By Donald Gilpin
Nuclear arms control specialist Joseph Cirincione will be the keynote speaker and three local longtime Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) stalwarts will be recognized at the CFPA’s 42nd Annual Membership Gathering on Sunday, October 12 at Christ Congregation on Walnut Lane.
Cirincione, who from 2008 to 2020 was president of the Ploughshares Fund, a foundation promoting nuclear nonproliferation and conflict resolution, has written and edited many books, articles, and reports on national security, defense, and the threat of nuclear weapons.
In a September 9 article in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists he argues against an increasingly popular strategy of “seeking security through numbers,” achieving deterrence through building more nuclear weapons. “What are all these nuclear weapons for?” he asks. “How many would die? Would our nation survive? What would be the impact on global climate?” — all topics that nuclear weapons proponents avoid, he says.
The honorees at the event will include CFPA mainstays Kathleen “Kip” Cherry, co-chair of the organization’s advocacy committee; Marc Tolo, board vice chair; and David Kelly Crow, volunteer photographer and videographer.
CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore described Cherry as “a remarkable woman,” who has been serving the organization for a long time, overseeing lobbying work and demonstrations and took the lead in managing this past summer’s Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemoration event at the Princeton Public Library.
Crow has photographed and videotaped many CFPA events for a number of years, helping the organization to reach a wider audience online. Tolo is co-chair of the CFPA advocacy committee as well as vice chair of the board. “He’s very steady and thorough and thinks deeply about things,” said Moore.
Moore reflected on the long tradition of nonviolence and peacemaking and its place in the current, increasingly violent world climate. “It can be very assertive nonviolence, as King and Gandhi have done, but it absolutely refuses to ever engage with anybody in a violent way, no matter how reprehensible we might find their stands on different issues,” he said.
He continued, “Everybody should have the right to say their piece and have their First Amendment rights guaranteed and respected without fearing they are going to be hurt or even possibly killed for doing so. This is a fundamental thing.”
Moore also spoke about Cirincione’s experience and commitment to the cause of nuclear weapons reduction. “His early involvement was as a staff member in the House Armed Services Committee, so he’s seen it up close,” said Moore. “He knows all the technical ins and outs and has acted with the actual decision-makers on United States’ policies. He’s very articulate with very deep knowledge and he’s rightly sounding the alarm about people who are advocating nuclear buildup.”
The October 12 Membership Gathering will begin with a sponsor reception from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., which will include an opportunity to mingle with Cirincione and the honorees. The program will take place from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The event is open to CFPA members, pledgers, and donors with registration available at peacecoalition.org.
“It’s a special opportunity to come together with activists and other peacemakers, and also to be deeply informed,” said Moore. “Also to feel that sense of community and solidarity, to be a part of that beloved community as we seek to put these transformative measures in place.”