[Peace-discuss] Re: Peace-discuss Digest, Vol 18, Issue 25

[ppatton at uiuc.edu]

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>Message: 3
>Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 23:06:35 -0500
>From: "Morton K. Brussel" <brussel4 at insightbb.com>
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] Paul Patton's circular
>To: Peace Discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
>Message-ID: <2181D011-B736-4626-9882-7504B590EEBC at insightbb.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes;
>	format=flowed
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>One must thank Paul Patton for creation of the circular on Bush  
>nuclear weapon policies, but I would be happier with it as a
AWARE  
>circular if the next batch omitted the quotations on the
front of the  
>circular. Einstein's quotation is not one of his best, and the  
>presumed Jesus quotation "…they that live by the sword shall
die by  
>the sword' is not so different from "an eye for an eye", with
which I  
>have problems.

Mort-
Thanks very much for your comments on my pamplet.  I think you
are misunderstanding the Jesus quote.  I found it cited in
Johnathan  Schell's "The Unconquerable World", as evidence of
Jesus's advocacy of non-violence.  The full quote, according
to Schell is "Put up thy sword, for he who lives by the sword
shall die by the sword".  Jesus is reputed to have said this
in order to stop the Apostle Peter from starting a sword
fight.  Unlike "an eye for an eye", it does not advocate
revenge or retaliation, but rather cautions against the
consequences of resorting to force.  The "Bush Doctrine"
asserts that world peace can be achieved through US military
world domination and the waging of "preemptive" war against
any country deemed threating to such a US dominated world
order.  Both the Jesus quote and the Einstein quote are
intended to caution against the folly of this sort of
thinking.  I'm OK with taking the quotes out of the next
version of the pamplet, though, because Mort's post indicates
that the intended message may not be clear to all.

I heard that someone wanted to remove the reference section
from the end of my pamplet, in order to make room for more
pictures.  I'm not sure I like this, because I feel that
taking out the citation of references weakens the credibility
of the pamphlet.

>
>The circular is a solid commentary. I would only have
stressed more  
>that one cannot expect non-nuclear nations to refrain from
acquiring  
>nuclear weapons as long as other countries have them, and I
would  
>have noted that nuclear weapons can act obviously as a
protective  
>shield if deliverable to an aggressor. The ONLY way to
eliminate the  
>dangers of nuclear war is to have the elimination of nuclear
weapons  
>by all, with no favorites. 

This is, of course, exactly what most of the nations of the
world have already agreed to do, by signing the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).  The treaty requires that
countries not holding nuclear weapons refrain from developing
them, and that countries holding nuclear weapons reduce, and
eventually eliminate their arsenals. The non-nuclear weapons
states, with the exception of North Korea (Israel, Pakistan,
and India never signed) have lived up to their part of the
bargain.  The nuclear weapons holding states, and in
particular the United States, have been less sucessful in
living up to their part of the agreement.  The Bush
Administration has actually advocated the development of new
types of nuclear weapons, a move which places NPT in jeopardy.

If this is utopian, then so is the belief  
>that the nuclear genie will forever be contained in a world of  
>antagonistic nations.
>
>--mkb

Nations have no choice but to cooperate in containing the
nuclear genie, or face eventual anihilation.  "He who lives by
the sword shall die by the sword".

-Paul Patton
__________________________________________________________________
Dr. Paul Patton
Research Scientist
Beckman Institute  Rm 3027  405 N. Mathews St.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  Urbana, Illinois 61801
work phone: (217)-265-0795   fax: (217)-244-5180
home phone: (217)-344-5812
homepage: http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ppatton/www/index.html

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the
source of all true art and science."
-Albert Einstein
_________________________________________________________________