Tag: peace literacy

Unlike the Pandemic, Nuclear War Can Be Stopped Before it Begins

This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence, and is reproduced here under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license

Nuclear weapons have been posing a threat to humanity for 75 years — ever since the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

These days, our focus is understandably on the COVID-19 virus and the threat it poses to human life. But as we commemorate the anniversary of these bombings, it is important to acknowledge that unlike the coronavirus, nuclear weapons can only be remediated with prevention. Millions of people could be killed if a single nuclear bomb were detonated over a large city, and the added threats of radiation and retaliation could endanger all life on Earth.

As political and socioeconomic instabilities grow, the risk of nuclear conflicts and even a global nuclear war is growing by the day. In fact, the world’s nuclear-armed countries spent a record $73 billion on their arsenal of weapons of mass destruction last year, almost half of that sum represented by the United States, followed by China. Mobilizing global action for the abolition of nuclear weapons — to safeguard health, justice and peace — is more important now than ever.

“When societies become more unstable, all forms of violence become more likely,” says Rick Wayman, CEO of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. “We, as individuals and as humanity, must overcome the root causes that have led to the past 75 years of nuclear weapons [development]. Absent this, we will continue to have national leaders that cling to nuclear weapons.”

The dangerous choice that is still being made by some government leaders of nuclear-armed nations has been threatening the world’s population for decades. But the global health threat presented by nuclear war can be stopped before it begins. And the way to do it is through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, which has been the focal point of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

The road to nuclear disarmament

Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons — the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — and it is estimated that they possess almost 15,000 nuclear warheads in total. Yet another report shows that 22 countries currently have one kilogram or more of weapons-usable nuclear materials, compared to 32 nations six years ago.

On July 7, 2017, the TPNW was adopted by the United Nations as a multilateral, legally-binding instrument for nuclear disarmament. However, the treaty will only enter into force and prohibit the development, testing and use of nuclear weapons worldwide once 50 nations have signed and ratified it. That’s what the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, is working hard to achieve.

ICAN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations in over 100 countries that won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its efforts to achieve a global nuclear weapons ban treaty. They have been working to raise public awareness about the catastrophic consequences of weapons of mass destruction, while persuading decision-makers and mobilizing citizens to pressure their governments to sign and ratify the TPNW — a treaty that they have managed to bring forward after years of advocacy meetings at the United Nations and in national parliaments.

Daniel Högsta, ICAN’s campaign coordinator, says the TPNW is “the most promising new vehicle for changing attitudes and the political status quo around nuclear weapons.” He adds that residents and leaders of cities and towns “have a special responsibility and obligation to speak out on this issue” for nuclear disarmament, given that these places are the main targets of nuclear attacks.

ICAN developed a Cities Appeal initiative and a #ICANSave online campaign, to encourage local authorities to lead the way in supporting the treaty, building momentum for national governments to sign and ratify it. This is usually done through council resolutions, official statement or press releases from municipal authorities communicating their support for the global ban treaty, sometimes including nuclear weapons divestment commitments.

“We have been very excited by the positive responses from cities all around the world,” Högsta said. “We have just surpassed 300 cities and towns that have joined [the ICAN appeal], which includes municipalities of all sizes, from huge metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Berlin, Sydney, Paris and Toronto, to small but nevertheless committed towns.”

These steps are not only fast tracking the success of the TPNW, explains Högsta, but it is also challenging the assumption that local politicians cannot influence foreign policy decisions. In the United States, for example, many city leaders have joined the ICAN appeal and committed to divest public pension funds from nuclear weapons companies, although President Trump has not yet shown the same interest.

The humanitarian appeal

The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely destroyed by the nuclear bombs dropped over Japan, which killed more than 200,000 people immediately and injured countless others. Those who survived suffered long-term health effects such as cancers and chronic diseases due to the exposure to radiation. Yet their story remains very much alive.

Some hibakusha people — survivors of the atomic bombings from 75 years ago — have partnered with ICAN to share their testimonies and make sure the world does not forget about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear conflicts. Setsuko Thurlow, one of the survivors and an anti-nuclear activist, has been sending letters to government leaders worldwide to encourage them to join the TPNW. She sent a letter to Donald Trump last month.

Doctors around the world have also been warning about the dreadful consequences of potential nuclear conflicts amid the coronavirus pandemic, given that health professionals and facilities are already overwhelmed. A recent study showed that a limited nuclear exchange between just two countries, like India and Pakistan, would be enough to cause a global disaster in food production and natural ecosystems. That’s why these weapons must not be used and countries should commit to banning them once and for all, before irreversible damage to humanity and the planet is done.

Fortunately, this is close to being achieved. Chuck Johnson, director of nuclear programs at the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, ICAN’s founding organization, says that 82 nations have already signed the TPNW and 40 have ratified it. That means only 10 more ratifications are needed for the global ban treaty to enter into force.

The world has never been so close to abolishing nuclear weapons and there’s hope this may be achieved by the end of this year. After all, the pandemic is teaching government leaders about the need to put humanity at the center of security plans.

The role of peace education

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a partner organization of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Yet their focus has been on training people in peace literacy.

Wayman says that to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons — and free of other serious problems such as wars, mass shootings, racism and sexism — we need to look at the root causes of why our society continues to embrace these forms of violence. And it all comes down to non-physical human needs, such as belonging, self-worth and transcendence. “If people can’t find healthy ways of fulfilling them, they will find unhealthy ways,” Wayman said.

He believes that peace literacy can give people “the tools they need to recognize, address and heal the root causes of these serious problems plaguing societies around the world.” That is crucial because if people do not confront the root causes of violence and engage in healthy and peaceful relations with themselves and others, nuclear weapons may not be entirely abolished.

Take slavery for example. Most countries in the world passed laws to abolish slavery in the 19th or 20th centuries, but slavery-like working conditions and forced labor are still reported nowadays. That’s because racism and other unhealthy, violent forms of human relations have not ceased to exist and oftentimes are not discouraged by individuals, organizations or politicians.

Therefore, passing laws to ban nuclear weapons is an important step, but it is probably not enough to end this public health threat. Educating people, across all levels of society, about the importance of doing no harm and practicing nonviolence is fundamental for building a future where peace, not war, is the status quo.

Given the immense challenges our global society is facing today, especially in terms of health, it is time to mobilize for nuclear disarmament. As Setsuko Thurlow, a hibakusha, said in her letter to President Trump: “Every second of every day, nuclear weapons endanger everyone we love and everything we hold dear. Is it not yet the time for soul searching, critical thinking and positive action about the choices we make for human survival?”

August 6, 2020
We Stand with Protestors Working to End Systemic Injustices

We condemn the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other victims of anti-Black racism. We stand with protesters across the US and the world working to end systemic injustices. The pain, trauma, and suffering of racial injustice, police brutality, and white supremacy must end. We commit to working for the dignity and safety of the Black community and for its children, who deserve not only to breathe, but to live peacefully and thrive. We honor the African Americans, including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who have made critical contributions to the project of nuclear abolition (documented in the important book African Americans Against the Bomb, Stanford University Press, 2015).

_________________

Condenamos el asesinato de George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery y muchas otras víctimas del racismo. Estamos con los manifestantes en todo Estados Unidos y el mundo entero que se esfuerzan para poner fin a las injusticias sistemáticas. El dolor, el trauma y el sufrimiento de la injusticia racial, la brutalidad policial y la supremacía blanca deben terminar. Nos comprometemos a trabajar por la dignidad y la seguridad de las comunidades de color y de sus hijos, que merecen no solo respirar, sino también vivir en paz y prosperar. Honramos a los afroamericanos, incluido el reverendo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., que han realizado contribuciones críticas al proyecto de abolición nuclear (documentado en el importante libro African Americans Against the Bomb, Stanford University Press, 2015).

June 4, 2020

Sunflower Newsletter: January 2019

Issue #258 – January 2019

We have a lot of work to do in 2019. Your support makes our work possible. Would you make a gift to help us accomplish our goals this year?

Perspectives

A Message to Today’s Young People: Put an End to the Nuclear Weapons Era by David Krieger
Renew Arms Control, Don’t Destroy It by Andrew Lichterman and John Burroughs
Labor Sets the Right Course on Nuclear Disarmament by Gem Romuld
The Measured Normalization of a Nuclear State by Kumar Sundaram

Nuclear Proliferation

Russia Tests Hypersonic Missile
Trump Calls the Arms Race “Crazy”

War and Peace

U.S. to Reconsider Travel Ban to North Korea

Nuclear Waste

Trump Administration Breaks Agreement with California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site

Nuclear Insanity

U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Bomb Threat on New Year’s Eve
Acting U.S. Defense Secretary is 31-Year Veteran of Boeing
U.S. Senator Bought Raytheon Stock Days After Pushing for Massive Military Budget

Resources

An Unsettled Year in Nuclear Weapons
Joint Statement of U.S. Civil Society Groups in Support of the Current Peace Process in Korea

Foundation Activities

Peace Literacy 2018 Highlights and 2019 Preview
NAPF Now Hiring 2019 Summer Interns
Women Waging Peace
Article in Gensuikyo Tsushin

Take Action

Thank the Senate for Invoking War Powers Resolution

Quotes

Perspectives

A Message to Today’s Young People: Put an End to the Nuclear Weapons Era

by David Krieger

Nuclear weapons were created to kill indiscriminately. That means women, men, children – everyone. Even during war, under the rules of international law, that kind of mass killing is illegal. It is also immoral.

As young people, you have a unique ability to influence today’s political and military leaders throughout the world to put an end to the nuclear era. For your own future, and that of all humanity, will you accept the challenge and join in advocating for a Nuclear Zero world?

To read more, click here.

Renew Arms Control, Don’t Destroy It

by Andrew Lichterman and John Burroughs

A hard-earned lesson of the Cold War is that arms control reduces the risk of nuclear war by limiting dangerous deployments and, even more important, by creating channels of communication and understanding. But President Donald Trump and his National Security Advisor John Bolton appear to have forgotten, or never learned, that lesson.

In late October, Trump announced an intent to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo subsequently stated that the U.S. will suspend implementation of the treaty in early February. While U.S. signals have been mixed, initiation of withdrawal at that point or soon thereafter appears likely.

To read the full op-ed at Inter Press Service, click here.

Labor Sets the Right Course on Nuclear Disarmament

by Gem Romuld

On the final afternoon of the recent 48th [Australian] Labor national conference, Anthony Albanese took to the podium to announce that a future Labor government will sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He declared that “people who change the world are ones that are ambitious,” after three days of intense negotiations on nuclear policy among senior Labor parliamentarians.

It is beyond time for Australia to quit our role as nuclear enabler for the United States. The nuclear weapon ban treaty presents us with a persistent question; will we join the global majority and contribute to the consensus against these WMDs, or remain implicated in the nuclear threat?

To read the full op-ed in The Sydney Morning Herald, click here.

The Measured Normalization of a Nuclear State

by Kumar Sundaram

The passing year marked the 20th year of the May 1998 nuclear tests in Pokhran, the 10th year of the unprecedented exception from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) that the Indian government achieved in 2008, and the last effective year of the ultra-nationalist Modi government as it enters its lame-duck phase in early 2019.

The deceptive calm and seeming indolence on the part of the Indian government makes it easy to miss the details and the deeply worrying patterns of an unmistakable push for a massive nuclear weaponization and energy expansion that we should all be concerned about.

To read more, click here.

Nuclear Proliferation

Russia Tests Hypersonic Missile

On December 26, Russia announced a successful test of its Avangard hypersonic missile. The missile, which can travel 20 times the speed of sound, is designed to take an elusive path toward its target, thus nullifying the effect of any current missile defense system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russians were “forced” to develop the missile in response to U.S. President George W. Bush’s unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002.

Bill Chappell, “Russia Will Deploy New Hypersonic Missile Systems in 2019, Putin Says,” NPR, December 27, 2018.

Trump Calls the Arms Race Crazy

In a December tweet, President Trump complained about the high cost of the arms race with Russia and China, calling it “uncontrollable” and “crazy.”

Trump wrote, “I am certain that, at some time in the future, President Xi and I,
together with President Putin of Russia, will start talking about a
meaningful halt to what has become a major and uncontrollable Arms Race.”

Lolita Baldor, “Trump Complains About Cost of ‘Uncontrollable’ Arms Race,” Associated Press, December 3, 2018.

War and Peace

U.S. to Reconsider Travel Ban to North Korea

Stephen Biegun, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, said that the United States will review its ban on travel to North Korea in order to help facilitate humanitarian aid shipments to the isolated country.

“I’ll be sitting down with American aid groups early in the new year to discuss how we can better ensure the delivery of appropriate assistance,” Biegun said.

U.S. sanctions against North Korea have been enforced so vigorously that aid groups have been unable to transfer cash for their daily operations in the North, or even take any metal objects there.

Choe Sang-hun, “U.S. Will Review Travel Ban on North Korea, Envoy Says,” The New York Times, December 19, 2018.

Nuclear Waste

Trump Administration Breaks Agreement with California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site

The Trump Administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it intends to leave 98% of the contaminated soil in its area of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) not cleaned up, despite admitting that would violate the legally binding agreement it entered into with California in 2010.

The SSFL is one of the most contaminated sites in the state. It housed ten nuclear reactors, one of which suffered a partial nuclear meltdown and three others also experienced serious accidents. There was a plutonium fuel fabrication facility and a “hot lab” which cut up highly irradiated nuclear fuel shipped in from around the country. Radioactive and toxic chemical wastes were burned for years in open-air pits. There were tens of thousands of rocket engine tests. All of these activities and sloppy environmental practices resulted in widespread radioactive and toxic chemical pollution of soil, groundwater and surface water.

“Trump Administration Breaks Agreement With California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site,” Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles, December 19, 2018.

Nuclear Insanity

U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Bomb Threat on New Year’s Eve

The United States Strategic Command, the unified military force that controls the nation’s thousands of nuclear weapons, tweeted and then deleted a threat to drop something “much, much bigger” than the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball.

The bombs being dropped in the video accompanying the tweet were massive “conventional” bombs. However, Strategic Command is known for its control of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Zachary Cohen and Barbara Starr, “U.S. Military Tweets, Deletes New Year’s Eve Message About Dropping Bombs,” CNN, December 31, 2018.

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary is 31-Year Veteran of Boeing

Patrick Shanahan, who was named acting Secretary of Defense after James Mattis resigned in December, previously worked for Boeing for 31 years before joining the Pentagon. Boeing makes billions of dollars each year from U.S. military contracts, including nuclear weapons.

Shanahan’s spokesperson Lt. Col. Joe Buccino said, “Under his Ethics Agreement, Mr. Shanahan has recused himself for the duration of his service in the Department of Defense from participating in matters in which the Boeing Company is a party.”

Given Boeing’s significant number of military contracts, this claim will likely prove to be untrue.

Ellen Mitchell, “Acting Defense Chief Recuses Himself from Matters Involving Boeing,” The Hill, January 2, 2019.

Senator Bought Raytheon Stock Days After Pushing for Massive Military Budget

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) bought between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in weapons manufacturer Raytheon just days after pushing for a record $750 billion military budget for Fiscal Year 2020.

After being questioned about why he made this purchase, Inhofe’s office said the senator contacted his financial adviser to cancel the transaction and instructed him to avoid defense and aerospace purchases going forward.

Lachlan Markay, “Sen. James Inhofe Bought Defense Stock Days After Pushing for Record Pentagon Spending—Then Dumped It When Asked About It,” The Daily Beast, December 12, 2018.

Resources

An Unsettled Year in Nuclear Weapons

John Mecklin, Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, compiled a list of eight articles published by the Bulletin in 2018 that convey the unsettled year that has passed.

In 2018, the world’s arms control architecture teetered on the brink of collapse as the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and threatened withdrawal from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Negotiations between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear program stalled. And Hawaii went through 38 dreadful minutes of believing it was under nuclear missile attack.

To read Mecklin’s list, click here.

Joint Statement of U.S. Civil Society Groups in Support of the Current Peace Process in Korea

Over 150 civil society groups in the United States, including the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, issued a joint statement in support of the peace process in Korea. The statement says that, after more than six decades, it is time to end the Korean War. The war stopped in 1953 with an Armistice Agreement, but a peace treaty among the warring parties has never been signed.

To read the full statement in The Nation, click here.

Foundation Activities

Peace Literacy 2018 Highlights and 2019 Preview

In 2018, NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell brought a transformative curriculum for a peace literate classroom, community, and culture to events in 16 states and five Canadian provinces. He spoke to more than 8,500 educators, students, and community leaders in more than 67 lectures and 19 workshops.

In 2019, Chappell will partner with dedicated educators around the country to bring professional development opportunities to teachers and administrators. He will also conduct many workshops and lectures for Rotary International chapters, and will co-teach an honors course on Peace Literacy with Oregon State University Professor Sharyn Clough.

To read the full update on Peace Literacy, click here.

NAPF Now Hiring 2019 Summer Interns

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is offering four paid summer internship positions in 2019 at its Santa Barbara office. Interns must have a demonstrated interest in gaining hands-on experience working with a non-profit educational and advocacy organization. Applications for these positions must be received by March 1, 2019.

For Summer 2019, we are hiring for four specific internship roles: Research and Writing Intern; Fundraising and Development Intern; Communications Intern; and Peace Literacy Intern.

For more information on each of these four roles, as well as application requirements, click here.

Women Waging Peace

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s online campaign, Women Waging Peace, highlights the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

Our fifth profile features Bonnie Jenkins, founder and President of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS).

Click here to read our interview with Bonnie Jenkins.

The other women leaders profiled in this series thus far are Ray Acheson, Cynthia Lazaroff, Makoma Lekalakala, and Christine Ahn. Click here to see all the full Women Waging Peace series.

Article in Gensuikyo Tsushin

The Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Gensuikyo) invited NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman to write an article on California’s adoption of a resolution embracing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The article was translated into Japanese for distribution to Gensuikyo activists across Japan.

To read the full article in English, click here.

Take Action

Thank Senators for Invoking the War Powers Resolution

In December, the Senate voted 56-41 to stop U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. This is the first time the Senate has ever invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

This war, for which the U.S. has supplied bombs, intelligence, and logistical support, has directly caused what the United Nations calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
It is extremely important that we thank the 56 Senators who took action to end U.S. involvement in this disastrous war.

Click here to take action.

Quotes

“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased to worship life and obey the laws of life.”

— Lewis Mumford. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

“We are small, but we can have a big impact.”

— Auckland Statement on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Click here to read the full statement.

“If the US responds to our initiative and pre-emptive efforts by taking reliable and corresponding practical action, our relationship will continue to progress at an excellent and great speed through the process of taking more concrete and groundbreaking measures.”

— Kim Jong-un, in a January 1, 2019 video message.

Editorial Team

David Krieger
Carol Warner
Rick Wayman

January 7, 2019

Refugees and Peace Literacy

When Paul K. Chappell, NAPF Peace Leadership Director, spoke about Peace Literacy in mid-May to over 400 students at the International Youth Conference for the Christian Community in Hamburg, Germany, he also addressed a number of young refugees from the Greater Middle East. Some of them spoke English, had been in Germany for a number of months, and they said they were hopeful for the future. They had survived traumatic experiences and while they were hopeful, they knew their future was not guaranteed.

Chappell has often talked about the “muscle” of hope, and how realistic hope can survive enormous suffering even when trust has been betrayed. Unlike naïve hope which is the result of helplessness, realistic hope grows from the trust we have in ourselves, others, and our ideals. Participation in creating progress is a higher expression of hope.

“The presence of these recent refugees made our discussion on peace less abstract and more about reality,” Chappell said. “When a face is put on an issue, our empathy can grow.”

“It is important to recognize our shared humanity. When we understand our shared humanity we can see through the illusions of dehumanization and realize when people are trying to manipulate our human vulnerabilities in order to take advantage of us.”

Chappell also addressed waging peace, ending war, abolishing nuclear weapons, and our responsibility to animals and creation. “The refugee crisis is an opportunity to put our ideals into action, to see ourselves in those who are fleeing oppression and war. Germany’s empathy for those fleeing from the chaos of war in search of peace is an inspiring example for all of us.”

May 31, 2016
Why Our World Needs Peace Literacy

Humanity’s Greatest Invention

Imagine if there were a high school in America today with a zero percent literacy rate, a high school where none of the students or teachers know how to read. Would this high school get national media attention? Actually, it would probably get international media attention, because today we recognize that literacy is the foundation of education, and we have constructed our society around literacy.

Now imagine going back in time to 1200 BC in ancient Greece. This was around the time period of the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans. In 1200 BC the Greek and Trojan societies were almost completely illiterate. This is why none of the characters in the Iliad, which takes place during the Trojan War, know how to read. Not even the kings and princes know how to read. Achilles, Odysseus, Hector, and Priam are very intelligent, but they are illiterate.[i]

Imagine trying to convince the Greeks and Trojans in 1200 BC that they should have universal literacy. Would this be an easy or difficult thing to do? It would be very difficult, because how do you explain the concept of universal literacy to people who have never heard of reading and writing?

If you told them, “Writing is a process where you make marks on something, and the marks symbolize sounds,” they might respond, “What is the point of that? Why go through all that trouble? Why not just use your voice to communicate, or send a messenger to relay your message?”

If you said, “Literacy allows you to read books and letters,” they would respond, “What is a book? What is a letter?” Explaining what books and letters are to people who have no concept of literacy would be difficult, but explaining what we use literacy for in the twenty-first century would probably be impossible. Literacy is more important now than it has ever been, because today we have expanded our use of literacy to include e-mail, text messages, the Internet, Facebook, ordering from menus, buying subway tickets, using street signs to navigate, and much more. How could you possibly explain the concept of the Internet to people living in 1200 BC? How could they even begin to comprehend what the Internet is, if they don’t even know what literacy is?

If you are living in a small nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe, then you don’t need literacy. But if you are living in a large agricultural civilization consisting of several hundred thousand or several million people, then literacy becomes essential. That is why large agricultural civilizations all over the world eventually reach a point where they try to develop a written language, whether in ancient China, India, Babylon, Egypt, Carthage, Rome, or on the other side of the globe in the land of the Aztecs and Mayans.[ii]

Literacy is something we often take for granted today, but why is literacy so important? When I ask this question to audiences, they often say that literacy is important because it allows us to distribute information. But there are two larger reasons why literacy is important. The first larger reason is because as Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power.”[iii] There is a reason why American slave owners made it illegal for slaves to learn how to read. There is a reason why the Nazis burned books and why throughout history dictators have banned books. There is a reason why Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head for trying to promote literacy and education for women, and there is a reason why the Taliban doesn’t want women to become educated. When you deny people literacy, you also deny them power.

The second larger reason why literacy is important is because literacy not only allows us to distribute information, but literacy also gives us access to entirely new kinds of information. One of the new forms of information that literacy gives us access to is history. History cannot exist without literacy.[iv] This might sound odd, but the reason history requires literacy is because without literacy, you cannot separate history from mythology. If you were to ask an ancient Greek man in 1200 BC who his ancestors were, he might say, “On my father’s side my distant ancestor was Zeus, and on my mother’s side my distant ancestor was Aphrodite.” That would sound normal back then, but that would sound very strange today. Because they lacked a written history, the ancient Greeks and Trojans also did not seem to have any historical memory that they once lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers for countless generations. Instead, they seemed to believe that their ancestors, after being created by Greek deities, had always lived in an agricultural civilization.

Another new form of information that literacy gives us access to is science. Literacy makes every scientific field possible, because literacy allows us to organize and analyze information in new ways. So if you like electricity, then thank literacy. In addition, complex math cannot exist without literacy. Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus require a written language.

Because literacy allows the human mind to expand and explore in so many ways, literacy is perhaps humanity’s greatest invention. Humanity discovered how to use fire, but we invented literacy. Some people might argue that the wheel is humanity’s greatest invention, but history, science, and complex math can exist without the wheel. They cannot exist without a written language. Unlike spoken language, walking, and other natural human abilities that are as old as our species, reading and writing are not natural human abilities, but relatively recent inventions.

A better term for the ancient Greeks and Trojans living in 1200 BC is not illiterate, but preliterate, because they did not yet understand why literacy was an essential step in their society’s evolution. They lacked awareness of what literacy even meant, because when you live in a preliterate society, you don’t realize you are preliterate.

Now the point I want to make is, what if all of us in the twenty-first century are living in a preliterate society and we don’t even realize it? We are not preliterate in reading, but in something else. What if we are living in a society that is preliterate in peace, and a major reason why we have so many national problems, global problems, and even personal and family problems is because our society is preliterate in peace. Just as literacy in reading gives us access to new kinds of information such as history, science, and complex math, literacy in peace also gives us access to new kinds of information such as solutions to our national and global problems, along with solutions to many of our personal and family problems.

The Seven Forms of Peace Literacy

There are seven forms of peace literacy. The first is literacy in our shared humanity. What does it mean to be human? If you ask a hundred different people what it means to be human, you will probably get a hundred different answers, because we are preliterate in our shared humanity. Think about how difficult it would be to dehumanize people if we were all literate in our shared humanity. Think about how difficult it would be for someone to manipulate our human vulnerabilities if we were fully aware of the many ways people exploit these vulnerabilities.

The second form of peace literacy is literacy in the art of living. Living is the most difficult art form, and most of us are not taught how to live. As a child I was never taught the many essential life skills that are part of the art of living. I was never taught how to resolve conflict, calm myself down, calm other people down, overcome fear, focus my mind, inspire people to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks, lead from a foundation of respect rather than intimidation, develop empathy, be a good friend, have a healthy relationship, challenge injustice, be happy, cleanse myself of hypocrisy, find purpose and meaning in life, develop my sense of self-awareness so that I can critique myself honestly, and help humanity create a more peaceful and just world.

Some children learn these skills from their parents, but many parents do not know these skills, and many children learn harmful habits from their parents. I grew up in a violent household and had a traumatic upbringing, and literacy in the art of living has also helped me overcome my childhood trauma, control the homicidal rage that resulted from that trauma, heal my psychological wounds, and find purpose, meaning, and happiness in life. All people want purpose, meaning, and happiness in life, but our society is not literate in the healthiest ways to achieve this.

The third form of peace literacy is literacy in the art of waging peace. In the military I saw how people in the military have excellent training in how to wage war, but most of us have no training in how to wage peace. If people were as literate in the art of waging peace as soldiers are in the art of waging war, our world would improve significantly.

The fourth form of peace literacy is literacy in the art of listening. All of us know that many people in our society do not know how to listen well. To truly listen we must develop empathy. If we do not empathize with people we cannot really hear what they are saying. When we do not listen with empathy we hear only their words. But when we listen with empathy we also hear their emotions, hopes, and fears. We hear their humanity.

Increasing literacy in the art of listening is one of the most important endeavors we can be involved in, because the inability to listen causes so many of our human problems, and everyone likes to be listened to. In all of human history, nobody has ever seriously said, “I hate it when people listen to me! I can’t stand it when people listen to me!” Nobody ever says, “My spouse and I have to go to marriage counseling, because my spouse listens to me all the time and I can’t take it anymore!”

The fifth form of peace literacy is literacy in the nature of reality. So many of our misconceptions about peace result from our misconceptions about reality. And the last two forms of peace literacy are literacy in our responsibility to animals and literacy in our responsibility to creation. As human beings we have the power to protect our planet or drive ourselves and most life on Earth into extinction. We have become our own greatest threat to our survival, which is an alarming yet incredible fact. If we do not become literate in these seven areas, our species will not survive.

Peace Literacy Means Survival Literacy

Peace literacy is the next step in the development of our global civilization, because peace literacy is necessary in an interconnected world where the fate of every nation is tied to the fate of our planet. Because of the dangers posed by nuclear weapons, war, and environmental destruction, being preliterate in peace puts humanity and our planet at great risk. During an era when humanity has the technological capacity to destroy itself, peace literacy means survival literacy.

As a child in school I spent many years learning to read and write, but I did not learn peace literacy skills. If humanity is going to survive during our fragile future, we must create a world where a high school with a zero percent peace literacy rate would get national and international media attention, just as a high school today where none of the teachers or students know how to read would get national and international media attention. Peace literacy educates us on solving the root causes of our problems rather than merely dealing with symptoms, which is another reason why the survival and wellbeing of our country and planet depend on peace literacy.

When peace literacy is concerned, every bit helps us improve our personal lives, the lives of those around us, and our planet as a whole. What is better, a society where three percent of people are peace literate, or a society where ten percent of people are peace literate? What is better, ten percent or thirty percent? It is estimated that around eighty-three percent of people today are literate in reading.[v] Imagine how different our world would be if eighty-three percent of people were peace literate, or if over fifty percent of people were peace literate. Today I would contend that less than 1 percent of people are literate in all seven forms of peace literacy. We must work together to change that. Human survival, along with the survival of most life on our planet, depends on peace literacy.

Author Bio:

Paul K. Chappell graduated from West Point in 2002, was deployed to Iraq, and left active duty in November 2009 as a Captain. He is the author of the Road to Peace series, a seven-book series about waging peace, ending war, the art of living, and what it means to be human. The first five published books in this series are Will War Ever End?, The End of War, Peaceful Revolution, The Art of Waging Peace, and The Cosmic Ocean. Chappell serves as the Peace Leadership Director for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Lecturing across the country and internationally, he also teaches courses and workshops on Peace Leadership and Peace Literacy. His website is www.peacefulrevolution.com

To learn more about how you can become involved in learning and spreading peace literacy, visit www.peaceliteracy.org

Endnotes

[i] There is one possible reference to writing in the Iliad. In his introduction to the Robert Fagles translation of the Iliad, Bernard Knox says, “In Book 6 [of the Iliad], Glaucus tells the story of his grandfather Bellerophon. Proetus, king of Argos, sent him off with a message to the king of Lycia, Proteus’ father-in-law; it instructed the king to kill the bearer. ‘[He] gave him tokens, / murderous signs, scratched in a folded tablet . . .’” This reference is so vague that it is unclear whether these “murderous signs” were part of a written alphabet. Whether these scratched markings represented a written alphabet or just coded symbols, they seemed so mysterious that they are described by characters in the Iliad as signs and scratches. The written languages known as Linear A and Linear B, which existed in ancient Greece, seem to have been largely forgotten during the time of the Trojan War. Linear A and Linear B seem to have been used primarily for inventory, and it is likely that relatively few people ever had access to those written languages.

[ii] The Incas might have attempted to record information through a system of knotted strings known as “khipu.” Also, written languages seem to start out being used for inventory before being used to tell stories. A society can have a written language for many centuries before using it for history, science, and complex math.

[iii] Francis Bacon, Sacred Meditations (Radford, VA: Wilder, 2012), 22.

[iv] Classical Mythology, Lecture 1, The Teaching Company, DVD. In the first lecture, professor Elizabeth Vandiver discusses how literacy makes intellectual disciplines possible.

[v] Statistics on Literacy, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/resources/statistics.

January 28, 2016