Take Action
“Sustained, coordinated, and sufficiently-resourced civil society campaigning to halt and reverse the new arms race will again be critical to channel the public’s general concern about nuclear weapons to demand more effective US policy action to cap, reduce, and eliminate arsenals.”
The risk of nuclear war is rising again. We need a new movement for global peace.
David Cortright, The Guardian
After viewing the film, here are three things you can do to help curtail the nuclear arms race and promote disarmament:
1) TAKE ACTION NOW
The recent end of the New START treaty opens the door to a costly and dangerous new arms race, while global conflicts are heightening nuclear tensions. It’s essential that the U.S. Congress take action to help reduce the nuclear danger. The midterm elections provide an important opportunity to confront candidates from all parties about the urgent need for arms control and disarmament.
Invite candidates to a local screening of An Ordinary Insanity. Or send them a link to view the film and ask what they will do to help reduce the growing nuclear threat.
Write your Congressional representatives and encourage them to support House and Senate resolutions calling on the United States urgently to take the lead in negotiating new arms control agreements and other steps to dramatically reduce the threat of nuclear war. Check here first to see if your members of Congress — both House and Senate — are already co-sponsors. If not, click below to write them.
2) CONNECT WITH ORGANIZATIONS
Stay involved by connecting with one or more of the leading organizations working to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race. Click on the logos below to learn more about each organization and signup on their email list.
3) SHARE & SCREEN THE FILM
You can help build greater awareness of the nuclear threat and encourage action by organizing public screening events, showing the film at conferences and on campuses, or simply sharing it online with friends, family and colleagues. There’s also a high resolution version for theatrical screenings.
The film in all formats is free to screen and share. View Screenings Page
SUCCESSFUL ARMS CONTROL MOVEMENTS
Need inspiration? Throughout the nuclear age, people concerned about the danger nuclear weapons pose have successfully organized to halt nuclear testing, stop the development of new weapons systems and reduce nuclear stockpiles.
Here are articles and books that document those successes, with lessons for taking action today.
The Nuclear Freeze Movement and Its Impact
Lawrence S. Wittner, professor of history emeritus, SUNY
African American Leadership in the Fight for Nuclear Disarmament
Vincent Intondi, associate professor of history, Montgomery College
When US Labor Opposed Nuclear Weapons
Jeff Schuhrke, labor historian and assistant professor, SUNY
People of Faith Helped Stop Nukes Once; Let’s Do It Again
William D. Hartung & David Cortright, Sojourners
Confronting the Bomb tells the dramatic, inspiring story of how citizen activism helped curb the nuclear arms race and prevent nuclear war. It covers the entire period of significant opposition to the bomb, from the late stages of World War II up to the early 2000’s.
Freeze is the definitive chronicle of the transformative, transnational Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign of the 1980’s. At the height of the Cold War, one of the largest grassroots peace movements emerged and had a major impact on reducing nuclear arsenals.