National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence

I was browsing Google for news on "violence" today (something I have not done in quite some time) and came across this post from Robert Listenbee Jr., of the Defender Association of Philadphia. Mr. Listenbee writes about the ever-present issue of violence in our inner cities and the impact that violence has on children.

Rather than just being another in an endless stream of articles on how violent our society is, Mr. Listenbee offers some hope in a new program from the U.S. Attorney General - the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence (a.k.a., "The Defending Childhood Task Force"). Fans of the NY Yankees (a.k.a., "The Best Team Money Can Buy") will be pleased to hear that Joe Torre is involved in this.

As Mr. Listenbee writes:

Not only are we highlighting the scope of the problem, more important, we are highlighting solutions.

The DCTF sounds a lot like what the Youth PROMISE act is championing - bring together representatives from all segments of the communities that are impacted by violence and help them identify and implement solutions to their unique problems.

We need the faith community, businesses and all levels of government to be a part of the solution.

As of now, the DCTF is still just in the analysis-and-report phase of their charter. They owe the Attorney General a report by the end of 2012 with recommendations about what communities can do to address the impact of violence on children. If you're in Detroit on April 23-24, you may want to check out the hearing to see how this might play out.

What do you know about this initiative?

(Note: The DOJ web site lists 58 agencies, of which "Defending Childhood" looks like it's supposed to be one. However, the site addresses seem to be a little screwed up. The Detroit hearing link works fine, but the other DCTF links are non-responsive as of this writing. I hope this is a sign of how new this program is more than an indication of the relative importance of this agency in he midst of everything else the DOJ is responsible for.)

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Happy Father's Day, Peacebuilders!

I hope this Father's Day brings special recognition to the Dads and other father figures (and their supporters) out there who are helping spread the spirit of nonviolence and building a culture of peace. Many guys are doing this everyday without the slightest bit of recognition. You guys rock! Thanks for being out there!

Here's a story about the types of things peacebuilding guys are doing around the world. Enjoy!

The Department of Peace Act is Reintroduced in the 112th Congress

In a timely response to recent budget slashing that included eliminating financing for the U.S. Institute of Peace, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has re-introduced legislation to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace. You can read the details of the bill - H.R. 808 - at thomas.gov, but a summary of the key provisions follows:

Establishes a Department of Peace, which shall be headed by a Secretary of Peace.

Sets forth the mission of the Department, including:
(1) cultivation of peace as a national policy objective; and
(2) development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful conflict resolution, and structured conflict mediation.

Establishes in the Department:
(1) the Office of Peace Education and Training;
(2) the Office of Domestic Peace Activities;
(3) the Office of International Peace Activities;
(4) the Office of Technology for Peace;
(5) the Office of Arms Control and Disarmament;
(6) the Office of Peaceful Coexistence and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution;
(7) the Office of Human Rights and Economic Rights; and
(8) the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace.

Directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to consult with the Secretary concerning nonviolent means of conflict resolution when a conflict between the United States and any other government or entity is imminent or occurring.

Transfers to the Department the functions, assets, and personnel of various federal agencies.

Establishes the Federal Interagency Committee on Peace.

Directs the Secretary to encourage citizens to celebrate the blessings of peace and endeavor to create peace on a Peace Day.

Rep. Kucinich has introduced this legislation in each of the past four sessions of Congress and has gained grassroots support from across the country, mostly via the Peace Alliance. The legislation will need all the support it can get to gain traction in the current environment of budget cutting, but the investment in nonviolent conflict resolution now will provide years of positive returns to U.S. taxpayers, both financial and humanitarian. Please contact your Representative today and ask that they cosponsor H.R. 808!

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Dona Nobis Pacem

Happy Blogblast for Peace Day!

What, you may ask, does "Dona Nobis Pacem" mean?

According to the Blogblast For Peace site, it's Latin for "Grant Us Peace".

From some of my previous posts, you might know that I'm not a big fan of verbal pleas for peace that aren't backed by some sort of action. Countless peace marches, sleep-ins and candlelight vigils have done precious little to actually reduce the level of violence in our world.

Still, by participating in this global action, my hope is to raise awareness of legislative initiatives such as the Department of Peace and Youth PROMISE acts and, perhaps, enlist the skills and resources of some new activists who can help make a difference.

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Blog Action Day 2010: Dirty Water -> Despair -> Conflict -> Violence

This year's Blog Action Day topic is "Water", plain and simple. Many blogs will point out that access to clean water is a human right. They will say that getting clean, potable water to those living without is the first step in improving their living conditions. And those bloggers are right! For my part, I choose to focus on the chain of despair that leads from lack of access to clean water to conflict and, potentially, violence.

Mankind has a long, depressing history of fighting over resources - land, gold, diamonds, oil, you name it. Although my research hasn't yet turned up any evidence of wars having been fought over water, there is increasing evidence that the risk of such a thing happening is increasing daily as we ignore the plight of those most in need of clean water. Alexander Bell (no relation), in his March 2010 article on NewStateman.com pointed out that the lack of clean water is already causing conflict in Cyprus, Yemen, and Pakistan. According to Bell:

The most bitter conflicts of the next 50 years won’t be over oil. The prize commodity of the future is the stuff of life – water.

John Taylor's post "War Over Water" includes a quote from Boutros Boutros-Ghali that:

... the next war in the middle east will be fought over water, not politics.

This was from 1985, so he obviously got that wrong. But it's just a matter of time. Taylor also quotes a statistic from the Conservative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) predicting that if trends continue one in three of the world’s population will be affected by water shortage by 2025, with Africa having as many as 500 million people without access to clean water. If anyone thinks this type of situation will evolve peacefully, I'd like a hit of whatever it is they are smoking.

Check out some of the other Blog Action Day posts on Change.org and read what more eloquent authors are proposing to deal with the looming issue of Water. With all of the other problems we are facing - climate change, sustainable energy, Fox News - it's going to be tough to get any attention for the topic. But it's something we're going to have to address eventually, and the outcome will be far more humane if we deal with it sooner rather than later.

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The "First Aid" Model for Peacebuilding in Communities

As often happens, I recently found myself wandering the corridors of the internet inspired to learn more about the story behind one of the cool videos posted on DoPeace. The producer of the video hails from TheRSA.org, a U.K. group that describes itself as:

"... an enlightenment organisation devoted to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s pressing social problems."

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been around for more than 250 years and is currently exploring the concept of 21st Century Enlightenment. One of the pamphlets they commissioned for this program caught my eye - The-Woolwich-Model-Can-citizens-tackle-anti-social-behaviour.pdf.

The Woolwich paper points out that there is a long list of "anti-social" behaviours that degrade the quality of life in communities but fall short of the types of crimes that police forces are most concerned about. These types of behaviour (petty vandalism, underage drinking, loitering, civil disturbance) are mostly perpetrated by young people - often unemployed or otherwise lacking in constructive alternatives. Although some young people will grow out of this behaviour, some will carry this dysfunctional trait into old age while others will get caught up in the escalation of criminal activity and ultimately end up as wards of the state.

The Woolwich Model refers to the development in the late 1800's of citizen capabilities that came to be known as "first aid". Health officials in the town of Woolwich recognised that trained professionals cannot be everywhere all the time in order to respond to life-threatening emergencies. They further recognised that there were plenty of capable citizens available in these communities that, given the proper training and incentives, could provide the basic treatments (i.e., CPR) necessary to deal with injuries and stabilise the patient while waiting for the professionals to arrive. In the 100+ years since, the practice of lay people getting trained in CPR or First Aid by groups like the Red Cross is woven into the fabric of many societies.

Now, here's the good part! The RSA asks, "What if we apply this model to addressing anti-social behaviour?" Train people who are already embedded within the micro-communities to stabilise anti-social situations while waiting for police to arrive, or to defuse the situation and avoid the need for police action altogether! What a concept!

RSA identifies two main groups of potential "first responders" (think of the types of people who learn CPR):

1. Public servants who already have frequent contact with the public as part of their jobs - parking enforcement officers, librarians, teachers, city/county employees, newspaper/postal delivery
2. Citizen leaders who want to make a difference - shop/restaurant owners, parents, neighborhood watch groups

People would be motivated to participate in the program to gain skills that look good to employers and to help make their communities more desirable places to live.

The RSA approach also spells out three type of training that would be required for this model to work:

1. Self-protection and restraint, which would provide responders with the skills and confidence they need to engage in an anti-social event
2. Situation Assessment - knowing when to engage, when to walk away, and what techniques to apply
3. Conflict Resolution - the techniques of meditation and nonviolence

(Are you as excited as I am at this point?)

The paper points out that these ideas need to be proven out in real-life and tweaked to each local environment. One organisation is already doing this - Dfuse out of London. (Maybe someone else will blog about this group?)

So, what do you think of this idea? Has anyone heard of this model being applied in the US? Does anyone have any thoughts about how to introduce it? Perhaps this is something the local "Promise Coordinating Councils" created as part of the Youth PROMISE act can tackle?

Are there any Social Entrepreneurs out there listening?

For further information, check out this video from RSA.

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Dollar "Billboarding" for Peace

Awhile back, I read an interesting article entitled "When Dollars Call for Change" by Emma Dumain on Congress.org. Ms. Dumain chronicles how activists and activist groups have been using dollar bills as inexpensive and effective means to get their message out to the public.

With a lifespan of close to 18 months , a typical $1 bill passes through hundreds if not thousands of hands and can travel pretty far around the country. Using a popular dollar-tracking website, WheresGeorge.com , a group of mathematicians determined that a single dollar bill can travel between 30 and 500 miles across the United States over a period of nine months.

Although Ms. Dumain mentions several interesting stories about different causes and how they have marked currency, she doesn't mention anything about the peace movement using this messaging channel. I would think that the peace movement would be all over this - it's a simple message, no cost, and there's an element of spreading the seeds of intention just by writing the phrase on paper. Kind of like a Buddhist prayer wheel.

As it turns out, at least one activist is supporting the peace movement through "dollar billboarding". I came across a random post on Twitter today from "The Survivor":

@christoferdrew i found a dollar bill that said "imagine a us department of peace" in pen. it made me think of you =D

She received the dollar in change from a bookstore in Bethesda, MD, and thought one of her favorite singers (Christofer Drew of "Never Shout Never") would like to know about it. She also posted a picture of "the magic dollar" - and vows to never spend it. Although that would be counter to the intent of dollar billboarding, you've got to love the spirit!

Now, some of you may be charged up by this as a opportunity for civil disobedience, while others of you may shy away from the approach because of concerns over legality. Ms. Dumain covers this in her research:

But technically speaking, it's not against the law unless perpetrators deface the currency "with intent to render such bank bill(s) ... unfit to be reissued."

So, grab your ultra-fine point red Sharpie pen, add your message of purpose to your currency, and get out there and stimulate the economy! I look forward to hearing of your Adventures in Dollar Billboarding!

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Department of Peace Act Makes the Top Ten!

... list of Most Hopeless Bills on Congress.org. According to the author, Kristin Conyer:

"During 2007 and 2008, 11,077 bills were introduced in Congress, while just 460 were signed into law. That means for every new law that session there were 23 bills that didn't make it out of Congress. To be fair, some of those bills were resolutions congratulating sports teams that wouldn't have gone to the president or bills introduced just to make a point. Still, some of those unenacted bills stand out for their sheer hopelessness."

Perhaps I'm more than a little biased, but I don't think I would use the term "hopeless" to describe the DOP idea. Instead, I think I would go with "inevitable". What would you say?

Empowering Civic Activism?

I greatly admire those who dedicate themselves, not only to championing important social causes, but also to the effort of engaging others in the democratic process. It seems as though more and more people and organizations are jumping on the bandwagon, which bodes well for the future IMHO. Change.org and Care2.com are leaders in this area, with millions of participants who regularly join together to engage in petitioning legislators and others to help bend the arc of history toward justice. Case Foundation is helping nonprofits spread their messages through on-line networking and philanthropy. And organizations like Pepsi and Ben & Jerry's have competitions to identify worthy activities and activists who can benefit from corporate backing and financial support.

But even with all of this effort to get people involved in the political process to help shape our society, many remain on the sidelines, for a variety of very personal reasons. Paul Loeb, author of "The Impossible Will Take a Little While," posted an article on Huffington Post entitled "Learned Helplessness", in which he explains some of the reasons many citizens withdraw from participating in the political process. He attributes much of this to the "how can I possibly make any difference" frame of mind that comes either from personal experience in the political arena or from watching others try and "fail".

"We're led to believe that if we can't instantly solve every one of these problems, we shouldn't bother to become socially active at all--an outlook that's helped create the difficult situation we now face. We feel we lack the time to properly comprehend the issues we care about, and fear that no one will listen to what we say. Our impulses toward involvement face a culture that demeans idealism, enshrines cynicism, and makes us feel naive for caring about our fellow human beings or the planet we inhabit."

The lopsided playing field dominated by well-paid professional lobbyists certainly doesn't help, does it?

Personally, I like the spirit that the Peace Alliance works to instill in its Department of Peace campaign activists - the effort is closer to a marathon than a sprint, and we need to take the approach of marathoners to be able to stay in it for the long haul. Everyone has their ups and downs and ebbs and flows (including yours truly) when it comes to activism, depending on what else is going on in their lives. But if we continue to dedicate and rededicate ourselves to the causes we care most deeply about, the sum total over the course of years will be a very positive thing.

Press on!

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Department of Peace Presentation at Ignite Baltimore

The Ignite speakers forum is a challenging and rewarding avenue for presenting thought-provoking ideas to an open-minded audience. Check out this presentation from the March 4 Ignite Baltimore event:

Peace Geek on Climate Change (Blog Action Day '09)

This year's blog action day topic is Climate Change. The idea is to get as many bloggers as possible from around the world to share opinions on Climate Change and encourage our leaders to prioritize this issue and take action. Check out http://www.blogactionday.org for more information.

I've been reading "Hot, Flat and Crowded" recently and getting charged up (pun intended) about the idea of cheap, clean electrons. It sounds rather obvious that the time for debate is long past us and every moment we spend not developing and implementing a systemic solution for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels is going to make the job that much more difficult, if not impossible, done the road. I haven't finished the book, so I won't recommend it just yet.

The author - Thomas Friedman - makes enough assumptions of his own to enable people to poke holes in his arguments. One "given" that I'm struggling with is the idea that growth is a necessary condition for lifting people out of poverty. The struggle I'm having is a lack of distinction between growth to support peoples' needs versus growth to support peoples' wants. If I cut my consumption in half (since 50% of my consumption is to satisfy wants, not needs) and use that other half to meet the genuine needs of two people living in poverty, then we have zero growth but still help get people out of poverty. I still need to think through this. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I'm all ears (or eyes).

The implications for peace are that people who are not living in a state of despair are less likely to resort to violence to have their basic needs met. If the predictions of climate change impacts are anywhere near accurate, the competition for resources and violent struggle for existence will only increase if we don't address the problem sooner rather than later.

Peace,
Peace Geek

Canada introduces Department of Peace legislation!

Hot off the presses is the following article from the Vancouver Sun about how the Canadian lawmakers are pursuing the idea of creating a Department of Peace. Way to go, Canada! Now, what can the rest of us do to help make this happen? We can start by sending MP Bill Siksay a big "THANK YOU!" at Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca or visit his web page. Read the text of bill C-447 here.

OTTAWA — A federal New Democrat has teamed up with a Liberal to propose the creation of an army of peace professionals within a new federal department to resolve violent conflicts within Canada and around the world.

The idea was introduced through new legislation tabled Thursday by NDP MP Bill Siksay, seconded by Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis. Siksay said the proposed department of peace could change the role of the Canadian military, but not necessarily replace it.

"In a utopian vision of our world, maybe that will be possible some day but certainly we see this as an area that hasn't gotten the attention it deserves," said Siksay at a news conference.

"The inclination to seek a non-violent solution to conflict isn't always the first action that people take in our society and around the world."

Siksay's private member's bill was modelled after a proposal by an advocacy group that suggests Canada needs more trained experts to promote peace in its diplomatic corps as well as in the military.

Bill Bhaneja, a co-chair of the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative, said the proposed department could employ hundreds of professionals who would promote a culture of peace in the government's policies and actions, as well as help to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way.

"These peace professionals would be different from the diplomats and from the soldiers," said Bhaneja. "Right now we have suits and boots on the ground, but we don't have people who are trained to resolve conflicts at the cutting edge where the problem is taking place."

He said his group has also submitted its proposals to the Harper government which replied it was satisfied with existing policies and practices.

Siksay said it was unlikely that the legislation and its proposals would get adopted in the near future in Parliament since it is a private member's bill. Government legislation gets priority for debates in Parliament while opposition bills are debated in order based on a random draw.

But Bhaneja said he was encouraged by recent meetings with Liberals and New Democrats who appear to be more interested by the establishment of a ministry of peace, following other countries such as Nepal, Solomon Islands and Costa Rica.

It's Not Rocket Science

(Inspired by Toothpaste For Dinner)

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Peace Studies Take Off

(By Dana Micucci, New York Times)

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico — The Bradbury Science Museum in this drab high-desert town studded with old army barracks houses life-size replicas of Little Boy and Fat Man, chilling reminders of the human capacity for unspeakable violence. The cutely named atomic bombs, which were invented here, were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

Less than 100 miles away, or 160 kilometers, in Montezuma, New Mexico, lies United World College of the American West (UWC-USA), a two-year pre-university residential school offering an international baccalaureate diploma, with a special emphasis on peace studies and conflict resolution.

One of twelve UWC campuses worldwide and the only one in the United States, the school admits about 200 students a year, aged 16 to 19, from more than 80 countries, with the aim of fostering respect for diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds.

Building upon its commitment to conflict-resolution training, UWC-USA established the Bartos Institute for Constructive Engagement of Conflict in 2000 to expand students' skills in managing and reducing interpersonal and inter-group conflicts locally and globally.

Renata Dwan of Ireland, a 1988 UWC-USA graduate who now works in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, says her education at UWC was instrumental in teaching her how to live peacefully in a community of diverse cultures.

"Creating an environment where peace can thrive is, at the most basic level, about respecting and accepting others and realizing how subjective our perceptions are," Dwan said.

Please visit the New York Times to read the remainder of the article...

Veterans For Peace Support the Youth PROMISE Act

At the recent Veterans for Peace convention in College Park, Maryland, Jim Ramelis introduced a resolution for VFP to support the Youth PROMISE act - and it was approved! The below text is from the VFP website:

"YOUTH PROMISE ACT

Whereas Veterans for Peace affirms its responsibility to serve the cause of world peace in its "Statement of Purpose", and

Whereas a bill known as "The Youth Promise Act " has been introduced in the legislature as House of Representatives Bill 1064 and Senate Bill 435 that proposes to reduce violence among our youth in targeted neighborhoods and areas. Violence will be reduced through prevention in positive ways such as after school programs, sports and community activities, by implementing the best policy recommendations from crime policy makers, researchers, practitioners, analysts, and law enforcement officials from across the political spectrum concerning evidence- and research-based strategies to reduce gang violence and crime, and

Whereas many of the neighborhoods where violence is rampant are the same neighborhoods that have Junior R.O.T.C. programs in the schools and are heavily targeted by recruiters, and

Whereas many at-risk youth turn to military service because they have limited options for productive citizenship, and

Whereas the Youth Promise Act seeks to provide at-risk youth with alternative life skills,

Therefore Be It Resolved that Veterans for Peace hereby endorses the Youth Promise Act and strongly encourages chapters and individual members to lobby Congress to request co-sponsor the Youth Promise act (currently H.R.1064 and S.435 in the 111th Congress)

Approved at the 2009 VFP national convention"

Congratulations, Jim, and thanks for helping build a culture of peace!

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Walter Cronkite with Dennis Kucinich on the Department of Peace Idea

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"Corrections" System So Wrong

(Guest post by Kendra Mon)

Correcting California's so-called “corrections” system could reduce budget woes and help people turn their lives around. In the last 20 years our prison population tripled. We waste billions of dollars yearly, locking up thousands of nonviolent drug offenders though community-based treatment is cheaper and actually gets people off drugs. We throw away hundreds of millions of dollars annually on the largest, most dysfunctional death penalty system in the country even though permanent imprisonment is cheaper and no less effective. We pay over $380 million every year to lock up more than 1,600 young people in youth prisons, even though local programs like Sonoma County's Restorative Resources are cheaper and more effective.

The Youth Promise Act is Congressional legislation that could help turn our youth corrections system around. House bill H.R.1064 and companion Senate bill S.435 would provide funding to local community councils to spend on effective programs that reduce youth crime, violence and incarceration. This bill has remarkable bipartisan support as well as endorsement by officials and organizations concerned with law enforcement, civil rights, education, and the U.S. Congress of Mayors. The knowledge about effective rehabilitation programs exists. It's a crime not to use it to save lives and taxpayer dollars.

To learn more about the Youth PROMISE act and send your Representative and Senators a letter asking for their support, visit Change.org and sign the e-mail petition.

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Aim4Peace - A Program to Help Stem Inner-City Violence

Amidst the non-stop media reminders that we live in a violent society, every once in awhile comes a story that offers an amount of hope. One such story is about the work of a group called Aim4Peace in Kansas City, Missouri. Aim4Peace recruits and trains ex-convicts and puts them to work to prevent future convicts. The street-savvy Aim4Peace "violence interrupters" are charged with identifying hot spots in the most violent neighborhoods and defusing the situation before violence can erupt.

By their own count, Aim4Peace mediators have been able to resolve 22 potentially-violent conflicts in 2008, and at least 14 so far in 2009. The Kansas City police department is crediting Aim4Peace with reducing violence in the East Side to the point where it no longer is the most violent area of the city. According to Maj. Anthony Ell, commander of the Kansas City Police Department's violent crimes division,

"The work they're doing in that area is having an impact."

The Aim4Peace program is modeled along the lines of Chicago's CeaseFire project, which sends former gang members and ex-convicts to the streets to stop violence before it starts. The program is rooted in the theory that violence is a public health concern akin to diseases or viruses.

Dr. Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist who founded CeaseFire, said training people to control violence is no different from teaching them to control tuberculosis or AIDS. Says Dr. Slutkin:

"Violence behaves like every other epidemic does. One event leads to another just like every other epidemic."

Of course, programs like Aim4Peace and CeaseFire require funding to sustain their positive impact. In these difficult economic times where municipalities are cutting budgets, proactive pro-peace programs are at greater risk of being cut. This makes it even more important to pass federal legislation such as H.R. 1064 - the Youth PROMISE act - to help get the most at-risk communities the funding they need to keep programs like Aim4Peace alive. Visit Change.org to learn more about H.R. 1064 and send a letter to your elected officials urging their support of the Youth PROMISE act.

Congratulations to the forward thinking leadership in Kansas City and to the people of Aim4Peace for their outstanding success!

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Youth PROMISE Act Close to Reality - 228 cosponsors!

The grassroots campaign to garner support for H.R. 1064 - the Youth PROMISE act - continues to build momentum. The number of co-sponsors has risen dramatically since the bill was first introduced in February, climbing to 228 cosponsors as of this writing. This total includes 18 Republicans, so even Conservatives recognize the value of evidence-based programs that are tailored to meet the needs of local environments to address the root causes of youth violence. Dealing with the root issues at the front end will save a lot of tax money compared to dealing with the after effects of violence.

On July 15, there was a hearing on H.R. 1064 in the Crime Subcommittee (part of the House Judiciary committee). Several expert witnesses spoke in favor of the legislation and offered detailed explanation about why we have every reason to expect the approaches offered by the Youth PROMISE act will be effective at reducing violence where other legislation has failed. You can read a summary account of the hearing on DoPeace, the social networking site for peacebuilding activists.

Because of the extensive bipartisan support for H.R. 1064, and because of the positive hearing in the Crime subcommittee, it looks like the next step for the bill is to get a recommendation from the Judiciary committee and then to the House floor for a vote. This will likely occur after the summer recess, so look forward to more activity in the fall. It a very exciting time for the grassroots!

If you haven't already done so, please visit Change.org to learn about the Youth PROMISE bill and to send a letter to your elected officials asking for their support. The more support we can get going into the Fall legislative session, the more likely H.R. 1064 will become law in the 111th Congress!

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Declaration of Independence from Violence

On this day in 1776, our country's forefathers declared independence from the tyranny of the British monarchy and launched this shining example of democracy. However, somewhere along the way, the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" has morphed into a society based on violence and a winner-take-all mentality. The history of our democracy is filled with one tragic period of war followed by another, with all-too-brief interludes to reload. When school children are taught about our nation's history, the focus is mainly on learning about our glorious wars. Isn't this telling our children that violence is the best, if not only, means to resolve our differences?

Certainly, if we look at the fact that the U.S. has by far the largest per capita incarceration rate in the world, one might conclude that a large portion of our population missed the part in school about how your pursuit of happiness cannot infringe on mine. But wait! That presumes that there is a teaching in school about how to live peacefully with each other! Some schools may have such a curriculum, but most do not. We teach are kids the three R's, but leave out the most important "R" - rightdoing.

So where should people learn a sense of right-and-wrong and how to be civil if not in school? Some people will learn this in their religious communities, but they are also likely to learn about "us vs. them" and the concepts of "just war" and punishment for sinning. Many will argue that children should learn how to get along from their parents. But what about children whose parents are abusive? Those children will learn how to bully to get their way or how to be submissive, and the cycle of violence continues.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the violence. Several years ago, on the eve of the second invasion of Iraq, I pulled my head out of the sand and became painfully aware of the level to which violence has spread throughout our culture. I cannot go back to ignoring it, so I'm compelled to do something about it. This Independence Day, I renew my personal Declaration of Indepence from Violence, maintaining that all people are created equal and endowed with the unalienable right to live peacefully with neighbors, both domestic and foreign.


Signed,

Violence B. Gawn

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