My few readers,
I apologize for not posting last week…work has been hectic, busy, and tiring. Due to that, I have had some late night meetings and work and in my free time I have been resting, but saturday brings some free time.
On the work front, I have been avidly planning a consultation on Nuclear Weapons. This meeting of sorts consisted of faith leaders, advocacy group leaders, experts in Nuclear technology and science, retired military personnel, members of the intelligence community, and even retired ambassadors. The people who attended had education and work experience that would intimidate the best academic…let alone Collin from Kentucky hah. Despite my lacking expertise, I was able to contribute my thoughts about the morality of Nuclear Weapons to the group. I definitely had to think outside of my normal thought and really wrestle with the notion that something like a Nuclear weapon was immoral. I could not disagree that Nuclear Weapons kill indiscriminately and can claim thousands and thousands of innocent lives both immediately and down the road through fallout. The group also addressed the argument for “just war” and if there was ever an instance where a Nuclear Weapon could be used justly. The answer was no. It was unanimous that Nuclear Weapons should never be used, but how to convince the U.S. and world that global scaling back must take place was a totally different matter. We struggled in how we would word our statement to the faith community and legislators. Should we say that our goal is Nuclear Zero or just a scaling back? Is scaling back enough? History was permanently changed by the usage of 2 Nuclear Weapons, so even if just two Nuclear Weapons are left in the world, history could be re-written.
I personally feel that Nuclear Weapons should be scaled back and hopefully eliminated. In the words of Ronald Reagan “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be better to do away with them entirely?” I think Reagan said it best.
The threat we should be worried about as far as Nuclear Weapons and weapons in general come from those “rogue” states or individuals (terrorists) that obtain a Nuke. We must remember that Nuclear Weapons are not our only threat. Yes, a Nuclear attack would again change human history, but it is incredibly unlikely because there are only a few groups in the world that would actually push the red button or drop the bomb and even if they do, it may not achieve what was intended. I had the opportunity to speak with one of the ambassadors that came and spoke with us (I wont mention his name, but his credentials speak for themselves. The man was an ambassador to several countries, helped facilitate talks with the USSR and many other astonishing things) and I talked with him about his thoughts on the different types of weapons (biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear). He personally felt that while Nuclear weapons would impose great consequences…biological weapons keep him up at night.
I took a lot away from the consultation. Mostly, a more open and informed mind.
Other various things I have been doing include going to various congressional hearings and meetings, mostly dealing with international religious freedom and religious freedom in general. I would encourage those concerned with religious freedom to really take notice of what is going on in the world and our nation. Sadly, a lot of degradation is happening or could happen and it may go unnoticed due to the current economic situation. Note: when I say religious freedom I am not just talking about Christianity. I have sat around many tables with Muslims, Jews, and Evangelical Christians…all collectively concerned about religious degradation and the consequences it is having. I could name countless issues that are directly affected by religion and the restriction of it.
Sorry if I am ending abruptly, but I am going to wrap this up. I now have less than 3 weeks left in DC until I leave for London. Its flying by.
CWJ
