It was a ringing on his cell phone, accompanied by a notification from the BBC, that told Seth Shelden that Joe Biden had just won the November 3, 2020 election. After four days of uncertainty.
A tear of relief immediately fell on the cheek of the activist of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
At the same time, horns and howls of joy were heard outside in the Brooklyn neighborhood where he lives. The New Yorker opened the window to breathe the jubilation.
I watched the whole scene from the other side of my cell phone. I called Seth, who was my roommate when we were students at the University of North Carolina, to get his perspective on the election, on the state of his country. We rather shared a small page of history through interposed screens.
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A year later, Seth Shelden is still relieved to know that his country’s nuclear codes are no longer in the hands of Donald Trump, the most unpredictable president in recent American history.
The jubilation has subsided.
According to the latest polls, only 42% of Americans are satisfied with the job of the Democratic president a year after his election. It is only Donald Trump who has done worse with 37% approval at the same stage of his presidency.
This lack of enthusiasm seems to have been reflected at the polls on Tuesday. At time of publication, Democrats had just won New York City Hall, but Republicans were on their way to securing gubernatorial seats in Virginia and New Jersey.
“I don’t regret supporting the Democrats,” said Seth Shelden. I am in a constant state of relief, but I never had any illusions that Joe Biden was going to fix everything. In a lot of areas the rhetoric is much better than during the Trump administration, but the reality is not necessarily brighter, ”he says from his office, which is a stone’s throw from the headquarters of the Nations. united.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, PRESS ARCHIVES
Seth Shelden, American lawyer and professor at CUNY School of Law
This is particularly true in his own area of expertise: nuclear weapons. Seth Shelden works tirelessly to convince as many countries as possible to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. To date, 86 countries have signed the international accord, but the United States continues to fiercely oppose it.
“When it comes to nuclear weapons, Joe Biden and the Democrats haven’t made the world a safer place. Trump has shown why full presidential control over nuclear weapons is dangerous. The rules have not changed since his departure. The United States still has nuclear weapons deployed on high alert across the world. Of the 5,000 nuclear weapons we have, 1,300 are deployed. Biden has also not backed down on the “modernization” of the American arsenal. We continue to manufacture new weapons, ”he laments.
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As the eyes of the planet are on Glasgow, home to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) and the Future of the Planet, Seth Shelden’s eyes are on a clock that announces that we are at barely 100 seconds from the nuclear apocalypse.
This clock is very serious Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, set up in particular by Albert Einstein. It makes it possible to assess each year the imminent danger that nuclear weapons represent for humanity.
“Scientists put it at 100 seconds during the Trump administration. To sound the alarm. The needles remained in the same place after the arrival of Joe Biden. And for good reason. More countries than ever have nuclear weapons. We are starting a new cold war with China. We face this conflict by preparing for war. The sale of nuclear submarines to Australia is completely outrageous. It goes against all of our work! », He says, exasperated.
Exasperated, but not desperate. The trained lawyer hopes he can one day interact in good faith with the Biden administration, of which he knows several key players. The doors were double-locked while Donald Trump was in the White House.
“But we are not out of the woods,” he adds, hoping that progressives in the United States will not be lulled into sleep by the rhetoric of the current president and will continue to demand real change. To demand accountability. As they did in an exemplary manner while Donald Trump was the occupant of the Oval Office.
At the time, Seth Shelden was at the heart of the mobilization of the progressive left. At the same time lawyer, professor of law and actor, he exchanged all these hats to devote himself to the battle against nuclear weapons in 2016. To serve as a bulwark.
The great international recognition he received as a member of ICAN only energized him even more. “When it comes to foreign policy, we are given this false choice between Democrats and Republicans. But in this area, the Democrats are not progressive at all, ”emphasizes the one who has no intention of letting his guard down.