{"id":5035,"date":"2015-08-06T19:47:53","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T23:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2015-08-06T19:51:27","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T23:51:27","slug":"70-years-after-hiroshima","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/2015\/08\/70-years-after-hiroshima\/","title":{"rendered":"70 Years After Hiroshima"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"278496713\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(photo credit<\/a>)<\/p>\n

August 6, 1945 — the effective end of World War II in the Pacific, the beginning of the long cold era of international nuclear threats even amid the horrific suffering\u00a0of the people of Hiroshima<\/a> and Nagasaki.\u00a0 The United States is the only nation in human history ever to use a nuclear weapon.\u00a0 The weapon ended a long and terrible war, thus leading many people to justify its use even today.\u00a0 But the “A-bomb” also inflicted such awesome death and destruction on the Japanese people that subsequent generations of Americans, including successive presidents from both parties, have felt the urgent need to exert leadership to ensure that no nation ever again uses nuclear force.<\/p>\n

Sadly, American amnesia was on display today throughout the media — while some<\/a> of the major news outlets <\/a>ran what seemed like obligatory stories on the 70th Anniversary moment, most media gave headlines and far more attention to the second-string presidential debate<\/a> circus or the end of a popular <\/a>television comedy show.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Japanese perished in an instant in Hiroshima<\/a> that day, and days later in Nagasaki.\u00a0 Millions of lives in all nations around the world were lost in World War II.\u00a0 Whether the United States acted morally, whether we saved more lives by taking this terrible step, whether there was another solution — where is our ethical sensibility nearly three-quarters of a century later at least to pause, reflect, have a real debate about means and ends<\/a>, war and peace — a real<\/strong> <\/em>debate, and not some synthetic confection whipped up to amuse viewers like the fictional people\u00a0in the Capitol\u00a0watching the Hunger Games<\/em>?<\/p>\n

50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy — a World War II veteran, a war hero, still a young man holding out great promise for the future of the world — spoke at American University <\/a>about the imperative of forging a peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union.\u00a0 Fresh from the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which nuclear annhiliation was a genuine threat for both the U.S. and Soviets (in 1963, we American school children practiced air raid drills by hiding under our desks, little good that would have done…), President Kennedy was intent on establishing the framework for international peace and security.\u00a0 He laid the foundation for the nuclear test-ban treaty and detente with the Soviets.\u00a0 His speech — as most of his speeches — is brilliant, a complete lesson in rhetoric and persuasion, the beauty of well-chosen words and linguistic effectiveness.\u00a0 His speech is even better on film<\/a>, hearing his voice and seeing his passion in the delivery.\u00a0 In that speech he said:<\/p>\n

“What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace – – the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living — the kind that enables man and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children – – not merely peace for Americans by peace for all men and women – – not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”<\/em>\u00a0 (President John F. Kennedy at American University, June 10, 1963, Address on Nuclear Detente with the Soviet Union)<\/p>\n

It’s not about the U.S. — US! — chest-thumping and sabre-rattling.\u00a0 It’s about making the world a better place for all people across all generations to come.\u00a0 How little we hear of that today in the political rhetoric of our time.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, President Barack Obama also spoke at American University on the topic of nuclear arms and peace for all times.\u00a0 He deliberately chose the place to echo Kennedy’s ideals <\/a>and legacy.\u00a0 But the threat of nuclear weapons remains all too real in today’s world, more worrisome because of the emergence of rogue states and terrorist organizations that respect no treaties or moral structures.\u00a0 The nation of Iran has posed a grave threat to world peace by harboring terrorists and building its nuclear capacity.\u00a0 The Obama Administration has spent years trying to find a way to move Iran back from the brink of disaster, to bring Iran into the modern world in a way that fosters peace and security.\u00a0 President Obama has brokered an agreement with Iran to diminish its nuclear capacity and to restore its economic engagement in trade relations.\u00a0 But many opponents find the “deal” unacceptable because they are not convinced we can trust Iran, and particularly in Congress where it seems everyone is running for president, the mood continues the preference for confrontation and war that started after 9\/11 and continues in some places today.<\/p>\n

President Obama responded to the critics in his speech<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“We live in a complicated world — a world in which the forces unleashed by human innovation are creating opportunities for our children that were unimaginable for most of human history. \u00a0It is also a world of persistent threats, a world in which mass violence and cruelty is all too common, and human innovation risks the destruction of all that we hold dear. \u00a0In this world, the United States of America remains the most powerful nation on Earth, and I believe that we will remain such for decades to come. \u00a0But we are one nation among many. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“And what separates us from the empires of old, what has made us exceptional, is not the mere fact of our military might. \u00a0Since World War II, the deadliest war in human history, we have used our power to try to bind nations together in a system of international law. \u00a0We have led an evolution of those human institutions President Kennedy spoke about — to prevent the spread of deadly weapons, to uphold peace and security, and promote human progress. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“We now have the opportunity to build on that progress. \u00a0We built a coalition and held it together through sanctions and negotiations, and now we have before us a solution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, without resorting to war. \u00a0As Americans, we should be proud of this achievement. \u00a0And as members of Congress reflect on their pending decision, I urge them to set aside political concerns, shut out the noise, consider the stakes involved with the vote that you will cast. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“If Congress kills this deal, we will lose more than just constraints on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, or the sanctions we have painstakingly built. \u00a0We will have lost something more precious: America\u2019s credibility as a leader of diplomacy; America\u2019s credibility as the anchor of the international system.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“John F. Kennedy cautioned here, more than 50 years ago, at this university, that \u201cthe pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war.\u201d \u00a0But it\u2019s so very important. \u00a0It is surely the pursuit of peace that is most needed in this world so full of strife.”\u00a0 <\/em>(President Barack Obama, August 5, 2015 at American University) (watch the speech<\/a>)<\/p>\n

We must insist on working for peace<\/a>.\u00a0 Forging pathways to disarmament, using all diplomatic means to create sound opportunities for peace — these are the characteristics of the genuine moral leadership we need so urgently.\u00a0 Sadly, in spite of thousands of years of proof that war only wreaks havoc on human life and progress, we still have to sit through debates about guns (the domestic version of keeping the stockpile stoked) and war.\u00a0 True leaders take the risk to do something about waging peace.\u00a0 We need to expect every leader to be that kind of risk-taker.<\/p>\n

On this 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima, I would like to extend Trinity’s greetings and good wishes around the globe to our sister schools in Japan — Notre Dame Seishin University<\/a> in Okayama, and Notre Dame High School in Hiroshima.\u00a0 As I write I can hardly believe it’s been 20 years since I had the honor of visiting those remarkable schools.\u00a0 The Sisters of Notre Dame started their ministry in Japan in 1924, and the schools thrive to this day.\u00a0 I was particularly moved when I visited the school in Hiroshima — the scars of August 1945 are still visible, and yet, what a magnificent place, what a great gift of hospitality and welcome I received from the SNDs and teachers there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember Hiroshima. Insist on peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[688,28],"tags":[1527,68,1524,1525,232,1526,536,1529,1528,1049,568],"class_list":["post-5035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-issues","category-war-and-peace","tag-american-university","tag-barack-obama","tag-hiroshima","tag-hiroshima-70th-anniversary","tag-iran","tag-iran-deal","tag-john-f-kennedy","tag-nuclear-non-proliferation","tag-nuclear-test-ban-treaty","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-president-kennedy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}