The Nation‘s Jonathan Schell has spent the better part of a enormously productive career making the case for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The new president seems more open to this message than any of his Oval Office predecessors, stating clearly on the campaign trail that, “This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.” And Obama isn’t alone, nor can nuclear abolition still be painted as a partisan liberal issue when former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, among many other credentialed conservatives, have joined the cause.
Huge practical problems have to first be addressed before the threat of these weapons of mass destruction can be eliminated but there’s more reason for hope than perhaps ever before. Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote about an important and inspiring new international group gaining traction, Global Zero, which launched in Europe a few months ago with a goal of taking on these problems and eliminating all nuclear weapons in 20 to 25 years.
In this country, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is pushing the issue with a new video contest offering $1,000 to the first-prize winner. The contest? Simply answer this question in a video of three minutes or less: How can we achieve a world free of nuclear weapons by the year 2020? You can view the entries here.
I like this one…
Check out the contest site if you want to submit a video and/or find further resources. The deadline is June 15. The contest is open to activists of all ages.
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