Agency to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons

George Will’s May 6, “Voters, think about the menace of nuclear annihilation,” makes me wonder what Gazette editors are up to when they select outside articles for re-publication. Will wrote, “Talk of ‘banning the bomb’ is pointless. These weapons are here forever.” Good grief! Hath a citizen no agency to effect change? The editors must just want to stir things up.

The optimist in me would say “nuts” to Will and engage in the effort to step back from the brink of nuclear annihilation. 83 nations are already on board with such an effort, which calls on the US to acknowledge that the continued existence of nuclear weapons is the greatest security threat we face and to actively pursue their elimination. In addition, nuclear weapons-armed states already agreed to eliminate nuclear weapons in Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. A simple, missed truth is most of the world’s nuclear weapons have already been dismantled. All that remains is to finish the job.

Is seeing George Will in the Gazette a blessing or a curse? I had not heard of Annie Jacobsen’s book before reading about it here. However, Will represents a Cold War mentality when he wrote, “Humanity’s survival depends on statesmanship and luck–as much the latter as the former.” When we adopt that view, our luck will run out sooner than we think. We can and will do better.

~ Published on May 7, 2024 as a letter to the editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.