August 8th 2004 Presentation: Bruce Gagnon

"From Creation to Hiroshima"
Bruce Gagnon
Sunday, August 8th 2004

Bio
From the 2nd reading (Hebrews) we heard
- “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen….By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.”
- I wanted to be a baseball coach
- Military during Vietnam war
- Body bags on runway
- Couldn’t turn away
- Wanted to do something good
- UFW in Florida
- Now 20 years working to stop Nuclearization & Weaponization of space
- Not knowing from year to year how I’d make a living
- Nestea plunge
Recently went to see F-911
- Saw 2 men with cowboy hats
- man crying after the movie
- what can we do he weeped?
- We’ve got to talk publicly about what going on
- Have to bring the debate out into our communities, on the streets
We live in a violent culture
- Fabric of nation
- # 1 industrial export
Well over $450 bill in 2005
- Pentagon budget
- ½ of national expenditures
- cut backs in social spending
U. S. now has military presence
- 153 out of 189 members of U.N.
- 14 new bases in Iraq
- Star Wars deployments before election
- Vandenberg & Ft Greely
- Largest industrial project history of earth
- Sad irony that the star which led the wise men to Jesus would be militarized
Weapons industry are pharoahs of our time
- Building pyramids to heavens
- We are enslaved to war system
- Jobs increasingly about making war
- Never stop war until we deal with jobs
Jesus turned over tables in the temple
- As if to ask: What are we doing here?
- The money lenders do not belong here
- Likewise, the weapons makers do not belong here
- They are not making life more secure
- They are not building the creation
Two visions for America today
- One says weapons production & war bring security & prosperity for multi-national corporations
- It’s a vision of every one for themselves
- Dog eat dog
- Do what you have to do in order to control world’s resources
- Oil & water
Second vision, our vision
- A more perfect union
- Where we look out for one another
- All for one, one for all
- The way of Christ
From the Luke reading we heard the words: “From where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes…From everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”
- Last weekend I was in Los Angeles to speak to the Catholic Worker community
- Their time, energy, resources go to feeding the poor
- By their example, leading the way of Christ
Time has come for conversion in America
- Conversion of our hearts first
- Conversion of our # 1 industrial export base
- Time to build windmills, solar panels, public transit, hospitals, schools…..
- Time to raise the moral/ethical questions
- What does it say about our collective soul when weapons are our # 1 export?
How can we stop war?
- When our local communities are addicted (our slavishness) to military spending?
- Eisenhower’s warning to us has come true
Time has come to heal America’s broken heart & soul
- God’s message is to bear witness to the truth
- That others might live
- That the creation continues
- That we reestablish our spiritual connection to all life on this planet
- To all the people on this planet
- We are all one
The community of faith has been given much knowledge, insight, faith, love…What are we going to do with it?
WE MUST PROTECT THE FUTURE GENERATIONS

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