statement
on militarization of space
Disarmament
and the New Creation
by Jackie Hudson, OP, Carol Gilbert, OP and
Ardeth Platte, OP
Dominican Sisters
of Grand Rapids, MI
Spring
is the season for nourishing the soil, planting the seeds, weeding
the beds, watering them and tenderly caring for each flower, vegetable
or fruit that is birthed into the sunlight. This whole process
gives us food for reflection - faith in the unseen, hope in what
is to come, and love of all that is part and parcel of the new
creation.
This reflection is applicable today
for the challenge before us - our country's involvement in
war and the escalation of an arms race in outer space, air, water
and on land. How will we nurture the new creation in ourselves
with disarmed hearts? How does our communal living witness
nonviolence in our everyday choices and relationships? So
much in the news of our world today calls us by name to prophetic
actions of resistance to the bloodshed, the injustice and the deprivation. What
must we do to weed out the weapons of mass destruction that threaten
genocide by poverty, the holocausts caused by racism, classism
and sexism, and the omnicide threatened by militarism?
The government's "Vision for
2020" consists of a hope to be masters of space. It
desires to own, control, dominate and exploit outer space. Its
plan is to determine which nations may have access to space and
which nations may not enter it. The documents spell out a
prediction that globalization will bear with it a greater gap between
the "haves" and the "haves not" so whoever
controls space controls the universe. See the Global
Security Institute website for documentation.
Part of our government's design
to expand empire is to control and use weather. This vision
is spelled out in a plan entitled: Weather as a Force Multiplier
- Owning the weather in 2025. Imagine seeding the clouds,
causing floods and mudslides, causing lightening laser-fire fog,
and microwaving to heat the ionosphere to alter communications
and more. These weather wars are in the works now.
"Peacemaking
is not only a central characteristic of the Gospel, peacemaking
is the greatest need of the world today.
We are the daughters and sons of God,
and that means we are called to be peacemakers."
Phillip Berrigan
|
The United States remains the one
and only superpower on earth. However, customary law, the
laws of war, the body of international law consisting of treaties,
protocols, conferences have been incorporated into our country's
Constitution as the supreme law of the land (U.S. Constitution,
Article 6 Supremacy Clause). Yet, the United States
has not adhered to the Non Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty nor has it respected the International Court of
Justice which has declared the threat to use, or the use of, nuclear
weapons illegal. Instead the U.S. is developing a plan to
increase nuclear weapons. This plan is known as Complex
2030 or Bomplex. This producing, testing and certifying of new
nuclear weapons is called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). While
all other countries are inspected, exposed, and condemned for their
proliferation, the defiance and arrogance of this nation explodes
out of control.
How fitting it is for Dominicans
to unite in this kairos time to nourish our love-force
taught by Jesus, our truth-force taught so eloquently by Dominic
and Gandhi, and our soul-force practiced by Martin Luther King
and a large cloud of witnesses. In every ministry we have
opportunities to plant the seeds for life, the concepts that bring
about collegiality, mutuality, and self-worth. With all of
our courage and strength we say "no" to death-dealing
weeds that have grown up to strangle any nation's resources or
peoples. We are living on one planet - Earth. We are
one family, each member is our brother, sister, mother, father
and child.
We stand together to stop the so-called
visions of our "leaders" because they are terrifying
nightmares and far removed from Gospel values of the beatitudes
and of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Communities of
sisters are affirming corporate stances against nuclear weapons
which are the taproot of so much violence. This proclaims
a loud and clear message that our security is in God, not in weapons
of destruction. We are a Eucharistic body, nourished by the manna of
simpler living so all may simply live, by the water of our own
tears of sorrow for injury to others and wine for the celebrations
of forgiveness. We recognize a preferential option with the
people made poor, refugees and exiled people who have no home or
shelter. We allow no enemy to be named for us because we
recognize, do we not, the image and likeness of a God who continues
creation through us? The closer we draw to Earth and each
other, the more furiously we will work to leave a gentler footprint. In
so doing we assure future generations experience the spirit and
reality of companionship - being bread
with each other.
Jackie Hudson, OP, Carol Gilbert, OP and Ardeth Platte, OP
By permission of the authors, this article and any photos may
be reproduced without need for copyright. |
Background:
Carol Gilbert, OP, Jackie Hudson, OP and Ardeth Platt, OP are
currently on probation in Baltimore, MD and Seattle, WA after
being released from federal prison.
The three served multi-year federal prison sentences for defacing
a U.S. Air Force missle silo northeast of Denver. In addition to
the prison sentences, the sisters were placed on probation and
ordered to pay $3,082 in restitution for damage they caused to
a fence and the dome of the silo. Instead of paying the fines,
the group's supporters raised money to feed the poor.
Members of the Grand Rapids Dominicans, the three have found world
wide support for their efforts to raise issues of nuclear disarmament.
For more infomation you can view the documentary film "Conviction" produced
by Zero to Sixty Productions
PO Box 1027
Boulder, CO 80306
or on line at: www.ztsp.org
RELATED LINKS
Letter of Support from CODALC
Jonah House is
a house of nonviolent resistance to war |