Hiroshima, Nagasaki, 9/11 and Jesus Christ!

08/04/07

Hiroshima, Nagasaki, 9/11 and Jesus Christ!

eileen fleming

This August 6th and 9th mark the 62nd anniversary of America's atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . At 2:45 AM, on August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber flew north from Tinian Island toward Japan . Three and a half hours later, the Enola Gay dropped "Little Boy" an 8,900-pound atomic weapon upon innocent civilians in Hiroshima and leveled almost 90% of the city. On August 9, "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, and one third of that city was destroyed.

"Little Boy" was fueled by highly enriched uranium-235 and generated a destructive force of about 15 kilotons—the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT. "Fat Man" consisted of a plutonium core surrounded by high explosives wired to explode simultaneously and yielded a 22 kiloton explosion.

As a child, I could not comprehend how my country could cold bloodedly target and murder an estimated 110,000 Japanese citizens and severely injure another 130,000 innocent civilians in order to 'save' American lives.

As an adult, I am aggrieved that my government has still not repented for their terrorism nor expressed public sorrow for the lives that were vaporized and devastated in 1945, when by 1950, another 230,000 innocent Japanese had died from injuries or radiation poisoning.

If THAT DAY, we call 9/11 taught us anything, it should be that America's nuclear arsenal cannot keep us safe or secure from the actions of a few violent mad men who target and murder innocent ones.

2,000 years ago, a social justice, radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior and prophet rose up and challenged the job security of the corrupt Temple by teaching the people that they did not have to pay the high priests for ritual baths or to sacrifice livestock to be OK with God; for God already loved them just as they were; sinners, outcasts, diseased, cripples, poor and oppressed common folk, widows, orphans and prisoners enduring under military occupation.

2,000 years ago the Roman Occupying Forces routinely crucified any agitator for disturbing the status quo of the elite. A particular social justice, radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior and prophet named Jesus, issued a political statement and is quoted in Mark's Gospel, "If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."-Mark 8:34.

2,000 years ago, "the cross…was neither a religious icon nor metaphor for personal anguish or humility. It had only one meaning: that terrible form of capitol punishment reserved by imperial Rome for political dissenters. The cross was a common sight in the revolutionary Palestine of Mark's time; in this recruiting call, the disciple is invited to reckon with the consequences facing those who dare to challenge the hegemony of imperial Rome."-Ched Myers, Sojourners Magazine , August 2007, page 28.

In America, we have a lot of religion about Jesus, but not much of the religion Jesus actually taught, which is summed up in The Beatitudes; the Sermon on the Mount.

About 2,000 years ago, when Christ was about 33, he hiked up a hill and sat down under an olive tree and began to teach the people;

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."

In other words: it is those who know their own spiritual poverty, their own limitations and sins honestly and trust God loves them just as they are, who already live in the Kingdom of God.

How comforted we will all be, when we see, we haven't got a clue, as to the depth and breadth of pure love and mercy of The Divine Mystery of The Universe.

God's name in ancient Aramaic is Abba which means Daddy as much as Mommy and He/She: The Lord has said, "My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8

Christ proclaimed more: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

The essence of meek is to be patient with ignorance, slow to anger and never hold a grudge. In other words: how happy you will be when you also know humility; when you know yourself, the good and the bad, for both cut through every human heart.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled."

In other words: how happy you will be when your greatest desire is to do what "God requires, and he has already told you what that is; BE JUST, BE MERCIFUL and walk humbly with your Lord."- Micah 6:8

"Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy."

In other words: how happy you will all be when you choose to return only kindness to your enemy, for the only way to break the cycle of evil and violence is with good.

"For with the measure you measure against another, it will be measured back to you," Christ warns his disciples as he explains the law of karma in Luke 6:27-38.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God."

In other words: how happy you will be when you WAKE UP and see God is already within you, within every man, woman and child. The Supreme Being is everywhere, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Beyond The Universe -and yet so small; within the heart of every atom.

And the bottom line of exactly who the children of God are, is summed up in Matthew 5:9:

"Blessed are The Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God."

Many Americans live under the delusion that the USA is a Christian nation. If that were true, we would lead the way in nuclear disarmament and abolish war.

The bombs that landed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were but the first baby steps to 21st Century nuclear weapons that if set off, by human design, or accident will reap the end of civilization as we now know it; for the nuclear fallout in the air and water will return the nuclear poison unto the ones who sought to destroy 'the other'.

Many secular and some religious anti-nuclear, justice and peace groups have taken up 'the cross' against empire and hegemony by endorsing the INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT FOR A MIDDLE EAST FREE OF ALL WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION:

The following is from their August 3rd, 2007 PRESS RELEASE

Despite the unfolding tragedy in Iraq and the dangerously spiralling crises in the Middle East, another war of an unprecedented scale, this time against Iran, is looming. The environmental and human cost of this war would, by comparison, dwarf the suffering in Iraq ; it would engulf the region and have serious and unintended global consequences.

Terrifyingly, even "pre-emptive" nuclear strikes on Iran have not been ruled out. The introduction of the notion of limited "surgical strikes" involving tactical nuclear bunker busters, has not only increased such possibility, it has brought the morally unthinkable into the realm of debatable. The very mention of the idea has begun the process of desensitising the public to such a horror. The logical outcome of the nuclear threat is undoubtedly a drive to nuclear proliferation in the region, which would then increase the likelihood of the eventual use of nuclear weapons. In this eventuality, there will be no winners.

At this perilous time, let us remember the July 1955 joint Manifesto by Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein at the height of the Cold War: "We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species, Man, whose continued existence is in doubt ……… We shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it. ……The question we have to ask ourselves is: what steps can be taken to prevent a military conflict of which the issue must be disastrous to all species?"

The stakes now are at least equally high. It is with this same spirit of shared humanity that we reach out to all peace loving people in the world to subscribe to the following steps to reduce the risk of a nuclear confrontation.

"With this aim in mind, we, the undersigned:

Call for the Middle East to be a zone free from nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

Call upon Israel , as the only Middle Eastern state with an atomic arsenal, to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and become fully transparent by opening its clandestine nuclear facilities to international inspections and supervision by International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear weapons or facilities not approved under the NPT must be dismantled.

Call for the dispute about Iran 's nuclear programme, to be resolved through peaceful means and dialogue and in accordance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Iran is a current signatory.

Whilst welcoming Iran 's declaration of the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme, we urge Iran 's full co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid suspicion and misunderstanding.

Strongly condemn the Israeli government for its continual harassment, conviction and now prison sentence imposed on Mordechai Vanunu, for simply talking to foreign journalists. We call upon the Israeli authorities to lift all restrictions on Vanunu, and allow him to go free.

Signed by:

The Israeli Committee for a Middle East Free from Atomic, Biological and Chemical Weapons
The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
Campaign for a Nuclear-Free Middle East (UK )
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ( UK )
Stop the War Coalition (UK )
Muslim Association of Britain (UK )
Muslim Council of Britain (UK )
Islamic Human Rights Commission (UK )
Code Pink ( USA )
Global Exchange (USA )
Just Foreign Policy ( USA)
Pax Christi (USA )
Middle East Crisis Coalition.( USA)
United for Justice with Peace (USA )
No Nuclear Weapons – Norway
Middle East Citizens Assembly (International grouping)
Shirin Ebadi - Nobel Peace Prize 2003 [Iranian – "for her efforts for democracy and human rights"]
Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams - joint Nobel Peace Prize 1976 [ Northern Ireland - as cofounders Community of Peace People]
Harold Pinter - Nobel Prize for Literature 2005 [British]
Jody Williams - Nobel Peace Prize 1997 [American – as co-founder of International Campaign to Ban Landmines]

For further information contact

The Campaign for a Nuclear Free Middle East - David Polden: (w) 020-7607 2302; david.lrcnd@cnduk.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ; (h) 020-8340 7752; Ernest Rodker: 020-8672 9698.

The Israeli Committee for a Middle East Free from Atomic, Biological and Chemical Weapons;

Gideon Spiro: spiro@bezeqint.net

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS; THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

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August 4, 2007 © Copyright Eileen Fleming, Reporter and Editor http://www.wearewideawake.org/ AuthorKeep Hope Alive and Memoirs of a Nice Irish American Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory, Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" Permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this credit is attached and the title remains unchanged. Only in Solidarity do "we have it in our power to begin the world again." -Tom Paine

First Published @ http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/08/04/hiros...