Department of Peace - Ideas for Change in America

Peacemaking in Urban Baltimore

Published February 19, 2009 @ 09:18AM PT

Tony_Wilson_Peacemaker The Baltimore Sun on Sunday, Feb. 15, had a front page article titled "Peacemaker". It's about a seasoned ex-gang member who is talking to inner city youth to tell them about his experiences, explaining what he would have done differently, and encouraging them to make life-affirming choices. The story contains a lot of good information about what works and what doesn't work when trying to discuss this topic with desperate young men and women who feel they have few choices. Street credibility is a big plus, as is maintaining obvious distance from police and political influence. This is the sort of thing a U.S. Department of Peace would help research and fund to take full advantage of the humanitarian spirit that people like "Black" (Tony Wilson) bring to our troubled communities.

The story also mentions Devon Scarborough, who wants to stay out of street/drug life and contribute to society, but he's having difficulty finding anyone to listen to his business plan and provide funding to get him started. We need government and/or NGO services to help people like Mr. Scarborough get going in the right direction. The return on investment would be priceless.

What can you do to help make this type of story a commonplace event more than an anomaly?

Write to your Representative and Senators and ask them to co-sponsor HR 808 to create a US Department of Peace. Check out The Peace Alliance for more information and tools for contacting elected officials.

Talk with your local city council about enacting a resolution supporting HR 808 and the creation of a US Department of Peace. The Peace Alliance also has tools and templates to help with this.

Join a local group to start lobbying your Representative to co-sponsor HR 808.

Comments (4)

Department of Peace Legislation Introduced in the House

by Ted Nunn

Published February 16, 2009 @ 03:38PM PT

HR 808 - legislation to establish a U.S. Department of Peace - was reintroduced into the U.S. House of Representatives on February 3, 2009, by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH-10) with 62 Congressional cosponsors. Two additional cosponsors signed on after introduction, bringing the total number of supporters to 65.

This bill has some small but exciting changes from the previous version. For example, it calls for $10 billion dollars to fund the Department, with 85 percent of funds designated to reduce and prevent violence here in the United States. You can read the entire bill on The Peace Alliance website.

Now is one of our strongest opportunities to raise awareness and gain support for the bill. Please contact your Member of Congress today.

If your Representative is already a cosponsor, please thank him or her and encourage them to contact other members of Congress and enroll their support. If your Representative is not yet a cosponsor, please encourage him or her to sign on to this vital piece of legislation. A list of current cosponsors is available on the Peace Alliance website.

Lastly, please make plans now to attend the 2009 Department of Peace Conference in D.C. on March 20-23. You will learn all you need to know about HR 808 and grassroots lobbying. On March 23, we will all be visiting our Representatives and Senators on Capital Hill and encouraging them to champion the Department of Peace legislation. I hope to see you there!

Comments (1)

Establish a Dept. of Peace

by Kathy Kidd

Published February 04, 2009 @ 12:33PM PT

Being in partnership with Change.org and experiencing the depth of their passion for providing a voice for everyone, will go down in the history of our grassroots movement as one of our highlights. Gratitude to everyone at Change.org for the forum they have provided for all of us and for the many connections this forum has allowed and will continue to provide. Gratitude not only for the platform this provides for the movement for a cabinet-level Department of Peace, but also for the many other issues that are finding their voice and their supporters. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.

What do we mean when we speak about a Department of Peace and what is the Peace Alliance and the Student Peace Alliance? The Peace Alliance and Student Peace Alliance are a nonpartisan, non-profit organization whose mission is to empower civic activism for a culture of peace. We currently are fulfilling our mission by supporting the legislation (HR 808) for a cabinet-level Department of Peace. We are very excited to be having our National Conference in Washington D.C. March 20-23, 2009 during this new session of Congress. If you were one of the people who voted for the Department of Peace, your voice is needed now! Come to Washington D.C. for our National Conference. We want 1000 people on Capitol Hill on Monday March 23 to walk the halls of Congress and have our voices heard. Find out more at www.thepeacealliance.org or www.studentpeacealliance.org

Comments (23)

About Department of Peace

With the establishment of a Department of Peace and Non-Violence, with a respected Secretary of Peace in the President's Cabinet, and a program to reduce violence in cities, nations, and even in our homes, we will all benefit from the growth of a culture of peace. View idea ».

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