Lewis Randa kneels before his arrest. Daily News and WickedLocal photo by Kathleen Culler
On Sunday, August 27, more than two dozen people formed a Peace Chain in Natick, Massachusetts. Carrying a length of heavy steel links, they walked from Natick Common to the entrance of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier System Center to call upon the military to refuse any order to launch a nuclear attack on North Korea. Hanging from the chain were 12 large tags explaining “why nuclear war is not an option for the holder of the nuclear codes, unless, however, the President is mentally disturbed.”
“Our government has no sane option but to negotiate with North Korea to prevent a human, environmental, moral catastrophe of our own making,” their statement read. “We must remember the devastation in North Korea when between 1950 and 1953, American war planes carpet bombed and burned to the ground nearly every city and town in North Korea. They haven’t forgotten and their fear and hatred towards the United States continue unabated.
“We have signed a petition to Vice President Pence and the Cabinet to recognize that President Donald Trump is mentally disturbed, witness his erratic and bizarre behavior, and to immediately initiate the 25th Amendment to have the President removed from office before we are cursed with a war that could very well leave our planet irreparably damaged and uninhabitable. Through the Peace Chain Action we will specifically spell out what a nuclear war would mean to a President who actually asked the question, ‘If we have nuclear weapons, why can’t we use them?’”
When they arrived at the base entrance, the twelve Peace Chain nuclear declarations were read aloud and the chain was brought in front of the gates at the Army Base. Lewis Randa was arrested when he refused to leave the entrance, and he spent the night in jail.
Lewis Randa refuses to leave Natick Soldier Systems Center. Natick News and Wicked Local photo by Kathleen Culler
For more information, visit peaceabbey.org.
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from the Dover Wicked Local
The world is cursed by nuclear weapons. The time to act is now.
On Sunday, Aug. 27, over two dozen activists, led by the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, marched from Natick Center churches to the nearby Army base on General Greene Avenue to participate in the “Refuse the Order to Launch” demonstration.
Protesters held handmade “Refuse” and “Silence is Betrayal” signs, carried a banner provided by Mass Peace Action that reads “No Fire, No Fury, No War on Korea” and were prepared to block the entrance to the Army Base to make a point. The message was clear: Refuse the Order to Launch.
The underlying reasons to “refuse” were outlined in the Peace Chain declarations, but in the back of everyone’s mind were the words uttered by Donald Trump, “If we have nuclear weapons, why can’t we use them?”
The group signed a petition to Vice President Michael Pence and the Cabinet to recognize that President Donald Trump has an observable mental disorder, witness his erratic and bizarre behavior, and to immediately initiate the 25th Amendment to have the President removed from office before we are cursed with a war that could very well leave our planet irreparably damaged and uninhabitable.
With a permit issued by the Natick Board of Selectmen and coordination with both the town of Natick Police and U.S. Military Police Departments in place, the group set off on foot by to the Soldiers System Center to express their fear, concern and outrage over the prospects of a nuclear attack on North Korea.
Utilized at the Natick Army Base in 2003 to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Abbey’s Peace Chain was employed this time as an expression of resistance. Following statements by protest organizers and the recitation of the prayers for peace of the major religions of the world, individuals stepped forward with sections of the Peace Chain in hand and read statements on the consequences of a nuclear war:
1. Collapse of Civilization — Civil societies would collapse as political and economic systems fall into chaos and violence.
2. Nuclear Darkness — The millions of tons of smoke that would result from nuclear war would spread to form a stratospheric cloud layer that would block sunlight for many years.
3. Drastic Climate Change — In the absence of sunlight, surface temperatures on Earth could reach lows that rival the height of the last Ice Age.
4. Precipitation Decline — Changes in weather patterns would result in a significant precipitation decline and eliminate growing seasons.
5. Food Production — Extensive changes to the environment would affect our ability to sustain global food production.
6. Eco System — Already stressed land and marine ecosystems would collapse.
7. Ozone Depletion — Massive damage to the ozone layer would allow dangerous levels of ultraviolet light to reach the Earth’s surface.
8. Radioactive Fallout — Enormous amounts of radioactive fallout would be generated and spread both locally and globally.
9. Species Extinction — Without food and a thriving habitat, human beings and other species would not survive long, becoming extinct.
10. Ultraviolet Rays — It would be impossible for many forms of life on Earth to survive increases in UV light, massive radioactive fallout, and releases of toxins and industrial chemicals.
12. Global Suffering — The detonation of a nuclear weapon would result in vast and terrible suffering that would affect all living things and last for lifetimes.
Once the Peace Chain declarations were read over a megaphone into the military base and the chain links assembled, the group, which ranged in age from 5 to 75, walked the Peace Chain in to the restricted area of the military base. Facing army police in respectful silence, the protesters prayerfully gathered their thoughts, then humbly stepped over flowers they had placed there and trespassed on federal property. They were told to cease and desist.
Everyone, as planned, dropped the Peace Chain and stepped back onto town property except for myself. I continued walking the Peace Chain forward to a point where I was confronted by a federal police officer and informed that I could be charged with state and federal offenses if I did not immediately leave the restricted area. I refused. I felt strongly that if I was calling on the military to refuse the order to launch, I must, in turn, refuse the order to leave. I was arrested and taken to the Natick Police Headquarters for booking.
I had planned in organizing the action to perform civil disobedience, face arrest, refuse bail and spend the night in jail to prayerfully reflect on the dire consequences of a nuclear war, which, with no diplomatic efforts in place to de-escalate the crisis, appears increasingly likely.
I was brought to Framingham/Natick District Court the following morning where my wife, Meg, and Peace Movement attorney Greg Barison awaited my arrival to face trespassing charges.
After several hours in the holding cell beneath the courtroom, I was called to the bench. I agreed to pay court costs and the case was dismissed.
The world is cursed by nuclear weapons. The time to act is now.
Pray as though everything depends on God. Resist as though God depends on us for everything.
Lewis Randa is the director of the Peace Abbey.