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Home  Media Press Clippings Long Island Press Article
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Taking Steps To Create A Peace Department
April Jimenez -
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09/14/2006 4:11 pm
From Miss America contestants to people blowing out birthday candles to observers of shooting stars, there are many who wish for world peace—and then chalk it up to just that, a wish. Now, a Sea Cliff-based organization, Long Islanders for a Department of Peace (LIFDP), is taking that hope to the next level and doing what it can to make that wish a reality.
LIFDP is part of The Peace Alliance, a national nonprofit bipartisan citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace (DoP). The concept, one which well-respected former newscaster Walter Cronkite says has "considerable appeal," was first proposed by Ohio congressman and presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich in 2003. A bill now before both houses of Congress (House Resolution 3760 and Senate 1756) would expand current problem-solving techniques and provide nonviolent solutions to domestic and international discord. The bill has 75 sponsors in the House and two in the Senate.
Advocates expect that this cabinet-level peace department would address issues such as domestic abuse, child abuse, gang violence and prison reform, as well as take preventative measures to deal with foreign conflicts. But don't confuse these peaceful hopefuls with protesters, or even antiwar supporters.
"It's important that people know we are not against going to war, and we are not antimilitary. War should be used as the last resort, after all peaceful avenues have been exhausted," says Brian Mannix, a social studies teacher at Great Neck South Middle School and a member of LIFDP.
If a DoP were created, it would include a Secretary of Peace, similar to the Secretary of Defense. The secretary would advise the president on local and foreign affairs.
"It is time to create an infrastructure for peace that will focus on the principles of nonviolence and cooperation," said The Peace Alliance's Executive Director Dot Maver, who addressed the United Nations in April. "I'd love to see the U.S. lead the global community in this endeavor. A Department of Peace would send a powerful proclamation to Americans and the world that the United States intends to use its great strength to participate in peace."
Establishing a DoP in this country would break new ground in that it would be the first department formed since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in January 2003. The DoP would create and administer a U.S. Peace Academy, offering a four-year degree program for civilians to learn how to mediate nonviolently, master conflict communications skills and augment the way our defense system deals with confrontation. The program would be on par with military academies, says Peace Alliance spokesperson Matt Harris.
"We have wars on everything—drugs, poverty, even our language is infused with violence. It's sad we can't take positive steps to achieve peace," says Mannix, who, for years, has been using nonviolent mediation techniques with his students.
Long Islanders will soon be taking giant steps toward making their wish for peace come true—about 3 miles of them. The march for a peace department will take place on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. at Carpenter Park in Sea Cliff. Across the rest of the country, walkers will gather to push for their common goals: raising funds as well as awareness. At 9:30 a.m., supporters State Assemb. Charles Lavine [D-Glen Cove] and Liz Graydon, a West Hempstead district team leader for New Yorkers for a Department of Peace, will speak to the crowd about the history of the bill. There is no registration fee for the march. Participants can sign up online beforehand at www.longislandersforadepartmentofpeace.org, or register at 9 a.m. on the morning of the walk.
Advocates have their own reasons for getting involved in this effort. Mannix, for one, worries about his kid's future in a war-torn environment.
"I am concerned for all of our children's futures. I complain about the situation, but you can only do that if you take action. If you want to talk the talk, then you've got to walk the walk," he says. And, on Saturday, that is literally what he will be doing.
For more information about the 5K Walk for Peace or the Department of Peace, visit www.thepeacealliance.org.
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