If you're not involved in the movement, you probably have little chance of finding out about it, up until now. The plan is either intentionally or accidentally not being reported on in the media. Even if you look for it at the Library of Congress via THOMAS you can't find it under the reported resolution number, HR 808. I just found out about it when I visited the site of the political magazine City Journal. There's an article (The Peace Racket) posted on the site about this proposal and the ideology behind it, that should frighten any rational human being.
We need to make two points about this movement at the outset. First, it's opposed to every value that the West stands for-liberty, free markets, individualism-and it despises America, the supreme symbol and defender of those values. Second, we're talking not about a bunch of naive Quakers but about a movement of savvy, ambitious professionals that is already comfortably ensconced at the United Nations, in the European Union, and in many nongovernmental organizations.Whenever dealing with movements like this (liberal or conservative), I try to connect the dots -- find out who is ultimately pulling the strings. As the anti-Vietnam War movement can be ultimately traced back to the Communists, so these new peace groups can be tracked back not to our friends, but our enemies. And why not? It's worked to our enemies' benefit in the past - might as well use the same formula again. To anyone who doubts this, I suggest they read Propaganda Redux by Ion Mihai Pacepa in the Wall Street Journal. The author helped run the Western anti-Vietnam War movement from Communist Romania before he defected. Then Google his name -- he's written quite a bit on his previous exploits, not that you'd find any of it published in the New York Times.
I get very nervous about resolutions creating new Cabinet positions, with more than 60 co-sponsors, that don't get media attention. You should as well.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. A source of frequent frustration lately is the amount of important items being left out of the American Public's discourse over these past months. HR 676, HR333, HR808, especially. These things are very important. The media barely even touched on the "Hot Fuel" topic - that should have had Americans outraged, understanding that Canadians pay a fair price for their gas Winter, Summer, Spring, and Fall while Americans lose billions of dollars due to temperature-technicalities. Please wake me up when the media does.
Sanjay Seth at 10:00PM on Aug 20th 2007
2. Forget about a department of peace. We need more of that old philosophy of "peace through strength" in our leadership. The type of strength that stops the attackers from even testing us.
Steve Bonomo at 11:34PM on Aug 20th 2007
3. This legislation was covered on CNN a year or so ago. Since you're blogging about this it's understandable that objectivity is not necessarily required, but it would be beneficial to your readers. There are times when peace just stands for peace, and the people advocating it as a movement do so because they believe - much like they did in the civil rights and womens' rights movements - that there are better ways to address and prevent violence, achieve equality, and to organize our societies.
It "should frighten any rational human being" to think that there aren't real people out there who want to reduce or put an end to all forms of violence, and who are willing to work practically to see that come to happen. It seems like you're implying the entire movement is a conspiracy meant to acheive the opposite of its stated goal. I think it's beneficial to consider that possibility, but it might be more beneficial to consider it from the opposite angle.
Paul at 6:28PM on Aug 21st 2007
4. We Americans are plagued with fears about not being good enough, not doing it right, not having the right answers. When we make mistakes, we blame and attack others instead of seeing the opportunity to learn. In attempting to divert attention from our low self-esteem we only make it worse. We become helpless, angry victims. This leads to violence that is both interpersonal and systemic, and our reputation around the globe is one of the most violent of nations. We have a cultural disease, an epidemic of violence carried by the virus of disrespect.
We who are very ill with our victim stance are unable to consider other possibilities for solving problems. We have a deep, paranoid cynicism about alternative conflict resolution methods. We deny the expensive and wasteful consequences of violence through false pride and bravado. This allows the cycle of violence to continue. We create, enable and sanction violent criminals, or we ourselves become criminal. We are not a free country. We have the largest percentage of our population in prison of any nation.
We are all in a prison of our own making. Violent thoughts, words and deeds, coming from the desire to be right, build the walls of solitary confinement. Do we want to be right, or do we want to belong to the human race? It’s time to admit our violence is out of control, heal our broken hearts, and seek reconciliation. Do we respect ourselves enough to do this? Do we feel capable and worthy, as our Constitution says, of a “more perfect Union, [to] establish Justice, [and] insure domestic Tranquility?”
The only way to recover our self-respect is to act our way into a new way of thinking. We need to realize that cooperation and mutual respect are better strategies for security and survival than competition and mutual destruction, and we can get to that realization by testing its truth on the real world.
If one actually reads the bill (HR808), one may discover that it is a proactive measure to create the conditions for the resolution of conflict through communication, real communication, empathetic communication, not the kind of talking-at-people-in-order-to-win that is the hallmark of people with low self-esteem.
When this Department is able to teach our children, our parents, our teachers, our gang members, our prisoners, our police and military, our politicians and diplomats, and our corporate boards that having power WITH others is far more creative and effective than having power OVER others, we will begin to see the crisis of violence in our nation and our world subside. We will see conflict resolution skills developed into a high art at all levels, and the funds that are now being consumed in vast amounts to deal with interpersonal and systemic violence crises will be available for the healthy growth and development of children, the true security and prosperity of adults -- worldwide!
The genius that is needed to ensure the survival of the human species through the mass extinction event that is in progress right now will not emerge until we give it the space to be. Genius does not emerge in a critical, competitive environment. Genius requires respect from within and without, and is the product of an entire society. In the last 40 years, the science of communication and conflict resolution has been tested and validated. It now needs the funding and coordination of a national mission to develop these skills throughout America, top to bottom, side to side.
Then, maybe just then, we can start feeling good about ourselves again.
David Hazen at 10:06PM on Aug 21st 2007
5. What a curious blog entry about the Dept of Peace legislation!
First, information about HR 808 is easily available on THOMAS, here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h808:
I have been involved in the Dept of Peace movement for about a year. In my experience, the organizers and supporters of this legislation are ordinary American citizens, crossing political boundaries. Some supporters come from liberal backgrounds, some from conservative backgrounds, including policemen, teachers, doctors, parents, students...American citizens from all walks of life, who care enough about the costs of violence in America to get civically engaged, visiting their Representative's and Senator's offices. This is American democracy in action.
It is also a goal of the Dept of Peace campaign to get media attention for this movement through radio and TV interviews, public events and letter writing campaigns. (So, thank-you, your blog is helpful.) It is important to give accurate information to people about the money that can be saved by preventing violence. Just like promoting healthy lifestyles - implementing proven effective violence prevention programs will save both people's lives and taxpayer's dollars. HR 808 is fiscally responsible legislation that will increase the day-to-day security of American citizens.
Please read more here: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/77/118/
Patty at 9:46PM on Aug 22nd 2007
6. The irony about your fear regarding new resolutions and cabinet positions that are actually being brought forward in due process by the people of this country vs. the arbitrary enactment of say a "department of homeland security" operating at such covert levels with absolute authority might be interesting to consider more thoroughly. Considering this reactionary new arm of government and cabinet posting (homeland security) resulted overnight from a 13 year old dust collected shelf policy should certainly raise more concerns than exercising the right of being an American and making requests from our government under the process in which our laws were designed and where
we actually become responsible for our actions. There have been only two efforts by the citizenery of this country that has established significant change. The rights and liberty of African Americans
and right for women to vote. So you must prepare yourself for the next establishment of a governmental arm and cabinet position since this grass roots effort is being brought by the people and for the people of this country to effect change forever. Remember you heard it clearly here a U.S. Department of Peace and a Secretary of Peace.
Rick Gutierrez at 12:35AM on Aug 23rd 2007
7. A subversive Department of Peace? My goodness! I do think that is a stretch. I am a 67 year old woman, raised three children, worked three jobs, at one point,and as I was reading this blog, from someone who seems very much against it becoming a reality, I am non plussed.
I was talking to a friend the other day, and mentioning to her how I found a group locally who are working towards having a Department of Peace implimented. I mentioned to her how I thought, now
who could possibly be against a Department of Peace?
Isn't this something that everybody would choose?
And, lo and behold, I came home tonight to an e-mail about this blog. And I still say, who could possibly be against peace???
Doesn't every single mother, father, husband, wife, child passionately want their loved one who is involved with the military presence representing the United States, anywhere in the world, to come home - safely, and whole?
The idea of peace is not unique, or new. It is, however,I believe, a concept worth exploring in depth, and trying it out on a National basis.
I believe we have evolved beyond sticks and stones, bullets, knives and guns, bombs -
I imagine the reality of a world that honors difference, encourages communioation in the presence of conflict, giving someone the opportunity to express unique ideas, and seeing the manifestation of a real and lasting peace - even in the face of conflict.
I believe with all my heart and soul, that this can be. I am a United States citizen, a patriot, and a believer in Good, in God, in love, and in Peace. dolores dempsey
dolores dempsey at 1:00AM on Aug 23rd 2007
8. How can we not have a Department of Peace?
I believe the next US president would love to have someone in their cabinet that offers up peaceful solutions to the problems plaguing our country and our world.
The problems facing our nation with the military-industrial complex and the prison-industrial complex are devastating our families, our communities, our country and the world.
The current Administration instituted "Homeland Security" which is a blast from the past (Nazi Germany), which has kept the world in fear, chaos and has taken away our civil rights with the Patriot act 1 and 2
Peace takes courage, its not Fought with Sticks or stones or bombs....its won with compassion, understanding and Love.
What if we where giving the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan food, clothing, electricity, compassion and love, Do you think they would welcome us? I do, instead, we bomb them, raid their homes, kill their children and steal their natural resources all for the military-industrial complex. Not to mention we have opened torture prisons.
How many more have to die so Halliburton can turn a profit? How much longer does this planet need to be devastated to turn a profit for Unocal? How many more American youth need to join gangs and live an awful life in prison for the Prison - Industrial system?
Your Question is absurd...Do we really need a Department of Peace? Your Question should be more "How can we not have a Department of Peace?
This country is paying the consequences of NOT having a Department of peace.
Peace is a journey and this nation must start this journey. We can lead this journey and this bill is a start.
Co-State Coordinator for a U.S. Department of Peace, New Mexico
Jodee Oyas at 1:47PM on Aug 23rd 2007
9. Do we really need a Department of Peace? Yes. Our primary response to violence – responding to it – is ineffective, inadequate, and not the best use of our taxpayer dollars. Violence in this country is increasing. The latest FBI Crime Statistics Report indicated Americans suffered nearly 1.4 million violent crimes, (and that’s just what was reported). The WHO estimates that we spend from $300 - $500 billion per year responding to violence, excluding war costs. That’s a trillion dollars every 2 to 3 years. And that’s just the money. The millions and millions of lives that are forever altered or lost is a cost that should be intolerable to the world’s only superpower.
The Department of Peace will lead a national, strategically focused and multi-faceted approach to reducing and preventing violence. It will coordinate and expand existing programs that are statistically proven to reduce and prevent violence. The Department will also research, analyze and recommend strategies to deal with the underlying causes of violence to reduce the likelihood of bloodshed. It will give our children the necessary skills to resolve conflict before someone gets hurt. And we would get all this and much more for a mere $8 billion per year. That’s a bargain by any definition.
The legislation, HR 808, contrary to the article, has indeed been in the media. Local press has been quite prolific, covering television, radio, newspaper and internet. There have also been recent articles in The Boston Globe and The Seattle Times, as well as a great 10-minute story on NPR about one small town’s unfounded fears about HR 808. Wisconsin Public Radio followed the NPR story with an hour-long program on the legislation and movement. You can read and hear these and other stories at our website, www.thepeacealliance.org.
I encourage all readers of this post to check out HR 808 and the growing grassroots movement supporting it. Read the bill (www.thepeacealliance.org), it’s only about a dozen pages long, and then you decide if a Department of Peace is where you want your tax dollars spent. My dad used to say, “The time’s going to go by anyway; you might as well be doing something worthwhile.” Well, we can all agree that preventing violence is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. So join us as we work to make violence history. To find local contact information in your state, visit our website at www.thepeacealliance.org.
Patty Kuderer
National Communications Director
The Peace Alliance
Patty Kuderer at 3:47PM on Aug 23rd 2007
10. I find it fascinating that the City Journal article espouses that to desire a peaceful society is equivalent to the destruction of freedom. Peaceful society, according to this source, is equivalent to communist oppression. So our definitions are, apparently, quite different.
The problem is that, as a society, we've become numb to the violence. Do you know that 12 kids die every single day due to gun violence? Do you know that 1/3 of our kids will flirt with joining a gang? Do you know that building prisons is the single largest urban industry in our country, and that many prisons are extremely overcrowded, which may result in shortened sentences? Do you know that a woman is beaten by her partner or former partner once every 15 seconds?
These numbers cross socio-economic and racial boundaries -- they exist in our society, across the board. And they do not create freedom – in fact, these indicators suggest that our free society so much less than it can be.
Setting aside the international issues for the moment, the level of domestic violence that exists in our country is growing at a rate that is simply unsustainable. Our historic method of addressing violence is to treat it after it erupts -- punish the criminal after the crime has been committed, wait until the gun goes off and then address the shooter. We have learned in how we handle medical treatment of the value of preventive care, and how major eruptions can be stemmed at the root cause -- insurance companies now support preventive care where once they did not.
This legislation presents a practical and concrete approach to preventing violence at the root cause. It's getting publicity at every possible place. Perhaps it's not getting enough to have caught this audience's attention because we are so numb to the violence we don't even see it as an issue. I submit that this is the issue of our time.
As to the lack of publicity, check NPR, Wisconsin Public Radio, the Boston Globe, Seattle Times. Al Martinez of the LA Times and Robert Koehler of the Tribune. There has been a lot of publicity on this legislation. HR 808 is found in THOMAS – not sure why Mr. Casey wasn’t successful there.
Terry Mason at 4:51PM on Aug 23rd 2007
11. Department of Peace? This concept was initially introduced by the original founders of our Country. They had the sense to realize that if we have a Department of War (as it has always been called), we need the checks & balances of a Department of Peace. The United States currently ranks #1 among industrialized nations as the most violent of them all. In my own city, we recently had a young man choose to take his rage out on the public with a hand gun, killing & wounding several innocent people.
I'm not naive enough to think that simply creating a cabinet level Department will suddenly cause a nation to stop the madness. But I've never seen another option that could potentially start to turn the tide of this growing violence epidemic.
As a mother & nana, I have nothing else that is more important to work on. Just like the Women's Suffrage movement that took 70 years to pass & gave women the right to vote, just like the Civil rights movement that took decades to accomplish & gave rights to All Americans, this movement will not go away.
There is a growing group of committed people across our country who say that as far as we're concerned, it's not a matter of IF we get a Department of Peace, but WHEN. We will no longer sit by & watch the nation we love lead the world in domestic & international violence. The time is now to give Peace the institutional heft it needs by establishing a Cabinet level Department of Peace.
Julianne at 2:34PM on Aug 24th 2007