Today’s news that the Japanese Ambassador had gone to Ukraine at the same time China’s leader had gone to Russia concerned me greatly. The new/old alliances and shifting geopolitics undermine US control of the world and I worry that WWIII is on the horizon.
As a peace activist I remember the Vietnam era and the power of our movement to end the war. A PBS program called “The Movement and the Madman” will be on American Experience (3/28, 9pm. Or streaming pbs.org) The film documents how Nixon’s plans to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam were stopped by the strength of our protests. I also remember the Nuclear Weapons Freeze campaign that historians credit with pushing Reagan toward disarmament talks with Gorbachev in the 1980s.
Scary films about the risks of nuclear war propelled the peace movement then. One of those films, “Threads,” is showing at the Pageant Theater (4/1, 2 p.m.) See it!
Now, there is the appearance of great apathy in the face of excruciating risk. There is nothing to keep the nuclear nations from using nuclear weapons and it is well documented that nuclear exchange will make the planet unlivable, even more quickly than the climate catastrophe.
It is time to crawl out from under your desk and start sounding off for Diplomacy in Ukraine (as this is a proxy war). Everything we hold dear is at risk and the power of the people can and must be heard.
Check out www.chicopeacealliance.net to connect with local activism.
— Chris Nelson, Chico
Spring Sale
Your email is already registered. Please subscribe to Chico Enterprise-Record to continue.
$1 for 6 Months of Unlimited Digital Access
Already a subscriber?
View more on
Chico Enterprise-Record
