By Terris Harned
Contributing Writer
A crowd of approximately 40 people showed up at Pioneer Square today to listen to a recitation of a speech delivered by former Oregon senator, Mark Hatfield. The delivery of this speech comes 22 years after the original, to the day. Hatfield, a Republican, served as Secretary of State in Oregon, the 29th Governor, serving for 8 years, and finally moved on to the Senate, where he served for 30 years, from 1967 to 1997.
His speech was a plea to then president, George Herbert Walker Bush, to reconsider the nation’s trend in spending money on the defense budget. In particular, he commented on what was termed the ‘peace dividend’. The cost of maintaining peace in the United States. He stated, passionately and firmly, that each dollar spent on defense was a dollar stolen from those in the US who were undereducated, unfed, un-housed, and unclothed.
The speech, titled “Peace Through Strength is a Fallacy,” was brought forth during a federal budget consideration, declaring why Hatfield was voting against the budget proposal, and urging his fellow Senators to do the same. It is amazing how impactful this speech is, given the current budget issues.
A pivotal portion of the speech follows;
“We seem to have lost sight of the fact that every dollar we spend on bombs and bullets means that we are underfunding programs to meet the Nation's desperate human needs: health care, education, our war on drugs, low income housing, prison construction, AIDS research- all of these things are part of our national defense.
Sometimes, Mr. President, we even lose sight of the margins. Several days ago, the Senate considered an amendment earmarking money for the development of more lethal weapons for our ground troops. More lethal? Even the words have begun to loose their meaning- what is more lethal supposed to mean when some of our troops already carry tactical nuclear weapons on their backs? But nobody else even raised an eyebrow: the vote was 98-1.”
A full copy of the speech may be found here: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/ethics/issues/political/hatfield_congressional-record-statement.htm
