This weekend, Global Zero commemorated the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred on August 6th and 9th, respectively. 70 events were held globally on six continents to stand in unity against nuclear weapons and call on policy makers to work to eliminate nuclear weapons on a global scale. In memory of the hundreds of thousand of people who died in the blast and those who suffered and died in the aftermath.
In an instance, thousands lost their lives. Two bombs, which are considerably small compared with the modern day nuclear weapon, killed over 200,000 people. Today, there are over 15,000 in the world. The United States and Russia have the most with about 7,000 each as a result of The Cold War. The ironic thing about the sheer number of weapons that the U.S. and Russia possess is that both governments agree that only 900 nuclear weapons are needed to destroy every major city in the world. Could you imagine what would happen if all 15,000 weapons got launched? It would blow up the world many times over.
Many spent this weekend remembering those victims of this heinous act of war. The third annual Bike Around the Bomb events were held this weekend. Each event or other type of action is being used to call on policy makers to turn their backs on these destructive weapons of the past. 25 cities across the globe held a Bike Around the Bomb event, including mine! I was able to organize a small event in my area. We rode around a seven mile loop, which is roughly the area that would have been affected had a bomb been dropped in the middle of the park.
We were reminded that soon, the nuclear launch codes will soon be handed over to Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. One of them will soon have unchecked power to start nuclear war, because the President does not need to have their decision to launch nuclear weapons approved by any other member of the government. He or she will have unchecked power to change the world as we know it. This is something to remember when voting this November. And, while Global Zero is a bipartisan issue, I think it is safe to say that it is in no one's best interest if the trigger-happy, draft-dodging Donald Trump were to get his hands on the United State's nuclear launch codes. He has not demonstrated good judgement and has no political experience and in recent interviews has showed the world that he does not understand the weight of the decision to launch a nuclear weapon.
Do not forget those who lost their lives in Japan 71 years ago and be sure to stand against such a tragedy happening again.
