Edward M. Kennedy - The Nuclear Freeze and Arms Control - Address at Brown University Commencement - June 4, 1983

Sep 15, 2026

Senator Edward M. Kennedy delivers a commencement address urging nuclear arms control as the central imperative for avoiding nuclear annihilation. He argues that there is no meaningful limited nuclear war, criticizes plans for preparation and civil defense that assume catastrophe, and calls for leadership focused more on prevention than escalation. Drawing on his experience and testimony from Hiroshima survivors, he emphasizes the shared moral reality of fallout and the need for a realistic peace strategy grounded in strategic parity and international restraint.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Address at Brown University Commencement

Nuclear freeze and arms control

Total war and the limits of nuclear conflict

Civil defense, deterrence, and strategic parity

Soviet-American relations and linkage

Moral urgency and lessons from Hiroshima

from the offie of ● Senator Edward M.Kennedyof Massachusetts EMBARGCED UEIL:10:30 a..,une 4,198 ADDRESS Q?SENATOR EDNARDM.KEN!IEDYTHE BROWN UNIVERSITY COMAENCEEN?∵ORU"THE NIUCLEAR FREEZE AND A3MS CONTRQL"PROVIDENCE,RHODE ISLANDJUNE 4,1983 Every gereration has its own mission in the life of thenation.Your generation may well be the peace generation,tecause theIceu of nuclear war or peace wil1 in all 1ikeiihood be settled by you. Twenty ycars ago,in Washington,President Kennedy called fora treaty to ban nuclear tests--as the first step in a :3tratcey cf pcacet ban nuclear war. The words he spoke then ring now with a tineless truth.Despite105e talk today about a nuclear warning shot and a winnablc nuclearcon!lict,we know the abiding truth of his warning then that "totalwar nakes no scnse"in this age.And so we insist once more as clearl: 3. can chat the!e is no such thing as a limited nuclea?tar. Tet:some covernment officials continue to plan “o one.110t long4“5in 0zert on the National Security Council fore:av a 40 p:rce:trct abil13y of such a conflict.And a Deputy Under Secretar!of De!enu 3aicthat a1l we need to survive is a shovel to dig a hole,a door and a pileof dirt on top to keep out the fallout. Recently we discovered that the Post office is actually preparirchange of address cards to be filled out in the event of a nuclear attackThey have_a plan to deliver all the mail right after the holocaust.Buteven the Postal Ser'v1ce cannot deliver to that address.Rain and snow andsleet may not stay their appointed rounds--but I think that a nuclear warprobably wil1. Some officials in Washington are also talking about a civildefense scheme to evacuate all our major cities,which would require aweek's advance warning of an impending Soviet attack.What are theFussians supposed to think,if their spy satellites suddenly see streansof cars pouring out of Providence,crawling along Route 95,headingfor the beaches of Newport and Point Judith? Despite such plans and despite the escalation of bellicoserhetoric from the centers of power in both of the most powerful nations,we must learn to live in peace with the Soviet Union.We dare notnisuse what is wrong in the Soviet system as an excuse for denying what13 richt in Soviet-American relations--which is the overriding imperativeof nuclear arms control.No government should be regarded as so much ofan "evil empire"as to just?fy reckless policies which could subjugateti:e world to the permanent evil empire of radioactive death.We mustdemand a national leadership which will spend less time preparing fornuclear var--and more time preventing one. There is no morality in the mushroon cloud.The black rain willfall equally on the just and the unjust.And the world that is left intr:c ashes o!Arnageddon will little note nor long remember which was theevil empire. (more) At one of the foi'ums th's aite?rocr,Cr.Zoin Pustore,o:the International ?hyicians for the Prevention of Nuclear Nar,ild1scuss the medical consequences of this ultinate confrontation.Ihaveseen the nuclear threat up close in a place where it becane ali too real.I have stood in Hiroshima.I have talked to the survivors of that firstnuclear holocaust.They speak of a blinding light,a burning wind,thecrle:of the injured,heard but not heeded.And anone wo stands int上at spot or who hears Dr.Pastore and understands the threat,must makea cormitment to do all that must be done to see that it shal1 never happer:Eain. 3o I do·not agree with the advice that citizens must rot o!'fer a:.alternative because it will undermine the present negotiations."hat18 hat other Administrations have said ir their ef!ort to mute d1ssentin other dark days on other difficult issues.And in the case of Vietnam,1÷ns o!th:ousands o!Americans and hundreds o?thousands of Niet:aneseided be!ore the leason was learned that the answer to failure is not;:22心uf the sanie. Cur strategy of peace must be based on a realistic assessment3f our relationsh

FAQs

What does Kennedy identify as the central imperative in U.S.-Soviet relations?

Kennedy emphasizes nuclear arms control as the overriding imperative that can prevent nuclear catastrophe.

How does Kennedy argue against the idea of limited nuclear war?

He states there is no such thing as a limited nuclear war, warning that nuclear confrontation cannot be contained.

What role does Kennedy assign to deterrence and conventional forces in his peace strategy?

He calls for maintaining strategic parity with a sufficient and secure deterrent, while strengthening conventional forces to reduce reliance on nuclear retaliation during a crisis.

Sep 15, 2026

Upload by Mary Man