Department of Peace

Written by Bette Hoover, Maryland DOP co-chair, organizer, facilitator, and member Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Grandmothers for Peace.
Sent by Marci Reynolds, November 3:

Department of Peace: A movement whose time has come

3rd Annual Conference held in Washington, D.C.

September 10-12, 2005

Imagine a department of our government dedicated to the research, articulation and promotion of nonviolent solutions to conflict! Think of the possibilities for a peaceful planet if the halls of Congress were filled with conversations similar to those we are having in our circles and in our Meetings. Envision a Secretary of Peace being present in the White House, in the Oval office and at Cabinet Meetings - engaging the president in creative problem solving when a crisis erupts at home or abroad. Imagine a world where peaceful problem solving pre-empts war. Imagine a Department of Peace as a part of the United States government.

That is exactly what an animated group of about 500 people did at a recent conference in Washington, DC. Organized by The Peace Alliance (www.ThePeaceAlliance.org), the lively gathering educated themselves on the possibilities of a cabinet level position for peace within the U. S. government. An impressive array of presenters at this third annual Department of Peace Conference included: Marianne Williamson, Patch Adams, Jan A. Hartke (Earth Voice), Azim Khamisa (Tariq Khamisa Foundation), Barbara Marx Hubbard (1984 vice president candidate who proposed a "peace room" in the White House), Ambassador John W. McDonald, Coleen Rowley (former FBI Special Agent), Samina Faheem Sundas (American Muslim Voice), John and Beverly Titus (parents who lost a child on Flight 175 on 9/11/02), and Judy Collins (singer, performer). Conference participants were privileged to experience many "best practices" already being used around the country to promote the nonviolent resolution of conflict.

On September 22, 2005, Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) introduced legislation calling for a Department of Peace as Senate Bill 1756 (S.1756). From the floor of the Senate, he said, " If we are to remain the world's leader, and if we are to lead the world into a more secure and more prosperous future, we must become better known and more respected for our peacemaking successes than for our military forces. Peace, to have any lasting value, must be advanced, expanded and strengthened continuously. Doing so requires skill, dedication, persistence, resources, and most, importantly, people." Dayton said he introduced the legislation "for all our youth" and called for the Reagan – established Institute of Peace to be elevated to a Cabinet-level position.

A week earlier House Bill # 3760 was introduced by Dennis Kuccinich (D-Ohio) with 60 co-sponsors. Representative Elijah Cummings (D) of Maryland is one of those signed onto the bill. Maryland organizers believe that success in this preliminary stage of the bill's introduction is crucial in order to stir up the status quo and build a movement. Monthly meetings and frequent conference calls are part of the organizing strategy. Team leaders for all Congressional Districts in Maryland have been identified.

At the September conference, Kuccinich and retired anchorman, Walter Cronkite, chatted about the potential of a Department of Peace. Kuccinich told us, "Violence has metastasized in our world and currently brute force (surgery aka war) is the only treatment being used." He said a Department of Peace would offer the government a whole array of resources and nonviolent options. Cronkite responded, "Wouldn't it have been an advantage in the run-up to the Iraq War to have had a cabinet officer whose department was responsible for training U.S. personnel in human rights, conflict resolution, reconstruction…." Cronkite reminded us that the world needs a strong United States of America and that it is important for us to promote peace rather than the "arrogance that cost us friends and allies among the nations and peoples of the world." The establishment of such a department, he said, does not negate the military. Au contraire. It is meant to strengthen and work with the military.

Retired diplomat John McDonald concurred with Cronkite that it's not an either/or – a Dept of Peace or the military. It's just that "peace needs institutional weight behind it, too", he said. Indeed, a DOP offers the military a broader array of tools to use in the resolution of conflict: strategists and soldiers will benefit from learning methods of peacemaking and conflict resolution. A proposed U.S. Peace Academy will function as a sister organization to the Military Academy and be on the alert with cutting-edge techniques of nonviolent conflict resolution ready to be mobilized. It's time we re-defined weak and strong and war and peace and realized that testosterone does not need to be the only way to respond to conflict.

Naïve, you say? Conference presenters dealt with that question alot. Marianne Williamson reminded us that no serious social change has ever happened in our world that seemed possible at the beginning. "Initially, change has always been counter to the status quo." In fact, she says, "Anyone who thinks we can continue in the same direction we are on and survive is naïve!"

The idea of a Department that promotes justice and democratic principles to expand human rights and address the root causes of violence is not new. In 1949, Senator Dirksen wanted an "office of Peace" within the State Department. Senator Hartje introduced legislation for a Department of Peace into Congress in 1969. Reagan acquiesced to pressure for such a department and established the Institute of Peace in the early 80's.

The Department of Peace is an idea whose time has come – and it is now! Although the soul of our country is beautiful, too often our politics – both domestically and internationally – don't reflect that nature. Peace and the process of peacemaking have too long been marginalized while war making and aggression are aggrandized. A Department of Peace is more than an idea whose time has come. It is necessary for the survival of our planet as well as securing the place of the U.S. as a leader in the world community.

A respected Peace Academy and a cabinet level Secretary of Peace are two of the many components of the House and Senate bills for a Department of Peace (see www.ThePeaceAlliance.org). To get involved at your state and/or local level, sign up through the website or email this writer at dancinrainbow@earthlink.net.

xxx