The cartoon above summerizes my thoughts on humankind and the world in which we live. I won't list all the ways that we humans have screwed up and continue to screw up the planet. I'm sure you have heard them before. On this day after earth day I am more concerned about how we may yet destroy ourselves and this planet in one crazy moment at the hands of insane people.
Today, I rather believe what most people, when they encounter the symbol above, call it the peace sign. Yes, it represents peace, but that's not what it symbolized some 51 years when it was first used. Then it stood as the symbol for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
As the story goes, Gerald Holtom, a World War II conscientious objector and designer of the symbol, used the semaphore signals super-imposing N(uclear) onto D(isarmament) and placing them within a circle symbolizing the Earth:
And the Earth is what this is all about. The earth is affected by global warming, pollution, disappearing rain forests, over population, and much more. All of these are doing damage to this planet that will greatly affect future generations. However, if some crazy head of state or terrorist starts a nuclear holocaust tomorrow, there may not be any future generations for our mistreatment of the earth to affect.
So, I think we need to remember that the Peace Sign initially stood for Nuclear Disarmament. Maybe we should start or join a movement?
