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Posted on 08/10/2014 12:01:13 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Around 50 members of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks gathered at Stephens Lake Park on Saturday night to mark the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Food, music and speeches were part of the occasion, but the solemn centerpiece of the ceremony was sending homemade Japanese lanterns into the lake as a way to honor the 200,000 lives lost from the bombings.
Even though the lanterns were sent off as a way of honoring the dead, Peaceworks also looks at the lanterns floating into the darkness as a way of promoting a brighter future, one without nuclear warfare.
“We try to emphasize even though we are honoring the tragic losses from the past, our main concern is the future,” Peaceworks Director Mark Haim said. “This is not so much to say it’s wrong what we did then but to say we have a choice now of what kind of future do we want. Do we want a peaceful future, or do we want a new cold war with Russia or a new arms race? We gather tonight to remember, but that’s not our main focus. Our main focus is where we are at now.”
Recent events such as the U.S airstrikes against Islamic militants in Iraq and the civil unrest in Ukraine were among the topics discussed at the commemoration.
Speeches focused on those issues and how the world needs to stop conflict from escalating.
“The situation in the Ukraine is highly complex and volatile, and we should be steering toward diplomatic resolutions and trying to keep the channels open between the U.S. and Russia,” Peaceworks member and guest speaker Mariana Morales said.
Mid-Missouri Peaceworks members have honored those lost in the World War II bombings since 1987. The event started during the Cold War when the group first formed over concerns about nuclear warfare. Haim decried the world’s inability to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether.
“We’ve had the ability to choose to eliminate nuclear weapons, but we haven’t made that choice,” Haim said. “People don’t realize the environmental impact of nuclear war would be horrific. We’d have so much famine from the soot that it would take years before we could grow plants again.”
Haim said there are better uses for time and treasure than war.
“We need to redirect our resources to where they’re really needed for our real security problems,” Haim said. “Our infrastructure needs, our educational needs, climate change — those are real security threats. Right now we’re 4 percent of the world’s people spending 40 percent of the world’s military budget. This is a choice we are making, but it’s not necessarily a good choice.”
I feel so much safer now.
And that peace has held for almost 70 years, with only small wars in third world countries being exceptions to the rule.
I firmly believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved millions of lives. They were great humanitarian events.
I once had a damn good time at Stephens Lake Park
The US’ nuclear arsenal is being reduced, the rest of the world not so much.
Feel safer?
Obama is onboard the goal of reaching “Zero”.
Thank God for the Bomb.....Nuke Ya!
The casualties must be Protestant, the way the numbers keep expanding.
There will be peace when they convince the Muslim terrorists to give their evil ways...
Islamic State kills at least 500 from Iraq’s Yazidi minority: Baghdad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3191103/posts
How utterly childish these people are.
Do they also hold vigils for the millions killed by Soviet Russia or Communist China? How about the Chinese killed by the Japanese in the Nanking massacre? Even one candle? Nope.
After all, wasting candles on those who resisted the collective would be an unnecessary addition to the carbon footprint.
Dear God save us, we’ve been invaded by a locust army of morons.
Protestant?
I don’t consider them morons but victims of the Department of Education disinformation machine.
The US Education infrastructure has been taken over by a Socialist Intelligencia that is determined to disarm and deindustrialize the US.
The subsequent brainwashing of a large segment of our society is horrific and could be even more horrific in its long term effects.
The estimate for the dead was 105k, even the dead and wounded together was less than 200k. So using the math from the Religious Forum, these dead must be Protestants because every time the number Protestant denominations are referenced, the total goes up.
But it speaks to our faith and hope as humans to keep TRYING for it.
"The joy is in the journey."
We saved millions of lives, preserved the rest of japan’s infrastructure and ended quickly a very costly war.
“Do we want a peaceful future, or do we want a new cold war with Russia or a new arms race? ”
Sure. It worked last time.
Okay, manufactured morons.
“We’ve had the ability to choose to eliminate nuclear weapons, but we haven’t made that choice,” Haim said.
Well they started this ritual in 1987 and apparently they haven’t read a newspaper since.
Apparently they missed the news that North Korea has nuclear weapons and is developing rockets that will soon be able to carry a nuclear weapon to our shores.
I guess they also haven’t been informed that Iran is within years or maybe even months of having their first nuclear weapon and they also are acquiring long range rocket delivery systems.
Then there is Pakistan that has had nuclear weapons for years and might fall to an Islamic coup at any time leaving the country’s nuclear weapons in the hands of leaders very much intent on punishing the USA for our support of Israel.
Our nuclear weapons have kept us safe from our enemies since the end of WWII and they may if we are lucky keep us safe for the foreseeable future.
Hey, if everyone on the Left is intent on being a victim, we may as well point out the people THEY are victimizing.
Looking forward to see the Daily Tribune's equally exciting story about the Organization of Drooling Idiots and their release on Stephens Lake of lighted candles affixed to floating rocks.
Don't leave us hangin bro.....WE WANT DETAILS !
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