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Writer's pictureMaxwell Hope

Veterans for Peace: A Golden Rule

Updated: Apr 29, 2023

Don't Bomb as You Wouldn't Want Others to Bomb You


When is a ship a mission and a lesson as well as a champion for peace?


Between 1946 and 1958 the United States was testing nuclear weapons near the Marshall Islands.

The effect on the people nearby was not only devastating then but continues to affect their

descendants today.

In 1958, four Quaker Peace Activists tried to sail into the testing arena but were stopped and incarcerated for two months. This helped to bring world wide attention to not only this horror but it also began the long journey of educating people about nuclear weapons and energy. One result was the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 which pushed such testing underground. In 1968, some members of Greenpeace sailed to Alaska with the same mission of stopping the destruction and continuing to disseminate information about the effects and dangers.


The mission of the Golden Rule lives on today. Picture courtesy of the Golden Rule Project.

The impactful and storied ship sank in California in 2010 and was hauled away as junk. However Veterans for Peace began restoring the ship and with an array of volunteers completed the task in five years. Around 90% of vessels in disrepair are never seaworthy again. But the Golden Rule has a distinct and important purpose.

Now it continues to sail bringing the message of peace and hope. The goal is to inform people of the massive dangers of every part of nuclear energy and weaponry.


With a small and dedicated crew, the Golden Rule has visited many towns and continues to this day. In fact, a recent interview was conducted while the ship was docked in nearby Annapolis and she will be coming to Baltimore, Maryland from April 27 to May 4 (2023) Anyone can track the route and progress of the Golden Rule on their website.

We must become more knowledgeable about this danger that exists not only in weaponry but power plants. As people continue to realize, the cost of a nuclear war could be civilization itself.


And nuclear power plants have one purpose: to build such military armaments.

Such facilities do not help to deal with the climate change crisis. They are expensive and complicated to build and their only purpose is to boil the needed water. Which leads to waste disposal. Where to dump the fuel rods? And how? As one crew member stated: It is a mobile Chernobyl.


There are constant train accidents and derailments- imagine if this was the cargo. Hauling the equivalent of a dirty bomb is not safer on our roads.



Hope and action together can make a difference. Picture courtsey of the Golden Rule Project.

Go to their website listed below and also listen to the #DSOT podcast to learn more about this nuclear peril. And the many ways we all can make a difference.


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What can you do with the money you don't spend on Tuesday?

Consider supporting organizations like Veterans for Peace and the Golden Rule Project!

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