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International Meeting
2004 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Alexandra Silverthorne
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace committee of the National Capital Area
U.S.A.
Growing up in a progressive home, my family often discussed the
horrors of war and the fact that peace was indeed a ghard right
over an easy wrong.h While attending grade school, we learned about
the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from Japanese books, poems,
artwork and movies. Indeed as a young adult, I was not protected
from the atrocities committed by the United States government. Yet,
it is only recently that I discovered that my great-unclefs unit
was assigned to drop the third nuclear bomb, if deemed gnecessaryh
by the American government. It is easy enough to understand why
this piece of family history has been omitted. It can be so painful
to imagine a loved one assisting with such an indescribable act
of destruction. Yet, we cannot forget. It is when we begin to disassociate
ourselves from the past and allow ourselves to forget history and
suffering that we are in danger of once again condoning such actions.
Today we live in fragile times and the war-mongering politics of
the Bush Administration make these times frightening. As our politicians
continue to fight terrorism with terrorism, their current policies
and programs create devastating effects on our future. The United
States is placing far more resources into war, violence and so-called
security than into education, healthcare and the environment. It
is inexcusable to the American public that in 2003, our leaders
would choose to deny healthcare to over 3.5 million children in
order to finance a re-birth of missile defense. It is even more
inexcusable to the global public, that a country with the largest
military force and the greatest weapons of mass destruction would
choose to research and eventually create nuclear weapons that will
be far more powerful than the ones released in August 1945.
As a photographer, I have dedicated the past three years to capturing
the emergence of the todayfs peace and social justice movements.
It is my hope that my photography will motivate viewers to take
a second look, to open their minds a little more, and to remember
the unspoken history behind each photograph. Art is an incredible
cultural tool that contains the power to deliver messages to thousands
of people on an emotional level. Indeed, ideas of peace and justice
can be presented through art forms such as music, theater, painting
or photography. However, progressive artists are not immune from
attacks by conservatives. Recently in San Francisco, a progressive
American city, a teenager was nearly arrested for making anti-war
art and a gallery owner was severely beaten for displaying anti-war
art. It is my own hope that art will continue to represent the voice
of the people, to remind us of our past, and to allow us to remember
that peace is always the hard right over an easy wrong.
As artists and as peace-loving people, we must not allow fear to
silence us. We cannot afford to forget history. We cannot tolerate
the continuation of nuclear weapons. We cannot permit the United
States government to wage war in our names. But we can and must
continue to speak out, educate and remember.
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