MILWAUKEE — An historic sailboat and its crew pulled into Milwaukee this week with a message to spread about peace.
The Golden Rule, docked outside Discovery World, is in town from Friday through Labor Day. Boat tours, and information about its mission — to increase awareness of the threat posed by nuclear weapons — will be available every day.
"The people have to demand that this turns around. And unless there's such a groundswell of opinion that we need to change our attitude toward weapons in general and nuclear weapons specifically, they're going to keep being made," said Helen Jaccard, project manager for the Golden Rule.
Milwaukee is the latest stop on the boat's 13-month, 11,000-mile tour, which was organized by nonprofit Veterans for Peace.
According to Veterans for Peace, the Golden Rule's efforts — sailing in protest near U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands in 1958 — led to a ban on nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere.
"The Golden Rule, represents to me, hope," said Mark Foreman, a Vietnam Veteran who's working for Veterans for Peace. "If we don't get rid of things like nuclear weapons and put that money into helping the planet, helping humanity, we're going to lose."
On Friday, the mayor of Milwaukee recognized the boat's efforts, proclaiming Sept. 1 - Sept. 4 Golden Rule Days throughout the entire city.
"We've got a responsibility, all of us do, to take up peace as our cause," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "We've got to work to address that, no matter the means of delivery of violence. It could be guns that maim and kill people on a daily basis in Milwaukee and communities like it across the U.S."
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