There is an Asian adage, "If you give a man a fish, he eats for the day. If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime."
This saying could be used for Peace, World Peace.
How can we accomplish this?
We believe that House Representative, Dennis J. Kucinich, D-OH-10, has the answer. On July 11th of this year, he presented legislation that would establish a Federal Dept. of Peace. His words on July 11th are even more significant today because of our President's current agenda of attacking Iraq.
"The time for peace is now," Congressman Kucinich said. "At the dawn of a new millennium, there is no better time to review age old challenges with new thinking that peace is not only the absence of violence, but the presence of a higher evolution of human awareness with respect, trust and integrity toward humankind. Our founding fathers recognized that peace was one of the highest duties of the newly organized free and independent states. But too often, we have overlooked the long-term solution of peace for instant gratification of war. This continued downward spiral of violence must stop to ensure that future generations will live in peace and harmony."
Congressman Kucinich goes on to say, "The challenges inherent in creating a Department of Peace are massive," "But the alternatives are worse. Violence at home, in the schools, in the media, and between nations has dragged down humanity. It's time to recognize that traditional, militant objectives for peace are not working, and the only solution is to make peace the goal of a cabinet level agency."
The bill presented to Congress by Kucinich is outlined as follows,
Establish a cabinet-level department in the executive branch of the Federal Government dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace. Headed by a Secretary of Peace, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The mission of the Department shall: hold peace as an organizing principle; endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; strengthen nonmilitary means of peacemaking; promote the development of human potential; work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute resolution; and take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict and structured mediation of conflict.
The Department will create and establish a Peace Academy, modeled after the military service academies, which will provide a 4-year concentration in peace education. Graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international nonviolent conflict resolution.
The principal officers of the Department, in addition to the Secretary of Peace will include; the Under Secretary of Peace; the Assistant Secretary for Peace Education and Training; the Assistant Secretary for Domestic Peace Activities, the Assistant Secretary for International Peace Activities; the Assistant Secretary for Technology for Peace; the Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and Disarmament; the Assistant Secretary for Peaceful Coexistence and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution; the Assistant Secretary for Human and Economic Rights; and a General Counsel.
The first day of each year, January 1st will be designated as Peace Day in the United States and all citizens should be encouraged to observe and celebrate the blessings of peace and endeavor to create peace in the coming year.
Global Goddess fully supports this bill and we encourage all of you to write to your local Congressman to support this bill. You can do this by going to http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and typing in your state and zip code. This will bring up who your local Congressman is and how to contact them.
There are steps that we, as individuals, can take to help promote these ideas.
What Can You Do To Help
Hold "Teach-Ins" on the Issue of Peace. Holding a public "Teach-In" on the issue of peace and non-violence is a great way to get your community to debate the issues. You can do this by inviting a public official, religious leaders, educators, heads of organizations or local community leaders who have contributed to promoting peace and justice.
Contact your state representatives, city council, mayor and ask them to sponsor a resolution that promotes peace and justice on the local, national and international levels.
Write an opinion-editorial for your local paper and get it published, emphasizing the importance of local communities making efforts towards encouraging peace, tolerance and understanding.
Join an organization that has a campaign on the issue of peace and work with them, or start your own organization.
Circulate a petition to a local leader encourage them to keep the issue of peace and understanding on the local agenda.
Organize a peace rally to bring the issue of peace to the forefront of local community leaders and elected officials.
Organize a booth or a display case at local events. Your local library or community center are great places to set up an eye catching display about an issue that is important to you. Or you may want to reserve a booth at a highly attended event such as a concert, local sports event, rallies or community picnics.
These are the steps his Honorable Kucinich has suggested we can take to help, but in order to do so, we believe we need to be educated in how to resolve differences and settle conflicts in our own lives - right here at home - then we can take the message out all around us.
In the immortal words of John Lennon, "All we are saying, is give Peace a chance."
In Peace and Grace,
Bendis, Lisa, Meg, and Regina GlobalGoddess.org info@globalgoddess.org