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The magnitude of death and destruction of the one bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, made clear that nuclear bombs must never be used again. The Global Security Institute joins with Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, as part of the United Religions Initiative, and invites you to join us in prayer on Nuclear Prayer Day, August 6th. We encourage everyone, in their own way, to pray and act on that specific day, and every day, to help to achieve a nuclear weapons free world.
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Dear Friends,
Human imagination cannot grasp the suffering, carnage, and agony that would be caused by the use of even a small portion of the world’s over 12,000 nuclear warheads. The impact of these devices of death dwarf the horrific radioactive blasts and firestorms that incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Nine nations – the US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea – stand ready every minute of every day poised at a moment’s notice to unleash the unthinkable. Thousands of men and women, in good conscience, prepare to thereby execute the future of humanity. This is based on the belief that such preparation and willingness deters others from irrational behavior. We believe we can do better. We do not accept living under the cloud of this unacceptable risk.
By accident, design, or madness, over time, the use will occur unless we, you and I, unleash the sinew of our passions, the power of our faith and commitments, and the value of our time, treasure, and precious moral agency to stop the madness.
A misreading of a computer, a mistake by a computer system, a misreading of an adversary nation’s actions, a war escalating out of control, and errors as yet unpredictable remind us that no system created by humans can be more perfect than we are.
We know from recent scientific studies that the tons of soot rising into the stratosphere from less than 150 explosions would destroy the agricultural base of the planet such, that civilization would simply end, not in a whimper, but in wails of pain and regret.
There are diplomatic practical solutions to be pursued. There are roads of policy saner and more humane than the present log jam. There are ways out of the dilemma. We need not be victims of our own devices. The moment of negotiations may not be today, but the opportunity will arise and we must stimulate and galvanize the political will to seize it and act with clarity to hasten its day.
Such efforts, in the recent past, have led to reductions in the world's arsenals from over 70,000 to less than 13,000 today. Action is needed, no doubt. We believe that prayer clarifies intentions, amplifies commitments, and calls upon forces in this mysterious universe beyond our intellectual reckoning.
There is inadequate public attention on the solutions that could be achieved. Public political discourse marginalizes nuclear issues while billions are spent on modernizing or expanding arsenals, all the while ignoring the diplomatic and legal means of reducing risks. Our affirmation of hope and call for virtue in action can help people overcome the numbness of psychological denial, which is unrealistic and can never bring peace of mind.
Realism invokes our commitment to follow our moral compass, affirm our common humanity, and get on with the tasks that require cooperation and that cannot be denied, such as protecting the climate, the rainforests, and the oceans, as well as ending poverty and social inequity.
We invite you to join us in invoking blessings with us through prayer. We call upon you to join with millions of caring hearts the world over on Hiroshima Day, August 6th, and pray for the termination of nuclear arsenals before they terminate humanity.
Please take a moment on that day to pray in a manner you choose. Join a group, form a group, or pray in solitude. There are hidden powers in atoms. There are hidden powers in prayer.
For all that is sacred, for all that we love, for the smiles of children yet to be born, we come together in prayer.
Respectfully with love,
Jonathan Granoff
President, Global Security Institute / www.gsinstitute.org
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