Nuclear Weapons-Not the Answer!
Keeping or eliminating nuclear weapons in our world is a choice, a choice for governments, for companies, and for all of us interested in saving our planet and working for peace.
9 countries have nuclear weapons. The United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, and North Korea are all armed with nuclear weapons. Last year these nine countries spent over $90 billion on nuclear weapons.
There are 24 companies who build nuclear weapons. These companies benefit from government contracts for the manufacture of nuclear arms. Some of these contracts with companies producing nuclear weapons will last through 2040. These companies need investing and financing from banks and other financial institutions to support their production of nuclear arms. These same companies then need think tanks that do research and help to write nuclear weapons policies. Then there are other investors who buy stock in these companies and reap great profits from the continued improvement and sale of nuclear weapons. It is a vicious circle that keeps being perpetuated year after year.
The destructive capacity of nuclear weapons is well known and documented. We just need to recall the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended World War II, to know what these types of weapons can do to all life on earth. Climate scientists have issued stern warnings on what the use of even a small portion of nuclear weapons could do to our world.
In spite of ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which became international law in 2021, governments continue to improve on and produce nuclear arms through contracting to private companies.
Tensions in the world are very high as we all know and these tensions raise the stakes regarding the use of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world. Peace is the only long-lasting answer. As Pope Francis stated in 2014: “The security of our own future depends on guaranteeing the peaceful security of others, for if peace, security and stability are not established globally, they will not be enjoyed at all. Individually and collectively, we are responsible for the present and future well-being of our brothers and sisters.”
Below are four steps that can be taken to stop the sale and manufacture of nuclear weapons. You might think of other action steps.
1. Pray for peace and promote peace in our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, etc.
2. Tell your local bank representative that you don’t want your money to go into the nuclear industry. Does your bank lend money to companies who make nuclear weapons.
3. Read about nuclear weapons, keep yourself informed.
4. Contact local political representatives and share your views on nuclear weapons.
Resources:
https://www.icanw.org/week_of_action
(The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons-ICANW)
Pope Francis’ message to the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, December 7, 2014
Ann Kasparek