In our privileged experiences at Ball State University, understandably many students do not take notice of how dangerous of a world we live in. China/Taiwan, India/Pakistan and Israel/Palestine are among the most noticeable threats to peace, security and the comfortable life as we know it. The conflicts were created on cultural and territorial disputes. These types of disputes are not unique to our time or to those specific parts of the world. However, the issue that should concern all of us, from the resident hall assistant to the professional partier, is how equipped these countries are with dangerous arms. Weapons that could wreck havoc on not only their region but the entire world.
One may ask, "even if I accept these as dangerous situations that should be mediated, what can I do to alleviate the tensions in such complex conflicts that I do not have a direct connection with?" The answer to this lies in the U.S. government's culpability in fueling these conflicts with direct military arms sales. According to the Federation of American Scientists Arms Monitoring Project, the U.S. government sells military equipment to Israel, Taiwan, India and Pakistan among other countries throughout the world that have the potential to perpetuate dangerous brinkmanship tensions. These are countries with suspect human rights records and governments that run in opposition with the United State's pursuit of freedom and democracy throughout the world.
Even if you agree that the United States is responsible for providing the weapons that propagate these tensions, like a drug dealer to drug addicts, you might wonder if there is any action that you could take part in to make a significant difference. The simple answer to these complex issues involves grassroots campaigns. Handing out flyers, Internet message boards, localized protests and simply bringing up the conversation with your friends at dinner might provide the spark necessary to spur local and regional movements. These efforts can trickle throughout the community and gain the attention of our national leaders.
Lawrence Winter, professor of history at State University of New York-Albany and author of "Toward Nuclear Abolition: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement, 1971 to the Present," illustrated how anti-nuclear arms movements of the 1970s and 1980s helped prevent the use of nuclear weapons and outright nuclear war. He argued that these movements brought to light for the world how dangerous a nuclear exchange has the potential to be, while providing the political influence to bring about the nuclear arms treaty regime.
Jeffrey Knopf stated in his book, "Domestic Society and International Cooperation: The Impact of Protest on U.S. Arms Control Policy," systematically evaluated peace movements' attempt to persuade U.S. leaders to curb military arms production. He concluded that these movements provided the necessary pressure for U.S. officials to make significant strides in the reduction of nuclear arms.
Despite efforts from anti-proliferation movements, the U.S. sells billions of dollars of arms to nations involved in dangerous and highly sensitive military conflicts. The logic of proliferation is simple. If one side buys a gun, then the other side is going to try to buy a larger gun. This trend will continue until war occurs, the countries go bankrupt or an outside actor acts as a negotiator rather than a drug dealer to bring resolution to the dispute.
We must act or risk further violence in already war torn parts of the world that at any moment could push over the brink into a nuclear conflict. This could result in millions of deaths and terrorist attacks on U.S. citizens. You can make a difference, even if it is a simple e-mail to a U.S. leader, a letter or even having conversation in public calling for the end of arms sales to dangerous nations. You can act as the spark needed to spur the movement for a more peaceful world.
Write to Donny at djpeters@bsu.edu
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