Peace or Destruction: An Imminent Choice

Q: Reacting in part to recent missile tests by Iran and North Korea, President Obama and a unanimous UN Security Council last week endorsed a sweeping strategy to halt the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately eliminate them. Is nuclear disarmament a religious issue? Is it a pro-life issue? Is support for nuclear disarmament a moral imperative? Should we pray for nuclear disarmament?

Any issue that threatens innocent lives is a religious issue, and nuclear disarmament is not only a moral imperative but should be one of the ultimate pro-life issues today. As such, it should be the collective focus of the thoughts and prayers of all of us.

President Obama's speech to the UN General Assembly was inspiring for many. While he addressed the issue of nuclear proliferation, it was more rhetoric than substance. He briefly mentioned Iran and North Korea, yet did little more than criticize their recent nuclear activities. One wonders why he waited until after that speech and the one he delivered to the Security Council the next to then reveal the U.S. government's knowledge of Iran's secret nuclear enrichment laboratory, about which he has known for at least several months. If the president is serious about preventing Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, why would he not bring this revelation directly in front of the only multi-lateral body that has the ability to doing anything substantial about it? He also pressured both France and the UK to keep silent about the situation until after the UN meetings. As a consequence, little more than talk and powerless promises occurred.

All of our current political priorities should be focused on finding a path away from nuclear war. The threat will not go away by pretending it is not serious. Anyone who understands the fundamentalist Shiite Muslim beliefs of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows that much of what he says and does is influenced by his belief in al-Mahdi, a messianic figure from the ninth century. Many of his followers believe his return is imminent, and he will usher in a new world order of Islam in which all non-believers will be converted or destroyed. Ahmadinejad has often spoken of al-Mahdi and sees himself as an instrument to help bring this new order about. For him, Jews and Israel are among the first that are to be annihilated. Over the years, he has openly called for the destruction of Israel while denying that the Holocaust ever occurred. His public comments the week before the recent UN meeting reiterated these beliefs.

It is important for us to be tolerant as individuals and as a nation of others' beliefs, but when we tolerate intolerance and hatred by the powerful, we allow them to proliferate. The current Iranian government's extreme hatred for Israel and strong wishes for the country's obliteration should not be underestimated. Irrespective of what we in the U.S. may wish the Israeli government to think or do in reaction to Iran, many within the Israeli government see their nation as facing a potential threat to its very existence. They will do whatever they believe is necessary in order to avoid that threat becoming a reality, and their arsenal of nuclear weapons is likely being readied for action.

At this particular moment in time, preventing Iran and Israel from provoking a world war should be the very top issue on the president's agenda. The U.S. cannot stop Israel from doing what it thinks it must do to defend itself, and once a nuclear war begins the whole world will be affected. Obama needs to take the issue far more seriously than he apparently does. Stopping nuclear proliferation should be the primary item on his presidential plate at this time. All other issues, especially ones like where the Olympics will be seven years from now, should be on his back burner. He needs to walk the talk of being a world leader. Our world is at a point in its history when a mass destruction of all humankind is a real potential. Our political leaders tell us to trust them, but do they appear focused on leading us away from this precipice?

What can we as individuals do? Prayer was mentioned and it can be a powerful tool on many levels. For those who believe in its power, it can be used to communicate with one's conception of divinity and ask for help in bringing about a state of peace in the world. There is an ancient Sanskrit prayer that asks for peace among all beings on the earth and in the universe. Hindus have been reciting it for several millennia, and many believe that such prayers have helped to keep us from wiping out humanity thus far. People of all religious traditions have no doubt prayed for the same. Prayer is also used to help find strength, solace, or understanding. Those who use it in this way are far less likely to promote violence, although some unfortunately do seem to pray for the strength to destroy others.

Those who doubt prayer has any effect at all would similarly have to reject any belief in the power of positive thinking. Yet, philosophers dating back to the ancient Greeks have written about the power of thought and how it effects one's being. The Buddha is believed to have said, "The mind is everything. What you think you become." One does not have to believe in a divinity in order for this to be valid. If more of us focused our thoughts, prayers, and efforts on peace as an integral part of our lives, I cannot help but believe that this would help counter some of the immense hatred and intolerance that has become so prevalent in the world today and that threatens to bring destruction to us all.

By Ramdas Lamb  |  September 30, 2009; 2:13 PM ET Save & Share:                 
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