In 2012 the doomsday clock was set at five minutes to midnight.
in 2015 the clock was adjusted to three minutes to midnight.
The Doomsday Clock 2017 set two and half minutes away from midnight. The closest it's been since 1953.
It Is a Matter of Imagination and Collective Human Will.
To: WorldWithoutWar.org who made NO WAR 2018 Toronto happen. Well organized, food was good, kept things moving along. Well done … each year better.
Re: My evaluation of conference.
In terms of content … like other years a lot of folks pushing ideas around since Socrates, and before, the underpinnings of a world without war … and important to meet, to connect and to develop these ideas. A lot of talking not much listening in the hope of a time when leaders across the globe empowered by earth citizens voting them into office to end war.
The film the World Is My Country the most important contribution in this conference. How one man can make a difference, a compelling story. A story about a man laying the foundation for earth conscious humanity, our consciousness not bonded only to family, tribe, state and nation, but to "Country Earth' for we are Earth Citizens. One more layer of conscious interconnectedness in human development.
So there we gathered in Toronto to be about the business of ending war. And given an opportunity to make a declaration in support of ending a war in Korea that has threatened WWIII, we backed away. This is diagnostic of not clear seeing.
All the more so as Christina Ahn made it clear the Koreas are serious about peace and being in support of that peace on the right side of history. I imagined a Press Release: "NO WAR 2018 supports the United States effort lead by President Trump on Korea Peace." A tactic to draw the press into the room … make some noise … draw some fire, to go with the energy in the Zen of peace making.
Instead the audience cheered Wngz’s rant on Trump … and I sensed if people could have they would have booed me for pressing Christina on her reasons for not taking a personal public stand in support of Trump. To see his willingness to step outside his story and remake the story? She said she was afraid of offending her audience … . The speaker next morning noted the idea of direct support for Trump on ending war worth consideration.
Thank you David for reminding the audience the importance of seeing beyond the person … peace as in war makes for strange bed fellows. Conferees … fearful … of being on the right side because of how it might look sleeping with the enemy! John and Joe Doe is my imagined audience. I see them looking in on us, and not seeing us living our message … little focused discussion on war, let alone plan to end war. Why would they trust us to keep them safe from war?
This failure to reach across … not just to Trump, but to those who support him, a missed opportunity. In this reaching out, freedom from war less threatening, the more they see us as with them in belief in the power of just law enforcement. There is a global law, earth law, making all war illegal. It is on the books. Kellogg Briand Pact. David is right, no need to reinvent the wheel, other than to add one more specific thing justice must do in it … enforce laws not just to keep the streets clean but to end war. Time to do it, to avoid worse case scenarios in human history.
There is a just law to be enforced, the wisdom of our grand parents … in need of leaders to build the structures to enforce this law, in need of people to vote them into power. The ballot box is where war will end by enforcement of the war against law. Global peace through global justice. And as NO WAR 2018 conference well demonstrated, there is much wonderful law already in place to make justice default in resolving all conflict big and small. But not yet the collective human will to make it work, even among those professing to end of war.
I think we are in need of self-reflection … who are we, who say we want to end war and given the opportunity to take a stand … stood down?
If we are to end war there must be a plan with a global strategy: I propose across planet earth, earth citizens ready to vote for leaders to end war on a global platform to end war. In one voice across the internet … the cry out for the peace that comes from ending war and banishing the god of war to dust bin of human history. A great story to be written that has all the elements in play (as never before in history) but lacks the global imagination to make it happen.
All else is tactics … and local plans to make that vote happen.
The Press tactic one … to carry the message. When earth citizens two hundred million strong call out in one voice in one place, enforce the law against war, leaders will come forth … the press will pay attention.
And some of the best leaders will be educated in the art of war, for war theory itself does not advocate war, but law. Note Academy for Rule of Law … West Point.
On to No War 2019 … I recommend we gather to outline a plan to end war.