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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Hanging with the homeless ... Megafire warning: Experts issue a call to action at Ashland meeting ... Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... Hanging with the homeless ... Megafire warning: Experts issue a call to action at Ashland meeting ... Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Reflections on Hiroshima and a peace journey Comment By Ron Hertz DailyTidings.com By Ron Hertz Posted Aug. 3, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Ron Hertz Posted Aug. 3, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Ten years ago, 38 members of our Rogue Valley Peace Choir sang at sunset on Aug. 6 by a river in Hiroshima. Organized by a local survivor of that history-changing bomb, our peace journey prodded us to think deeply about nuclear weapons, a horrid risk we unfortunately still live with today, though rarely contemplate. Hiroshima made news recently because of President Obama’s visit there. The crucial issue for many was that he not apologize, the same fear expressed about his trip to Vietnam days earlier. In contrast, our revered Peace Choir conductor, Dave Marston, in the middle of our trip, wrote a song that explicitly expressed deep remorse for the bombing: “Though I wasn’t even born / We killed your mothers and your sisters / I just want to say I’m sorry.” The song deeply impressed everyone who heard it. Apologies do not sit well with many Americans — they reek of “weakness.” Being “apologetic” is among the most potent criticisms hurled against President Obama, whose very decision to go to Hiroshima was condemned by many as act of symbolic apology. The man of great “strength” currently running for president has suggested it’s time for the Japanese as well as the South Koreans to develop their own nuclear arsenals to combat the North Korean atomic threat: “It’s going to happen,” he explained to CNN, “it’s just a matter of time.” Clearly, Donald Trump sounds rather passive about nuclear proliferation and implicitly, nuclear war and its consequences. The effects of a nuclear bomb are not easy to face. The museum in Hiroshima presents conscience-searing, unforgettable images like half-melted tricycles and roller skates. After touring the museum, President Obama declared that the threats of our nuclear age require a “moral revolution.” Almost all of our peace journey pilgrims experienced the museum; a few chose not to do so. In 1995, for the 50th anniversary of the bomb, our Smithsonian Museum planned a large exhibit with photographs. After the plan provoked heated opposition, the photographic part was cancelled, and all that remained was the bomber itself, the Enola Gay, hanging from the rafters. Yes, contemplating the effects of the effects of nuclear weaponry is something best avoided, according to some. But therein lies the problem: Our avoidance of the nuclear nightmare blinds us to the present nuclear risk. According to former Defense Secretary William Perry, that danger is “growing greater every year.” In his new book, “My Journey at the Nuclear Brink,” Perry warns that, “Our chief peril is that the posed nuclear doom, much of it hidden beneath the seas and in remote badlands, is too far out of public consciousness.” After all, who wants to think about nuclear war, a risk many thought disappeared with the ending of the Cold War? So we avoid the topic yet live with the risk. Provoking Russia, we expand NATO to her borders. Planning to “win” a nuclear war, we construct missile defense systems we hope might limit the carnage. Unbelievably, present plans call for modernizing our horrific offensive arsenal at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. Several of our choir members who made the peace journey, including our leader Dave Marston, have died in recent years. The rest of us who sang in Japan will never forget the experience and its profound insights about nuclear tragedy. More people should visit Hiroshima, either literally or on their keyboards. Facing the horrors this infamous city experienced can help us understand what should never be repeated. It can inspire us to create a truly more secure and peaceful future based on our moral development, not on nuclear weaponry. Ron Hertz lives in Ashland. By Ron Hertz DailyTidings.com By Ron Hertz Posted Aug. 3, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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