Let’s serve our country constructively

I AM responding to the article at the head of the oped page of the Albuquerque Journal on May 25 titled “Thankful for its Ability to Serve” by Terry Wallace, director of the Los Alamos National Labs.

The “service” referred to regards the United States government decision to have Los Alamos Labs continue, and increase, the production of plutonium pits, the core of nuclear weapons, seen as needed for U.S. defense. Defense implies war. Any of us who have lived through a war knows its horrors. The Hiroshima nuclear bomb ended a war but left long-term devastation in its wake. Many who fight in wars and survive are left with damaged bodies and minds, and the next generation suffers the consequences.

Los Alamos Labs, Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia Labs and the potential nuclear waste site provide muchneeded jobs for many New Mexicans, but all are focused on the potential of war rather than of peace. Most of those in these jobs see themselves as “serving our country,” but I am recalling years ago, when I had a pediatric practice on the outskirts of Detroit, a young father brought his little daughter for care. He shared with me a moral dilemma. For eight years he had been working in a bomb factory nearby and had begun to question the ethics of what he was doing, i.e. making bombs to kill people. The job paid well and gave his family security. He had little education. Jobs were scarce. How would he support his family if he left the job? At the time the answer was unclear, but the question was being asked.

So I ask now how to turn our minds toward peace and seek solutions to disagreements not requiring aggression? So much is already known about conflict resolution, mediation, the effectiveness of positive thinking. Let’s put to use what we know to find ways to serve our country constructively, “turn our weapons into plowshares,” to help rather than harm our people, our world. DR. ELSPETH M. REAGAN ALBUQUERQUE