Thomas Merton and the Bomb

I’ve been struggling with how to begin a discussion about Thomas Merton for some time now.  He is one of the people of the 20^th century that I admire most, perhaps even the most.  Thomas Merton was quite famous for a while, but he is not particularly well remembered nearly 50 years after his death.  In the 1940’s Thomas Merton wrote a book, The Seven Storey Mountain, about contemplative, communal life.  It was a best-seller, and made him famous.  Being famous was a challenge for Merton, as he himself belonged to a strict contemplative community, namely the Order of Cistersians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.), better known as the Trappists.  Trappists are famously introspective and meditative.  In fact, most people think that they take a vow of silence, although their silence is merely encouraged rather than enforced.  As you might well imagine, Merton’s fame presented challenges for him personally, and for the order.

After his initial success, Merton continued to write about spiritual matters with the blessing of the O.C.S.O.  In fact, had the order forbade him to write, we may never have heard from him, as he was both devoted and disciplined.  By the 1950’s he had largely devoted his writings to the moral issues of war, and the spiritual need to pursue peace.  He became increasingly concerned with the moral challenge presented by nuclear weapons.  Gradually, the Trappist order became more concerned about the increasingly political tone of his writings, and suppressed a good deal of his writing, although he continued to combat censorship within the order, while maintaining the strictest discipline required of a Trappist monk.  The resulting body of work was an incredibly rich source of moral thought in terms of nuclear armament.  His writings included poetry, letters, essays and novels.  Much of his work was published posthumously, having died accidentally in Thailand in 1968.  His thoughts on pacifism and moral duty are some of the best articulated thoughts in the modern era.

By 1961, Thomas Merton had dedicated his life to nuclear disarmament.  He wrote a poem Original Child Bomb, which may be read or heard on The Healing Project blog, found in the link above.  It is stark and humorless free verse, with 41 numbered stanzas.  I urge you to read it or listen to the reading on the blog.

In the last stanza of the poem, there is a rueful comment that men are fatigued by the questions.  AS we approach the 70^th anniversary of the destruction of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I feel that the fatigue has become poorly understood and easily dismissed history.  The non-proliferation protocol seems to have largely failed.  On the day I started preparing this blog, a tentative deal with Iran was reached which would commit that country to not producing a nuclear weapon.  There are a great number of Senators and Congressmen who do not want to ratify the agreement.  We should carefully consider Thomas Merton’s moral objections to nuclear warfare, and whether a belligerent strategy will  be preferable to a negotiated peace.