February 2
GUEST: Dr. Larry Wittner, early
civil rights and anti-apartheid activist, author of several
books, and Professor of History emeritus at SUNY Albany, talks
about his article in LA Progressive, "Imperialist Wars—and
What Could Be Done About Them."
Imperialist
Wars—and What Could Be Done About Them
The specifics of World War III are hard to imagine. And it's hard to even try. The end of everything is about as hard to think about as one's own death. Nuclear war is even more difficult because it is death by suicide.
And yet, without the fear, what will motivate the world's populations to take to the streets and demand an end to nuclear weapons? Will it be a moral argument that convinces religious radicals that life on Earth is worth saving? Will it be an enlightened political leader who risks all for peace? Or will it be a political party that takes up the mantel of ending all wars?
King Leopold II above is an example of an emperor who thought nothing of killing up to 15 million in the Belgium Congo. He ran the colony as his private estate, using every imaginable combination of torture, slavery and execution to increase his profits. Military prowess and the profit motive often results in empires becoming killing machines. The history of our own country, from being the largest slave holding nation in the world, to dropping the first atomic bomb, surely cements America's place in this hall of shame.
When imperial empires confront one another, we call it a world war. Russia and the US have opposed each other's political and military influence since World War II. China is our most recent adversary, and all three countries are armed to the teeth with nuclear warheads. Are we looking at World War III?
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein
Whether Albert Einstein actually said this is not the point. He spoke out strongly about the dangers of our nuclear age, as we the living must do now for life on Earth to survive.
