MA Peace and Conflict Studies, Protesting Nuclear War
- Robert Edinger
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
I spent the first half of my life bouncing across the globe, visiting six of our seven continents, living in Holland and France as well as the United States. My parents' work brought me a level of cultural competency few of my classmates could ever attain. I clearly remember visiting the Soviet Union in the 1970s and especially getting caught up in what is now called the 1980 coup d'état in Turkey. This past summer, though, while in Japan on a study abroad trip, I found my life’s purpose. Professor ____ of the Nuclear Studies Institute of the American University opened my eyes to the sufferings of those caught in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of 1945 and the aftermath which continues to this day in the form of the Hibakusha – the survivors of that nuclear assault. Particularly chilling was Professor ____’s detailing of just how close to nuclear war we’ve come in the recent past.
While in Japan, I was impressed by the culture of peace as seen through the considerable number of peace museums, peace parks, and commemorative functions. I was struck by how the Japanese people remain the fiercest advocates for a world free of nuclear weapons, at least nuclear war.
The Three Non-Nuclear Principles into their government and have maintained a non-nuclear weapon standard for over sixty years, while the superpowers around them continue their stockpile of nuclear weaponry and research. And, yet, through the stories of the Hibakusha, especially Koko Tanimoto-Kondo, an American University alum, I was profoundly moved by the lack of bitterness, and rather, a continued hope for world peace. The Hibakusha are living testimonies to the mistake of nuclear war. Of course, my hopes are their hopes, that one day nuclear arms will be simply outlawed completely, worldwide.
Continuing my academic endeavors through a master's program of study with the ____ University – my only choice for graduate education - will enable me to achieve my dreams. It is my aim to become a professor myself, researching the effects of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the effects of the atomic testing programs in the United States, particularly the civilians inadvertently affected “downwind” of test sites. As a professor, it would be my responsibility to teach students the moral implications of President Truman’s administration’s choice of response to Japan during WWII, impress upon them the ferocious destructive nature of a nuclear assault and the intense despair caused by this choice. Students need to learn from our past mistakes and must be educated in alternative strategies for ending conflicts, to avoid a nuclear war at all costs. Ideally, my future work will enable me to lead student groups, be it high school students or college students, on study abroad trips to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and nuclear test sites in the United States, using these places as an extension of the classroom to impress upon my students the deadly power of these weapons of unimaginable destruction. While World War III may come someday, let it not be done with nuclear weapons. If nuclear weapons are employed in a large-scale conflict, I am convinced that the impact will be felt around the world, if not destroying most or all of life on earth as we know it.
And who better to lead students to these ideals in the classroom and beyond. Having learning disabilities myself, who better encourage my students to struggle for their goals? Having survived cancer – and the irony of nuclear medicine is not lost on me – and maintaining a 3.77 GPA while going through chemotherapy during both my junior and senior years of undergraduate work, who better to encourage students to give their best, and demonstrate how obstacles are opportunities. And through it all, even my severe seizure disorder, I keep a positive attitude, and a good sense of humor. I turned my pain into positive energy and have raised money by participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, walking a total of 360 miles, and raising over $15,000. It is a love of life that keeps me going, and a love for my academic work that gets me up every day. And while I have never been a teacher, I have, in fact, been a National Champion coach of Girls’ Softball four times.
I thank you for your time and consideration and look forward to a personal interview.
MA Peace & Conflict Studies Personal Statement of Purpose
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