[Our co-convener, SK offered this reflection during the course of our weekend. We often ruminate about our purpose as individuals, as activists, and as a spiritual community of activists. SK’s offering touched on a number of recurring questions in a way that allowed us to forgo “hand-wringing” or wallowing about effectiveness and results, or lack thereof. -Jim]
Why we R here
One of the awful things, among the mixed curses about the war in Ukraine is the increase of talk, threat,and God forbid use of nukes… for those who have argued in anyway private and/or public, courtroom testimony about the immanence of nuclear exchange have ironically had the case in point validated by the proxy war in Russian & Ukrainian eastern Europe… Let’s not fail to mention, Iran, North Korea,China, Pakistan, India and not least, Israel. These are echoes of the cold war not just retro but done in anew style with tweaks of higher tech fables of limitations in use or power or containment…It’s been almost 80 years of this demon, well, yes, actually, a correction, the Academy Award winner,Oppenheimer dates eighty plus years…
Those of us gathered have been on edge about this without slumbering. For many of the public the recent news is a wake up call and should bring everyone to alarmed concern. But we that have been decrying the bomb don’t even get the luxury to say “…we told you so…”.
Those who do have luxury, the weapons’ makers complex, are having a field day from the tension alone and of course the conventional and escalating arming of Ukraine and Israel is very profitable. The arms industry has never benefited from the absence of war, there is no interest in diplomatic solutions. This pattern of fear, kill or be killed, is the spectrum from handguns through nukes, the fable of deterrence is consistently profitable.
In the early days of the Nevada witness, the proposition that to stop testing was to halt the spiraling arms race. But while there are various takes on that moratorium as the first step towards ending development, leading to disarming, then disarmament treaties, we still have suffered from ever widening proliferation. In these recent years, we’ve had a raising of consciousness by the witness at Europe Air Bases to violations of cold war agreements that abound in the importation of nuclear weapons for NATO members.
Turning toward such a brand of PLC, et alia witness, we have had the lights of witnesses in season and out, let’s cite Louie Vitale and Janet & Bob Aldridge and Jackie Hudson, Ardeth Platte, Megan Rice, and those still remaining with us such as Shelley and Jim Douglass, Elizabeth McAlister & Frida and Carol Gilbert, Frank Cordaro. I will stop because I risk leaving too many out…
It doesn’t take a pessimist to say that it is worse now. We have always been accused of being idealistsas we propose a nuclear free Pacific and advocate for the Islanders despite the ongoing poisoning in aftermath of Bravo’s horrendous radiation. So we continue to analyze, so we take on the mantle of the prophetic, who are realists… kind of an empty consolation prize for holding out that everyone be safe from another Hiroshima, Nagasaki, another Bikini Island…
Yes, on the tallyboard it is good that nations have now delegitimized the bomb. But is it enough to be right? To be correct? That may not describe our attitude, but what does?
And is the presence of discouragement an exhaustion of hope?
While we cannot be content with the status quo of 21 st century pathological war-making, likewise we can’t wallow in the seemingly overwhelmed, the paralyzing ennui of waiting for the powers and principalities to come around. I will quote anonymously one of ours that spoke up when Dan Berrigan met with the reconstituted Pacific Life Community gathered here in 2007,
“…while many of us are people of prayer, mostly a faith based group, we are not a prayer meeting,going on, and secondly many are gifted with the insights and knowledge of how the economy and politics of nuclear weaponeering buys off congressional and world leaders. That analysis, although necessary, does not make us merely a think-tank, or study group. We come together to act together, for we are an action community.”
I would like to add, that pooling, rotating hosting, sharing our stories, gathering together to act does help us to retrieve the prayer and the study and then enhance the pro-activity of real concerted action.We seek each others’ company. We are and perhaps feel that we are resources for one another. But we are not merely a comfort station. Some come to get something done. Some show up to see how folks are and take a health check, but whatever the reason, person-oriented or task-oriented let us boldly ask if we give each other any strength, an equivalent of hope.
Then if it isn’t enough to be right and we want to delve into what PLC these years amounts to, then spiritually speaking apparently God invites and or advocates for us to see, engage, reach-out, reconcile with all words for – love our opponents – before they or anyone declare who are enemies are…
God doesn’t want us to arrive saintly alone, bemedalled, that is, just being correct, occupying the moral high ground and all, but to somehow, creatively, to get in company w/ the hawks, of this world, How are we engaging? Would you hang out with Cain? Is it a matter of finding yourself attending a barbeque with a MAGA proponent?
These are not necessarily proposed questions. Several of us have carried water for a long time. We have risked we have reached out. We have stayed faithful to non-violence. But what do we have to show?That may not be the question. In and out of court, before juries and judges… yes, preaching to the choir,but also open to those who grudgingly look on. But we take inventory that we have been gathering, and no one could be blamed for suggesting some kind of efficiency plank. But if we were to judge by what we have changed, we could only say we haven’t allowed the violence to change us.
Could we be creative? Yes of course but not for results only. We can trust the process, we can’t be outcome oriented, that is my opinion. But always let our means match our ends.
-SK, PLC 2024
Pacific Life Community 