'A weapon of mass education': Historic peace sailboat, the Golden Rule, visits Milwaukee this weekend

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A sailboat with a storied past is visiting Milwaukee this weekend.

It's one of more than 100 stops on the crew's 11-thousand-mile journey.

The historic sailboat called The Golden Rule will be on Milwaukee's lakefront through Monday, Sept. 4, spreading opposition to nuclear weapon use.

Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed Sept. 1-4 as Golden Rule Days to welcome the sailboat that inspired an international movement.

"The Golden Rule was sailed because the 67 nuclear weapons that were used in the Marshall Islands from 1946 to 1958 were blowing radiation all over the planet," said Helen Jaccard, the boat's project manager.

The Golden Rule's protest in the Marshall Islands in 1958 led to a ban on atmospheric nuclear testing.

The Veterans for Peace organization restored and relaunched the sailboat in 2015.

"We spent 5 years sailing up and down the west coast, and 2 years around the Hawaiian islands, talking about stopping the possibility of nuclear war," Jaccard said.

Now, the Golden Rule is on an 11,000-mile journey, called the Great Loop, visiting more than 100 cities.

"Someone called it a 'weapon of mass education,'" laughed Bill Christofferson, a member of the Milwaukee chapter of Veterans for Peace.

The crew is calling for ceasefire in Ukraine, as well as ratification of the United Nations treaty on prohibition of nuclear weapons, which has not been signed by the United States.

"It educates people about the true costs of war, and it's not just financial, it's about human costs, and it's not just American troops, but millions of people," said Christofferson, who is a Vietnam veteran.

The crew's goal is to give hope that nuclear weapons can one day be eradicated.

"I think it could take longer than my lifetime, but I can only be on one path in my life," Jaccard said. "So, I'm on this path that gives me hope that sooner or later, that's going to happen."

The public can see the boat for themselves Saturday, Sept. 2, from 2-5 p.m., during a party at Lakeshore State Park to celebrate the Golden Rule.

For an interactive map of the Golden Rule's route, click here.

For more information, click here.