On Sept. 8, 1957, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda issued his Declaration for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, marking the start of the Soka Gakkai’s broader peace movement.
In the six decades since, the SGI’s peace movement, grounded in monthly local neighborhood discussion meetings, has expanded to encompass dialogue and activity in the realms of education, culture, peace activism and sustainability.
The consistent message throughout: Ordinary people have the power to lead lives of great value and positively influence their communities, society and the world. Specifically, young people possess immense potential to advance peace from where they stand.
In this feature, the World Tribune highlights the SGI’s varied efforts for nuclear disarmament education. While the following highlights the issue of nuclear abolition, they offer insights that can impact other pressing issues the world faces.
—Prepared by the World Tribune staff
Forum Promotes the Promise of Nuclear Disarmament Education
May 10
The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue, in Cambridge, Mass., held a forum devoted to the cause of education for nuclear disarmament.
During the event, participants representing multiple generations discussed efforts to abolish nuclear weapons. They concluded that while this work is done primarily in the domains of policy and international relations, it is strengthened by educating people about the imminent dangers and consequences of nuclear war, the real possibility of achieving global nuclear disarmament and the actions ordinary citizens can take toward that goal.
Disarmament education spurred one youth to action: Inspired by his studies, Kentaro Shintaku, a recent graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Education and an SGI-USA youth division member, conceived of and provided the vision for the event. In addition to opening remarks from Shintaku, two high school activists from Students for Nuclear Disarmament offered introductory reflections. These were followed by a panel with Dr. Ira Helfand, a member of the International Steering Group for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and professors from Harvard University and Soka University of America.
Ira Helfand
Member of the International Steering Group of ICAN
“We encounter all the time resistance to the idea that people need to learn more about nuclear war. … We need to talk about the bad stuff, about what nuclear weapons are going to do. Because without constantly reminding ourselves about this, we’re not going to be motivated to take action.”
Meira Levinson
Professor of Education and Society at Harvard Graduate School of Education
“We could have English teachers, science teachers, art teachers … all sorts of educators taking on roles in elevating nuclear weapons, nuclear disarmament, peace education, as part of what they think of as being what they teach. I think if you get teachers as fired up about nuclear weapons disarmament and peace building, as many have become fired up around climate education and so forth, there are avenues for change.”
Elaine Scarry
Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University
“I think that we should be optimistic that once there begins to be a will to educate, we will absolutely be able to do it. The problem has been not only the brevity of time but the fact that there’s a counternarrative going on. … I think that the reason we should be optimistic is young people are able to learn so quickly, that’s one reason—the ability of youth to turn on a dime and understand something really quickly.”
On the Growing Threat of Nuclear War
MAY 29
Back from the Brink—a grassroots coalition endorsed by the SGI-USA that works toward nuclear abolition—hosted a virtual event with Annie Jacobsen, investigative journalist and New York Times best-selling author of Nuclear War: A Scenario.
In her latest book, Jacobsen examines the horrors of what would unfold following the launch of a nuclear attack against the U.S. In so doing, she exposes the current state of nuclear weapons and the policies and procedures in place, especially the falsehood that the threat of using nuclear force is the only way to maintain peace.
A recurring theme throughout the conversation was that knowledge, combined with action, equal power. Jacobsen was joined by Dr. Helfand; archbishop John C. Wester, Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Eddie Laiche, an SGI-USA youth division member and co-founder of Students for Nuclear Disarmament.
Annie Jacobsen
Investigative Journalist and New York Times Bestselling Author
“I believe that armed with information, people naturally lean forward. … Once you know those concepts [of nuclear deterrence] in very simple terms, as I hoped to put it forth in the book, you get a little bit of power on this subject. It demystifies this kind of idolatry, this golden calf idea of, Oh my goodness, it’s so confusing and nuclear weapons are so complex, made by people with Ph.D.s. The defense department must know better than I. All of that is simply not true when you can reduce these concepts to basic human ideas that we can just talk about.”
Eddie Laiche
Co-founder of Students for Nuclear Disarmament
I wrote a letter to Ikeda Sensei in early November last year expressing my commitment to his dream of a world free of nuclear weapons. I assured him: “Please don’t worry, Sensei. You can count on me for the future!” Unbeknownst to me, he passed away 10 days later. I expressed my vow to him, which I will cherish for the rest of my life.
As I work toward nuclear disarmament, I’ve discovered a crucial takeaway—that what matters is the life we share with everyone on the planet.
Cycles of war have continued since the beginning of humankind, but with our current nuclear arsenal, another world war would decimate humankind in a matter of hours. To transform this, the root cause for war must be transformed: the delusion within us that accepts and justifies the use of nuclear weapons. The status quo has to change. And kosen-rufu is the key to accomplishing this, because it addresses this fundamental delusion and places as the foundation of our actions respect for the dignity of life.
As long as we continue making efforts for kosen-rufu in our local communities, we have nothing to fear.
John C. Wester
Archbishop of Santa Fe, N.M.
“In terms of religions and faith communities, I think that any religion, any faith is based on relationships. … We have to realize the power that each individual has. I think all too often our parishioners, our brothers and sisters, do not recognize the power that they have. … Your voice is powerful. Don’t ever minimize the power of your voice. And that grows and expands.”
Nuclear Politics 2024 Summer Program
JUNE 10–14
The Soka Institute for Global Solutions (SIGS)—an establishment of Soka University of America focused on building a network of global citizens seeking to solve global problems—hosted a nuclear disarmament workshop for students at its Aliso Viejo, California, campus.
The weeklong program aimed to engage participants in critically analyzing disarmament; identifying current challenges and opportunities toward realizing nuclear abolition; conceptualizing the proper course of action at various levels of society; and developing leadership skills.
Of the 12 undergraduate and graduate students from 10 colleges and universities, four were SGI-USA youth members. Keynote speakers included Dr. Helfand and Masako Toki, senior project manager at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
Masako Toki
Senior Project Manager at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
“We definitely should not create some exclusive community of nuclear disarmament. … I really think we need more diverse thoughts in this field—racial diversity, gender diversity and socioeconomic diversity. … Especially socioeconomic diversity is so important, giving the opportunity to study this topic to underserved communities and students.”
Ira Helfand
“One of the key demographic groups that we do need to reach out to is your generation [youth], which by and large has not been active on this particular issue because it has not been told about it before. You are better positioned than anybody to tell your peers about it because you talk to them all the time. … And you’re going to play a really important role in this.”
Nadia Bruhwiler
Student at Santa Monica College
I was surprised when I was invited to the SIGS Nuclear Politics 2024 Summer Program because I wasn’t too knowledgeable about the topic. But through the workshop, I realized the importance of everyone contributing, even those in the arts, like me.
I learned how the 1983 film The Day After changed President Ronald Reagan’s mind about the threat of nuclear weapons. It’s just one example, but it showed me how we can take action in different ways. We can spread information through social media and art, participate in nuclear disarmament programs with friends, or have conversations about books on this topic.
It challenged my assumption that actions have to be loud to create change. What’s more important is what we learn in the SGI-USA: connecting and setting an example of respect. It’s resentment toward others that’s the source of all wars.
The program made me less intimidated to learn about things that I didn’t know. I now have a new dream to know more about the world and get into international relations.
July 12, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 6–7
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