CLINTON — Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 will mark the 66th year since the United States dropped the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan – the only time nuclear weapons have been used.
Six years ago, in 2005, the Clinton Franciscans took a corporate public stand opposing nuclear weapons following years of studying the issue and advocating against warfare. In 2007, Mayor LaMetta Wynn and, after her, Mayor Rodger Holm joined Mayors for Peace, the international organization founded by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which works for the abolishment of nuclear weapons by 2020.
On Tuesday, Aug. 9 at 6:30 p.m., the Clinton Franciscans will mark these anniversaries with the first public showing in the area of a new film, “The Forgotten Bomb,” at their home, The Canticle, 841 13th Ave. N., Clinton.
Paul Deaton, Iowa City writer and leader of the Iowa chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), will lead the discussion of the film. The event, which is co-sponsored by Clinton Pax Christi, is free and open to the public.
The Forgotten Bomb examines the political and legal implications of nuclear weapons, but also digs deeper, into the cultural and psychological reasons behind the arsenal’s existence.
Deaton and Sallyann McCarthy, co-coordinator of the Clinton Franciscan Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking, will also discuss the urgency of U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
For more information on the Aug. 9 program, call (563) 242-7611 or visit www.clintonfranciscans.com.
