Drones and Nukes: Can We Have Both and
Democracy
Annual Lantern Float, Nagasaki Day
Northeast Side, Holmes Lake, August 9, 2013
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
“Peace with justice means pursuing the security of a world without nuclear weapons — no matter how distant that
dream may be. . . . [E]ven as we remain vigilant about the threat of terrorism, we must move beyond a mindset of
perpetual war. And in America, that means redoubling our efforts to close the prison at Guantanamo. It means tightly
controlling our use of new technologies like drones.” Barak Obama, Brandenberg gate, Berlin, 2013.
“Tōrō nagashi (灯籠流し?) is a Japanese ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns (chōchin) down a river; tōrō is traditionally another word for lantern,
while nagashi means "cruise, flow". This is primarily done on the last evening of the Bon Festival, a festival based on the belief that this guides the spirits of the
departed back to the other world. The ceremony may be done on some other days of the year for other reasons such as to commemorate those lost in the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki and those who died on Japan Airlines Flight 123; or in other areas of the world, such as Hawaii, to commemorate the end of World War II. The
Bon Festival takes place on the thirteenth to sixteenth of August or July, depending on the calendar you go by. The white lanterns are for those who have died in the
past year. Traditional Japanese beliefs state that humans come from water, so the lanterns represent their bodies returning to water (traditionally the sea in this
case).” Wikipedia entry.
Program: 7:30: Preparation of commemorative lanterns
7:40: Music by Michael Murphy, Native American flautist
8:00: Introduction: Pastor Kerry O' Bryant, Southview Christian, Lincoln Associated Ministries and IMN.
8:10: Greetings from Japan, ”Remembering Nagasaki,” Professor Nobuko Tsukui, retired professor, Meisei University, Tokyo, Japan,
George Mason University, U.S..; interpreter, nuclear bomb lit:
8:20: “Drones and Human Rights,” Professor David Forsythe, Charles J. Mach Distinguished Professor, UNL; internationally
recognized human rights scholar.
8:50: “Pursuing the Security of a World without Nuclear Weapons,” Professor Paul Olson, retired Kate Foster Professor of English,
UNL; former president of NFP.
9:00-9:30: Flute music: The assembled group will light the lanterns and proceed to float them at sunset
Sponsors: First United Methodist (also supplied insurance certificate);Lincoln Friends Meeting; First Mennonite Church; First
Lutheran Church; Antelope Park Church of the Brethren; Call to Action, Nebraska; Clergy Peacemakers of Lincoln; Aldersgate
United Methodist Church; Trinity United Methodist Church; Nebraskans for Peace, Lincoln Chapter; United Nations Association.
Labor for event: Lantern Construction: Susan Alleman; Brittany Crawford; Lincoln Chapter Steering Committee; Susan Miller
Schoen; Lantern Retrieval: Janine Copple; Steve Larrick.
Free, Open to the Public.