POLITICS OF PEACE

U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence
Peace Alliance

The idea of a governmental peace department in the U.S. dates back to the time of George Washington. In 1783, Washington warned in his “Sentiments on a Peace Establishment” that “a large Army in time of Peace hath ever been considered dangerous to the liberties of a Country.”

Dr. Benjamin Rush, physician, educator, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, proposed in 1792 the establishment of a “Peace Office” to be on equal footing with the “War Office” (now known as the Department of Defense), which would be a government department dedicated to promoting peace in order to maintain the greater welfare of the country.

Fast forward to February 2007, when HR 808 was re-introduced to the U.S. Congress as the “Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act.” The legislation, first introduced in 2005 by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, would establish a cabinet-level secretariat dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are “conducive to both domestic and international peace.”

The new legislation outlines a rational for a peace department as follows:

During the course of the 20th century, more than 100,000,000 people perished in wars, and now, at the dawn of the 21st century, violence seems to be an overarching theme in the world, encompassing personal, group, national, and international conflict, extending to the production of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction which have been developed for use on land, air, sea, and in space.

Albert Einstein said, “We will not solve all the problems of the world from the same level we were at when we created them.” A new century demands new thinking. In addition to military and political tools, all approaches to the cessation of violence must include psychological and spiritual tools if the approach is to succeed.

A national movement to support the Department of Peace legislation is led by the not-for-profit Peace Alliance, with grass-roots representation in more than 275 Congressional districts. Sixty-five members of Congress are co-sponsors of the bill with Rep. Kucinich, and twenty-six U.S. municipalities have endorsed HR 808 as of October, 2007.

Establishment of a Department of Peace does not negate the need for domestic and international security. Americans have the right to expect all means possible to be employed in the defense of their homes and children. Domestic violence, street crime, terrorism and international conflict will be a reality in the foreseeable future. A strong defensive posture at home and abroad are a necessity in the modern world.

The underlying purpose for a Department of Peace and Nonviolence is to create a permanent interaction between the traditional “peacekeeping” machinery and the mechanism of nonviolent resolution at all levels.

For more information about the national movement to establish a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence, visit http://www.peacealliance.org.