HAVERFORD, PA: In a two-day event, organized by the Global Security Institute, convened by primatologist and GSI Advisor Jane Goodall, and chaired by GSI President Jonathan Granoff, more than 800 people gathered at Haverford College, near Philadelphia, to focus on how awakening a sense of global responsibility can help us to address the challenges we face as a global community.
The conference engaged participants in examining the connections between the varied crises facing humanity. Experts spoke on issues ranging from nuclear disarmament to human rights, environmental protection and women’s rights to religious freedom and democracy, and emphasized that the resolution of each of these issues hinges upon progress toward the resolution of others.
“This conference advanced the dialogue in that it articulated a holistic view of human security,” said Global Security Institute President and conference chair Jonathan Granoff. “We cannot continue to pursue environmental justice, international security, and social justice as if they were discrete and unrelated movements. We are all affected by the moral and practical problems posed by massive numbers of people suffering under crushing poverty, gross disparities in wealth, environmental degradation, and the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. To solve these crises, we must stimulate deeper cooperation and foster, in every individual, a sense of global responsibility.”
The conference, entitled “Global Responsibility: A Reason for Hope,” involved the cooperative efforts of the Global Security Institute, the Jane Goodall Institute, Higher Ground for Humanity, the Green Belt Movement, the Chautauqua Institution, the Earth Charter, the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, the Global Dialogue Institute, the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and 20/20 Vision. Haverford College, whose Quaker tradition of peace and social responsibility made it a perfect venue, generously donated its facilities. The organizing groups made a joint call for individuals to take initiative and become active members of the global community, and each group provided a set of models for how participants could make a difference.
The theme of personal responsibility and engagement was reflected in the innovative conference format, which provided speakers and participants the opportunity to engage in deep and direct dialogue. Presenters spoke openly about the personal and spiritual values that led them to their work.
Many participants attested to the powerful and personal impact that this dialogue had upon their thinking. The innovation in message and presentation created an impact on the media assembled, with the Main Line Times heralding the gathering as one that “may rank as a moment of human progress along with the Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony Seneca Falls meeting that launched the movement for women’s rights.”
Conference speakers included: Jane Goodall, noted primatologist and environmental and animal rights activist; Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ; Ashok Gangadean, philosophy professor at Haverford College and co-founder of the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality; Ambassador Thomas Graham, top negotiator for the US in arms-control treaties during the past two decades; Hafsat Abiola, pro-democracy activist and daughter of Nigerian president MK Abiola, who was killed by the military in their country; Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmental activist and founder of the Greenbelt Movement; David Krieger, expert in and activist for the abolition of nuclear weapons; and Lenedra Carroll, talent manager, artist, author and founder of Higher Ground for Humanity. One participant was pleased to note that of the eight presenters, five were women, three were people of color, and two came from sub-Saharan Africa.
With three featured presenters, a central thematic focus was the threat posed by nuclear weapons. As chair Jonathan Granoff said, “This conference highlighted the importance of nuclear disarmament for an audience that may not have appreciated its connection to issues that matter to them. Nuclear weapons are an environmental issue that threatens our sustainability as a species. They are a challenge to international social justicewhy should a handful of states be privileged with possession of these devices? Perhaps most importantly, nuclear weapons pose a profound moral challenge. By eliminating nuclear weapons, we will evolve the moral consciousness and the legal tools that can help solve the other issues that face us.”
The conference aimed at inspiring participants to action, and giving them models for effecting change. Hafsat Abiola, who dedicated her life to activism after her parents were assassinated by the military in her country, said “I share this story so that all you students here who say ‘What can I do?’ You can change the world Together we will change the world.”
Dr. Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and the first woman from East Africa to earn a Ph.D., challenged the audience: “Few consider themselves part of the problem But I have learned to ask, ‘What part do I play? Can I be a part of the solution?'”
“We not only can act,” charged Dr. Goodall, “we must act.”
The message of action was not lost on participants, many of whom took immediate steps: circulating petitions, strategizing on ways to integrate the message of global responsibility into their curricula, committing to organize political groups, writing essays and articles for publication, and mailing letters to elected representatives (GSI provided postcards for participants to send). Students from Lower Merion High School are planning a Global Responsibility Day this Spring, and high school and college students have signed up for a trip, led by GSI, to visit their legislators. Many participants continue to write to the Global Security Institute expressing gratitude for the event, which some called “life-changing,” and declaring a desire to be involved with the activities of GSI and the movement in general.
The inspirational message of the conference came at a crucial time. As one participant wrote to GSI, “As I began to try to explain to friends and family members what had happened [at the conference], I realized that the despair that had been hanging over me since the September 11th attacks (and subsequent bombing of Afghanistan) had dissipated. The compassion and courageous actions of the speakers, as well as their thoughtfulness and determination, reflected a deep spirit which filled my heart and those around me with hope.”
Posted by zack_allen at 10:51 AM
February 14, 2002
Congressional Letter to President Bush
Expressing Concern About Development of Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons
In December 2001, the Washington Post reported that some officials in the Bush administration were advocating the development of a new “usable” nuclear weapon or “mini-nuke.” Additional news articles in January 2002, said that the Bush administration planned to increase the budget of the Nevada Test Site to prepare it for the resumption of nuclear weapons testing. These news reports prompted Rep. Ed Markey (MA), a leading nonproliferation advocate, to draft a letter to President Bush expressing concern about these proposals.
—
February 14, 2002
Dear President Bush:
We write to express our deep concern about reports that your administration is considering the development of a new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons and the resumption of underground nuclear testing.
Accelerating preparations for underground nuclear testing undermines a moratorium that has been upheld for nearly 10 years by both Republican and Democratic administrations. The development of a new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons would require the termination of an existing legislative prohibition on such activity, sending a resoundingly negative signal to allies and potential adversaries alike that the U.S. is abandoning international efforts to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons. As the steward of the most awesome array of nuclear weapons on earth, the United States has the responsibility for handling its nuclear stockpile in a way that demonstrates our strong commitment to refraining from the use of these weapons. This is particularly true given the events of September 11 and the need to maintain a strong anti-terror coalition. Now is not the time to send an ambiguous non-proliferation message to our international partners in the war against terrorism.
Abandoning the current moratorium on nuclear testing would be an inexplicable reversal of U.S. policy at this time and serve to undermine your commendable decision last year to begin reducing our nation’s arsenal of strategic warheads. While we are encouraged by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld’s clarification that the Nuclear Posture Review does not contain a formal recommendation to resume testing, it nevertheless contemplates turning the current red light against nuclear testing to yellow, thereby causing other nations to wonder when that light will turn green, and to “hedge” their own nuclear weapons programs accordingly. Moreover, it is occurring within the context of other related decisions concerning nuclear weapons, particularly your announcement of withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the administration’s continuing antipathy toward the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Historically, America has played a leading role in promoting international measures aimed at halting nuclear proliferation. If America demonstrates a renewed commitment to nuclear weapons, other nations will follow our lead, encouraging the proliferation of weapons-grade material and devices in other nations and weakening our ability to prevent it.
The tragic events that our nation has endured recently have garnered us the good will of an unprecedented coalition of nations. We should use this unique opportunity to advance–not damage–the prospects for achieving stronger international curbs on the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Adopting an aggressive nuclear posture by resuming testing and new weapons development is a step backward into the hostile policies of the Cold War era, and a virtual invitation to other nations to opt out of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime. We ask for your clear and unambiguous assurance that, absent the emergence of grave new threats to national survival that cannot be deterred by the current enduring stockpile, the United States will neither resume underground nuclear test explosions nor pursue the development of new nuclear weapons.
Sincerely,
Rep. Edward Markey (MA)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX)
Rep. Robert Underwood (GU)
Rep. George Miller (CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)
Rep. Jim McDermott (WA)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR)
Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney (GA)
Rep. John Tierney (MA)
Rep. Joe Hoeffel (PA)
Rep. Mark Udall (NM)
Rep. Jose Serrano (NY)
Rep. Bernard Sanders (VT)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Rep. Pete Stark (CA)
Rep. John Lewis (GA)
Rep. Betty McCollum (MN)
Rep. Edolphus Towns (NY)
Rep. Lane Evans (IL)
Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (OH)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY)
Rep. Bob Filner (CA)
Rep. Marty Meehan (MA)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA)
Rep. Tom Allen (ME)
Rep. Hilda Solis (CA)
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA)
Rep. Nita M. Lowey (NY)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT)
Rep. David R. Obey (WI)
Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (IN)
Rep. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (AS)
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (FL)
Rep. Donald M. Payne (NJ)
Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (CA)
Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY)
Rep. Martin Olav Sabo (MN)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
Rep. Dale Kildee (MI)
Rep. James L. Oberstar (MN)
Rep. Thomas M. Barrett (WI)
Rep. James P. McGovern (MA)
Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (NY)
Rep. Lynn N. Rivers (MI)
Rep. Barney Frank (MA)
Rep. Sam Farr (CA)
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (CA)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA)
Rep. John W. Olver (MA)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ)
Rep. Richard E. Neal (MA)
Rep. Michael M. Honda (CA)
Rep. Bart Stupak (MI)
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (MA)
Rep. Darlene Hooley (OR)
Rep. Diane E. Watson (CA)
Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (IL)
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY)
Rep. Carrie P. Meek (FL)
Rep. Howard L. Berman (CA)
Rep. Bobby L. Rush (IL)
Rep. Michael E. Capuano (MA)
Rep. Joseph Crowley (NY)
Rep. William Lacy Clay (MO)
Rep. James A. Leach (IA)
Rep. Maxine Waters (CA)
Rep. William Delahunt (MA)
Rep. Bill Luther (MN)
Rep. Julia Carson (IN)
Rep. David Price (NC)
Rep. Diana Degette (CO)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH)
Rep. David E. Bonior (MI)
Posted by zack_allen at 05:06 PM