Prompted by a suggestion to examine what “talks” I rate as favorites, I can think of a few that stand out. 2015 offers an overflowing river of talks and podcasts; for the most part I’ve not dipped a toe. At home, I’d rather read a physical copy of Harper’s Magazine, read through a never-ending Instapaper queue, read fiction or watch films.

In the Summer of 2001, my then-roommate Yong introduced me to a talk by anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldecott. We lived in Brooklyn, and Yong would drive us in his beat down Buick to far-off Queens destinations for Afghani sweets or fried vegan Caribbean foodstuffs. On these trip we listened to the radio, usually WFMU or WKCR, but occasionally Yong would reach into his glove compartment for a well-played cassette tape onto which he had, many years before, recorded a talk off WBAI. Over the next two years I listened to portions of this talk many times, often zoned, half-reading the street signs or watching the street lights blink by as Caldicott outlined the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. We subjected other passengers, friends & lovers, to this talk, but they often complained of the depressing nature of Caldicott’s message: she spoke of impending nuclear doom, of the mad men in control of humanity’s fate, of the chilling decisions society has made up to this point, and what we may have ahead of us if we continue down the path of “nuclear madness.” So it was most often just Yong & me, riding the streets, listening.

I never made a dub of this cassette and haven’t thought about it in a long time. Cursory searches turn up some potential sources on the Pacifica Radio Archives, but many of these carry the warning:

This recording is currently on a 1/4” reel tape and has not been digitally preserved.

I reached out to Yong to see if he still has the cassette, but haven’t heard back. He lives in Seoul, running an art gallery & bar called Satellite / 새틀라이트. He may eventually respond, and perhaps with a digitized version of his copy from the radio. I wonder if the exact provenance of Caldicott’s talk is less important than the memory of the actual cassette tape. And the memory of the cassette itself is subsumed by the memories of our decade-plus-old experiences of driving around the boroughs, listening, and convincing others to listen.

Topics:

Collective Fasting. B.Franklin mentions this as something he proposed to the Governor of Pennsylvania when consulted about how the country should be prepared for defending itself. He mentions that a fast is proclaimed every year in New England. Curiously, the Quakers seem to have rejected it. Was this as part of their general abstention from all activities related to war?

Religion in Early America. What were the different sects? How were they formed? How did they differ from the established religions of the time? Was 18th century America as accepting of freedom of religion as is commonly claimed?

At what point does one need to re-evaluate one's morals or ethics? Does it become harder once they are publicly stated or published? The Quakers of 18th century America were publically averse to war. Yet when it came time to defend the country -- first from Britain's enemies, and then from Britain herself -- there was a need to fund the defense. As a religous entity publicly against all forms of war, the Friends had to donate to the government, "flour, wheat and other grain " so that gun powder would not be purchased in their name. Their ethics got in the way of their purposes.

As modern peaceniks, where must we draw the line? How far can we resist violence and still let our freedoms be not diminished?