Dear Friends, 

Human imagination cannot grasp the suffering, carnage, and agony that would be caused by the use of even a small portion of the world’s over 13,000  nuclear warheads. The impact of these devices of death dwarf the horrific radioactive blasts and firestorms that incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Nine nations – US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea – stand ready every  minute of every day poised at a moment’s notice to unleash the unthinkable. By accident, design, or madness, over time, the use will occur unless we, you and I, unleash the sinew of our passions, the power of our faith and commitments, and the value of our time, treasure, and precious moral agency to stop the madness.

Relying on mere mortals to constrain and control these tools of death is folly.

A misreading of a computer, a mistake by a computer system, a misreading of an adversary nation’s actions, a war escalating out of control, and errors as yet unpredictable remind us that no system created by humans can be  more perfect than we are. Thinking men and woman no wiser and more balanced than you and I can never cross the line is simply unrealistic.

We know from recent scientific studies that the tons of soot rising into the stratosphere from less than 150 explosions would so destroy the agricultural base of the planet earth that civilization would simply end, not in a whimper, but in wails of pain and regret.

There are diplomatic practical solutions to be pursued. There are roads of policy  saner and more humane than the present log jam. There are ways out of the dilemma. We need not be victims of our own devices. The moment of negotiations may not be today but the opportunity will arise and we must stimulate and galvanize the political will to seize it and act with clarity to hasten its day.

We go in the direction of prayer. There are forces in this mysterious universe beyond our intellectual reckoning. We call upon you to join us in invoking these blessings with us through prayer. We call upon you to join with millions of caring hearts the world over on Hiroshima Day, August 6th, and pray for the termination of nuclear arsenals before they terminate humanity.

Please take a moment on that day to pray in a manner you choose. Join a group, form a group, or pray in solitude. There are hidden powers in atoms. There are hidden powers in prayer. 

For all that is sacred, for all that we love, for the smiles of children yet to be born, we come together in prayer.

Respectfully with love,

Jonathan Granoff
President, Global Security Institute

Jonathan Granoff is the President of the Global Security Institute, a representative to United Nations of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates, a former Adjunct Professor of International Law at Widener University School of Law, and Senior Advisor to the Committee on National Security American Bar Association International Law Section.