War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Randy Kehler, 1987
Description:
Randy Kehler is a pacifist activist and leader of the National Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. His interview covers the movement's experiences during the Reagan presidency, having originated in western Massachusetts in 1979 and gained improbable, sudden national prominence in the midst of a shift to the right in national politics. He recalls some of the milestone events - the June 12, 1982, disarmament rally in Central Park, New York; the referendum in Fall of 1982; and the May 1983 when Congress passed the freeze resolution by a 2-to-1 margin. The Reagan administration's influence on the movement is discussed at length. Ironically, Reagan's arms buildup helped boost the movement while his charge of KGB infiltration was puzzling. However, after the administration softened its military rhetoric and resumed the START talks, members of the movement began to have the sense of being coopted. Subsequent support from Senators Kennedy and Hatfield provided a major boost, but Reagan's 1983 Star Wars speech, which Mr. Kehler at first did not take seriously, turned out to be a highly effective maneuver to the detriment of the movement. The tide continued to turn against the freeze during the 1984 presidential election campaign, which featured major disappointment in the tepid backing of the Democratic candidates. Looking to the future, he characterizes the Reagan era as an "almost hysterical ending" to one period, which he hopes will give way to a new paradigm of "common security."
