Articles by Louise Diamond
Here are some of the articles written by Louise over the few years:
From Nagasaki to Now (July 2006) Complete Article
Sixty-one years ago the U.S. launched the age of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since that time we have seen the exponential growth of the war industry and of wars around the world, with suffering and devastation too horrible to contemplate for millions upon millions of our brothers and sisters.
I had an experience recently that spoke poignantly to the situation we face today. A high school physics teacher had his students build catapults, which were then arrayed on the playing field for a mock war (the ammunition was jello), the spoils of which were to be pizza and coke for the winning ‘country’ that most effectively destroyed the armies and weapons of others. When the teacher announced, before the ‘war’ began, that indeed the ‘countries’ need not fight because there was enough pizza and coke for all, a young man on the U.S. team (i.e., the one with the biggest, strongest weapon) turned to his buddies and said, “Is he kidding? After all the time and effort I put into building this thing, you’d better believe I’m going to use it!”…
When Will We Ever Learn? (July 2006) Complete Article
When will humanity learn that violence always and only begets more violence? That force only creates escalating cycles of counterforce? That real peace never comes through the barrel of a gun, but only through the opening of the heart?
When will we learn that we cannot make allies out of enemies by refusing to speak together? That our actions carry the seeds of unintended consequences that can create more problems than the ones we think we are solving? That one human life is just as valuable as another?
Once again the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has erupted into flames. Once again the forces of destruction run amok, overshadowing all sanity, blithely setting in motion even graver long-term consequences, and threatening to grow and spread. Once again my heart breaks for the mothers grieving their dead or wounded loved ones, and for the thousands who have fled their homes in search of safety…
Beyond Female Genital Circumcision (June 2004) Complete Article
One of the most virulent forms of violence against women is female genital circumcision (FGC). Practiced in 28 African countries and also in parts of the Middle East and Asia, this practice is performed on roughly 2 million young girls per year. In all, 135 million women have experienced some form of FGC, thus I was delighted, on a recent trip to Ethiopia, to spend time in one community where the practice of FGC is slowly coming to a halt…
Peace is Not a Dirty Word (June 2003) Complete Article
Some weeks ago I was a guest on a call-in talk radio show based in Washington DC. I was asked to give my views on the war in Iraq, which was just then winding down.
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