65th Anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, with Its Timeless Message to Remember Your Humanity

This week is the 65th Anniversary of the launch of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto that called for global patriotism.  On July 9, 1955, the short document composed by Lord Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein argued that nuclear weapons put the human species at risk.  Since no one wishes for the human race to disappear, it proposed that the world needed an agreement not to go to war. The Manifesto asks, “What steps can be taken to prevent a military contest … [that] must be disastrous to all parties?”  https://pugwash.org/1955/07/09/statement-manifesto/ and reading of the Manifesto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSvjr44FqXU

The first step, according to Russell and Einstein, is for us to set aside our political opinions about issues that lead to conflicts, whether at the level of nation, continent or creed and instead consider ourselves “only as members of a biological species which has had a remarkable history.”  They say, “We have to learn to think in a new way.”  That is, instead of planning for a military victory, we must work toward prevention of armed conflict.

Russell and Einstein point out that sometimes the language people use makes them resist the idea that we must totally prevent nuclear war.  They use the vague phrase of “a threat to mankind” or “to the human race,” instead of undertanding that “they, individually, and those whom they love are in imminent danger of perishing agonizingly.”

Russell and Einstein propose that we must also think in a new way about the damage from nuclear weapons.  While the Manifesto grants that a general reduction in stockpiles of arms serves an important purpose, such as has been accomplished by nuclear arms control treaties in the 65 years since the Manifesto, it insists that we move to a more universal position and demand that our conflicts not be decided by war. In 1955, Russell and Einstein knew that a single bomb could be “2,500 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima” and that lethal radioactive particles “sink gradually and reach…the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain,” leading to widespread disease and death.

Russell and Einsein appeal to us as human beings to “remember your humanity, and forget the rest.  If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise, if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”

A listing of upcoming Trinity, Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75^th Commemoration Events is available here.  TBDC 75th Commemoration Events 7-9-20

1.  Monday, July 13^th at 6 pm – Joni Arends, of CCNS, will be speaking with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom about the nuclear industry cycle occupying New Mexico.  http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1121720227619&ca=ee65c631-f5a9-45f4-ac73-1282f9f27bf0

2.  Monday, July 20^th – Comments due to NRC about their proposal to allow for disposal of radioactive waste in municipal landfills. The latest proposal is called “Very Low-Level Radioactive” (VLLR) Waste.  In the mid-1990s it was called “Below Regulatory Concern,” or BRC.  A sample public comment you can use is here.  VLLW Comments due 7-20-20 Please submit to:  VLLWTransferComments.Resource@nrc.gov

 3.  Sunday, August 2^nd to Sunday, August 9^th – virtual National Convention of Veterans for Peace. The convention theme is “Human Rights over Nuclear Might.”  The New Mexico plenary will take place on Sunday, August 2^nd in mid-afternoon.  Stay tuned for details.  To learn more about VFP’s National Convention, go to:   https://www.veteransforpeace.org/2020-annual-convention

 4.  Thursday, August 6^th at 8 pm EST; 6 pm MST; 5 pm PST –75^th Commemoration Hiroshima Day Live One-Hour Online Webinar, hosted by the New Mexico 75^th Commemoration of Hiroshima/Nagasaki Committee and Pace e Bene. CCNS is an organizer and co-sponsor of the event. The webinar is free.  Please register or check the website closer to the event date for more information.  https://paceebene.org/hiroshimaday2020

5.  August 6^th – August 9^th – Fasting around the world for nuclear disarmament! The message is:  Nuclear disarmament must happen now!  Join the Fast!  Demand that your country signs the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!  For more information, visit http://www.abolition2000.org/event/international-fast-for-nuclear-disarmament/  or email Dominique Lalanne, <do.lalanne@wanadoo.fr>

Tags: Albert Einstein, global patriotism, Hiroshima, human race, July 9 1955, Lord Bertrand Russell, Nagasaki, prevent war, Remember Your Humanity, Russell-Einstein Manifesto, think in a new way, Trinity