Bombs and Peace

04/04/13 | Posted by Ian Black

The debate about nuclear weapons is back on the news agenda. The prime minister has backed the purchase of Trident missiles. The Lib Dem members of the cabinet are less enthusiastic. Meanwhile North Korea is waging a war of words threatening to launch nuclear weapons. These weapons exist and the argument is that if we don't have them we are vulnerable to those who would launch them. The threat of mutual destruction is seen as the best defence. Surely no one would be that crazy to use them. On the other hand having them makes us all more vulnerable - the more there are the greater the danger of them being used. Some people are that deranged. As Rowan Williams, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, said, there is no moral good involved in the destructive force which these weapons can bring. What exists, though, can't be uninvented. How to square the circle?

 Trident Missile

There are a number of verses from the psalms which come to mind.  These passages of ancient poetry from the Old Testament warn against putting our trust in the might of horses and human strength (Psalms 20:7; 147:10; 33:17).  A modern way of phrasing this would be to warn against assuming our safety lies in our stash of arms alone.  As the rapper Goldie Lookin Chain said, ‘Guns don’t kill people, rappers do’.  It is words and the motives that lie behind actions which lead people to violence.  Safety lies in the peaceful intentions of the heart, not from fear.  Fear is dangerous and when someone feels they have nothing to lose they can become very destructive, even mutually destructive.  Peace lies in relationships and diplomacy, not in parading missiles.

This is why the aid budget matters.  If we invest in improving the conditions of the poorest people in the world - in food, education and health - there are knock on benefits.  Aid oils the wheels of peace.  So does fairtrade, debt relief and an international politics that is just and respectful of dignity.  Might alone is no guarantor of safety.  It is the principle of good old fashioned justice which assures safety and peace.  Nuclear weapons put us in a very dangerous place.  The more we have the more we need to build the relationships that mean they remain locked in their bunkers.

Back to the top

Please bookmark this post at Facebook or Twitter:     

This form has been disabled

Sorry, but we're no longer receiving comments