The threat to world peace

Donald Trump made me think about world peace. He is preparing for nuclear war against North Korea. Trump asked his generals, “Why can’t I use nuclear weapons?” Trump said, “I would totally destroy North Korea if Kim Jong Un forced me to defend the U.S. or its allies.”

Trump wants to punish Kim Jong Un for nuclear weapons and human rights violations. Ironically, the U.S. has 9,600 nuclear warheads, 160 times more than North Korea. America has the largest inmate population in the world. More than 2.5 million people are incarcerated and most go back within five years. Overcrowded and understaffed prisons are warehouses, not correctional facilities.

War is good for the U.S economy

Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, GenCorp Aerojet, Lockheed Martin, and many other private corporations, design, build, and maintain nuclear weapons. These companies, research laboratories, universities, professional lobbyists, trade groups, media, and financial institutions, are part of the U.S. Military Industrial Complex.

World Peace would create massive unemployment

Trump promised a strong economy. He got $700 billion for the 2018 military budget. The U.S. Deficit for 2017 was $666 billion. Sacrifices are needed to pay for new nuclear warheads.

Trump’s budget declares war on those struggling to make a living, more than 80 percent of the population. The budget makes massive cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, federal student loans, children’s health insurance, disability insurance, and every other expense. New rules make it hard to qualify for Medicaid “putting people back to work,” says Gov. Hutchinson.

The downside of nuclear talk

According to Newton’s third law of motion, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Trump should know the U.S. can’t kill millions of North Korean people on a whim and pretend nothing is going to happen. “That is not all, oh, no, that is not all,” Dr. Seuss would say. The equal and opposite reaction, means millions of Americans would have to die. China may launch high-yield nuclear weapons and kill everyone in Washington DC, triggering a worldwide nuclear winter.

Trump tweeted the US, “Must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. Let it be an arms race, we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.” China, Germany, Russia, Japan, and other countries are increasing their arsenals in response to Trump’s childish treats.

Trump wants to ramp spending up even further, with drastic cuts to diplomacy and foreign aid programs. Trump said he wants wars he can win. Wars have no winners. Have we forgotten the lessons of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all other never-ending conflicts?

What does world peace look like?

Peace is an ideal state of happiness, freedom and peace within and among all people and nations on earth. Peace requires respect, equality, compassion, and sufficient resources to make a living for everyone.

World peace is hard to imagine. Adam and Eve did well until a snake came along. A sneaky snake asked Eve if she wanted an apple. Eve said, why not? That was the wrong answer. For a bite of an apple, the Garden of Eden was lost. Violence and suffering could have been avoided.

World peace is required for survival

The man-made climate crisis is caused by the excessive amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Building, transporting, and storing nuclear weapons would create massive emissions. Every dollar, every day, and every person assigned to killing people would reduce the resources needed to sequester carbon. The annual cost of carbon sequestration is around $600 billion. Transitioning from fossil fuels will take time and money. We are rapidly approaching the point of no return. The choice is clear, survival or extinction. Inaction at this time equals extinction. There is no second chance.

“All that we strive for as a human family – dignity and hope, progress and prosperity – depends on peace. But, peace depends on us. I appeal to you all to join me in committing to peace — today and every day.” Antonio Gutierrez, U.N. Secretary General, 2017.

Dr. Luis Contreras