A 'peace' of pie

By Rebecca Winchester
05/17/2006

Proclaiming a new era, four determined West Lawn and Wyomissing women and their preschool children honored Mother's Day on Monday, May 15, by delivering a 'Peace Pie' gift to Congressman Jim Gerlach's (PA-6) Wyomissing office.

"The thing that interested me the most about this is we need an institution that will embody our most cherished ideals," said West Lawn resident Carla Mannix, who in conjunction with women across the country, visited their U.S. congressional representatives and senators bearing pies that urged support for landmark legislation.

Gerlach's representatives were contacted but as of Westside Weekly's deadline they did not comment on the event.

A U.S. "Department of Peace" is what the women are hoping for. In the past four years, these mom-activists have been introducing the concept to lawmakers around the country. The immediate goal of the Peace Alliance is to build support for passage of The Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act (Senate Bill S1756, and House Bill 3760).

Mannix commented that the pie represents the $400-plus billion federal military budget, and that the amount required to pay for a Department of Peace constitutes a slice of the pie - two percent.

"As a superpower country, we should set an example for other countries to follow," Mannix noted. "Currently there are 63 congressional representatives and two senators that have co-sponsored the bill. The bills are virtually identical and are currently being discussed in committees."

The local grassroots group is coordinated nationally by the Peace Alliance, a nonprofit, transpartisan organization actively campaigning in all 50 states for a US Department of Peace. Visits to more than 150 congressional and senate offices were anticipated during the afternoon event.

If legislation is passed, according to Peace Alliance, the Department of Peace would:

* Research and analyze foreign policy and recommend to the President ways to address the root causes of war.

* A Peace Academy, like the military academies, would train civilian peacekeepers and the military in the latest nonviolent conflict resolution, techniques and approaches.

* The department would also provide expert advice to the President when diffusing or dealing with international crises.

Mannix stated how mothers around the world have long championed for peace. She explained how the desire for world peace inspired Julia Ward Howe, to dedicate Mother's Day to peace after living through the horrors of the U.S. Civil War. Howe, who penned the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," asked: "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?"

More than a 130 years later, the purpose of peace continues to spread throughout the nation on behalf of mothers everywhere.