
their fingers on The Button! Are they not mad?

Emery Reves wrote "Statesmen and legislators, standing so completely
within the institution never distinctly and nakedly behold it. They
speak of moving society, but have no resting place without it."

As a stateless World Citizen, I offered my candidacy for world
president back in 1983. I am now calling upon World Citizens
registered with the World Service Authority, our own world
government's administrative agency, either to vote for me via my web
site, www.garrydavis.org or solicit other politically active World
Citizens to declare themselves legislative candidates for world public
office. (The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of
government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be
held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures." Art.
21[3), Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

A web site is presently under construction (www.worldcandidates.org)
through which World Citizen candidates for world public office will be
able to present their credentials, platform, experience, etc. for
world citizen voters throughout the world to mandate their
representation. Already established programs such as "mondialization"
and the World Syntegrity Project are valid tools to supplement a
global voting protocol. The World Citizen Referendum operating from
our main web site has a database of hundreds of thousands of world
citizen who have voted on major global issues (www.worldservice.org/
wref.html).

If indeed we, the world's people "own" The Bomb, then we have the
grave responsibility to decide what to do with it.

Otherwise, we will surely find out to our infinite sorrow that The
Bomb "owned" us.