The speech I wish
President Biden would make regarding the Russia-Ukraine situation:
My fellow Americans
and people of the world:
In light of the
recent insinuations regarding the use of nuclear weapons by V. Putin,
I feel that it is incumbent to be clear about where America stands.
Mr Putin accurately stated that America is the only nation that has
released the dreadful power of a nuclear attack—against Japan,
destroying two of her cities. We did this in response to Japan’s
attack at Pearl Harbor. At that time Japan was ruled by its military
and Emperor Hirohito, an absolute monarch. After the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto was accurate when he stated his “fear that
we have awakened a sleeping giant.” The American response was to
arise into what some have called the “Greatest Generation”.
America used these weapons when its sovereign soil was under attack
by a foreign nation and when there was no threat of an all-out
nuclear war on this planet. We did not use these weapons to procure
more territory for ourselves. Japan remains a sovereign nation today,
a thriving democracy and a great friend of America. America does not
use it’s military power to invade and occupy sovereign nations. We
use our power, when feasible, to protect the nations and people of
the earth from tyrannical power that is toxic to those people. We
believe in government “of, by and for the people.” But we do not
force this upon any nation. At the time of Japan’s surrender,
General MacArthur, aboard the USS Missouri, spoke for all American’s
when he said:
“It is my earnest
hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn
occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of
the past—a world founded upon faith and understanding—a world
dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most
cherished wish – for freedom, tolerance and justice.”
He later stated in a
radio address, standing in the ominous shadow of those bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
“If we do not now
devise some greater and more equitable system [to provide for world
peace] Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is
theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of
human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless
advances in science, art, literature, and material and cultural
developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit
if we are to save the flesh.”
He was speaking for
all Americans and all freedom-loving people of the earth. The
“spirit” he indicated was the Spirit of Love, Truth, Tolerance,
Justice and Good Will toward all the people of the earth—the Human
Family. The spirit that had birthed the War, as is always the case,
was a spirit of power and greed for more material and territorial
gain. Our wise Founders were wary of this spirit of power, and they
worked diligently to formulate a government that could protect itself
from it. That is why the Constitution has a “balance of power”
woven into its fabric. We call upon all the leaders of the nations of
this earth to recognize the subtle and corruptive nature of power,
and discipline themselves to maintain a motive of freedom and
tolerance so that all people can live free from fear and tyranny. We
call upon all the people of the earth to exercise their freedom in a
spirit of equanimity and good will toward others, living out the
reality of the “Golden Rule”. We call upon all the religious
communities to evolve beyond hatred and self-righteousness and toward
a genuine Love for one’s fellow man, whether we agree with their
doctrines and practices or not. We believe that tyranny is doomed to
failure because humans innately value self-rule and freedom over
authoritarian domination by fear. And we believe that we are
evolving toward a more enlightened, and peaceful world in which the
saber-rattling threat of nuclear weapons is considered unnecessary,
regressive and immature. May God bless us all as we each do our
individual best to preserve all that is good and transcend the
darkness that lurks in all our hearts. May God bless America. And may
God bless all the peoples of this earth, whom He Loves.
