Swans

Questions and Answers on Achieving Peace

by Andreas Toupadakis

October 1, 2001

-- Can you believe it?

-- What?

-- Just think about it. An overwhelming number of governments have sent their condolences to the US government for the horrendous tragedy that struck the United States on September 11, 2001. At the same time, a few of those governments are keeping thousands of weapons of mass destruction on hair trigger alert and pointed toward the Pentagon, White House and every large city of the USA. They have been doing it for dozens of years now. They know that even by accident, the whole world could be gone forever. These same governments are pledging to support the USA to fight what the USA calls the War on Terrorism.

Now, can you believe this one?

-- What?

-- Just reflect on this simple thought. The US government has thousands of weapons of mass destruction on hair trigger alert pointed toward the citizens of thousands of cities around the world. The USA has been using nuclear blackmail in almost every military intervention around the world for 55 years. Not many people know that. Most likely other countries are doing the same thing. Meantime, the US government has declared War on Terrorism.

Now have you ever reflected on this with your heart, not just with your mind?

-- On what?

-- Think about this, will you? As a result of the recent September 11 suicide attacks, it is estimated that over 6,000 people died. Just watch and see in how little time it will be history. People will once again worry about their bills and how to protect their income and properties. The elite has made sure, with the cooperation of the corporate media, that the citizens will not be able to lift up their heads to see or hear. If a city is nuked, do you think they will not eventually forget about it? They forgot about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, didn't they? More than 200,000 people died in a few seconds and many more hundreds of thousands died in the subsequent years in great pain and agony before their last breath.

-- Wait a minute. You are wrong! Every summer, there are many events in Japan about abolishing nuclear weapons. Also, in many places on earth ceremonies and educational programs are organized and taking place. In fact, there is a large peace movement worldwide that works nonstop for the abolition of weapons of mass destruction. You are a pessimist; you are impatient; you are speaking too loudly; you are not using diplomacy; you need to seek counseling; you need your daily tranquilizer.

-- Many Japanese people know very well what it means to be nuked. Some of them work day and night for abolishing these satanic tools, yet who has listened to their cry for all these 55 years? Pentagon officials just a few days ago proposed to Mr. Bush to use nuclear bombs and they even had the audacity to mention it publicly. The West has lost its soul. It is as dead as a dead fish. Why hasn't the peace movement driven the people to the streets after the terrible events of September 11? I do not mean just for vigils and demonstrations but for CIVIL RESISTANCE. When will the peace movement speak truth to power? When the world is watching the nuclear bombs fall from the sky, it will be too late!

-- Wait a minute. The peace movement is talking to the government leaders and has made great progress toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. You are too critical. We should be thankful for what we have achieved. And anyway, I think someone from the peace movement could very well say the following: "Here he comes, he was just working on nuclear weapons yesterday, and now he is telling us we have not done enough to abolish them, while we have been working all our lives within the peace movement." [ed. Dr. Toupadakis resigned from the Livermore Nuclear Lab on January 31, 2000]

-- The peace movement is talking to the wrong people. It should talk to the citizens of the world, not to the governments, and when the people understand what has been prepared for them by their own governments, then the people will talk to the governments by their sincere personal sacrifices, not just by sending faxes and petitions. Faxes and petitions, prayers and vigils are good, but not good enough. Without personal sacrifice, NOTHING will happen! By the way, I never worked on nuclear weapons from my own will. I was fooled for a while, and when I realized what I was doing, I immediately stopped working. In any case, that is not the correct attitude to encourage other scientists to give up war science. We are all responsible for the weapons of Mass Destruction. The scientists would not be able to devise these weapons if the citizens of every nation stopped paying the taxes that support them. We are all responsible and we can abolish them only by working together for their abolition.

-- Why do you think the leaders of the mainstream peace movement are so eager to talk to the government officials?

-- Because it is easier. It does not require personal sacrifice. It even promises, and many times it offers, positions in government and many other organizations/foundations (NGOs) with a salary, medical insurance and even prestige. After a while, it becomes like any other job, like a job making weapons. Look at how Gandhi worked for peace. He owned nothing.

-- Why do you think we have not yet abolished the nuclear fire, and the chemical, biological and conventional fire?

-- Because we are just talkers, not doers; because we are not really serious. To become serious, we need to love one another, to trust one another, to help and serve our fellow beings even if they hate us. We must speak truth in love, fearlessly, even if we are to die at that moment. We must renounce ownership, to become masters of our minds and bodies. We must embrace all humanity and living things just as we embrace our own lives.

Andreas Toupadakis, Ph.D. 1990, University of Michigan, has done research as a chemist in industry, academia and two US Government laboratories. In January 2000, Dr. Toupadakis resigned from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in protest against the further development of nuclear weapons. Since then he has been lecturing on peace and environmental issues at many universities and colleges, including Tufts University, MIT, the University of Notre Dame, San Francisco State University, Humboldt State University and Waseda University in Tokyo.

Please, DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work without the expressed written authorization of Swans, which will seek permission from the author. This material is copyrighted, © Peter Phillips 2001. All rights reserved.

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