[A] new generation, innocent of the divisions of the Cold War, this coming-of-age. ... If its members do not feel the urgency to escape the nuclear danger that some of its parents felt, neither has it developed the deep attachment to nuclear arms also often found among their parents, including most of the governing class. ... The call for abolition should therefore be, among other things, a call from an older generation to younger one.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the generational shift in attitudes towards nuclear arms and the need for younger generations to advocate for disarmament.
Jonathan Schell's quote discusses how a new generation, unlike their parents who lived through the Cold War, lacks both the fear of nuclear weapons and the attachment to them. He argues that it is the responsibility of the older generation to urge the youth to recognize the ongoing threat of nuclear arms and to inspire them to advocate for their abolition as part of their coming-of-age.
In practice
In a speech about global peace, one could quote Schell to illustrate the generational responsibility towards nuclear disarmament.
The use of a mere dozen nuclear weapons ... would be a human catastrophe without parallel. ... Because so few weapons can kill so many people, even far-reaching disarmament proposals would leave us implicated in plans for unprecedented slaughter of innocent people. The sole measure that can free us from this burden is abolition.
Remember that the revolution is what is important, and each one of us, alone, is worth nothing.
Certainly, by providing individuals coming out of institutions with ways to become productive citizens, we reduce recidivism. What that means is we reduce crime. There are fewer victims when individuals have options - when they have job skills, when they have life skills, we break the cycle of children following their parents into institutions.
I didn't want to be a slave to any passion anymore. I gave up card playing altogether, even bridge and gambling - more or less. It took me a few years to get out of it.
It's time for women to wake up, to use the power of the vote, to honor the suffragists who chained themselves to the White House fence so that women could vote.
My moms always told me, 'How long you gonna play the victim?' I can say I'm mad and I hate everything, but nothing really changes until I change myself.
But you can't plead with autumn. No. The midnight wind stalked through the woods, hooted to frighten you, swept everything away for the approaching winter, whirled the leaves. ("The North")
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