News
This week, on July 2, there will be a parade for “Peace and Prosperity” as the formal beginning of the Grass Valley downtown market. Surely this is a cause we can all support; citizens and groups in the community are invited to join in the parade and celebration. You'll see the “U.S. Department of Peace” group in the parade and you might (rightly) wonder what in the world that means.
H.R. 808 is a bill currently before the U. S. House of Representatives to create a cabinet-level department that would concern itself with effective means to peaceful solutions of conflict, a U.S. Department of Peace.
Peace. What a concept. Nearly everyone longs for peace and yet it seems so elusive that many give up and conclude that war and violence are inevitable and seek only to figure out the best way to wage war. But what would happen if we, as a nation, put even a small portion of the money, energy and commitment into being ready and learning the best ways to create peace in a situation of conflict as we commit to being ready for war?
In spite of prayers, in spite of threats, in spite loss of so many lives of combatants and innocent civilians in various wars including the “war to end all war,” and in spite of the signing of the United Nations Charter 64 years ago on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco (with a goal of peaceful end to conflict), we seem to have learned only how to kill and maim more people more efficiently and little about the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Violence is not only an issue of wars between nations. Sadly, we experience violence and the threat of violence within our own good old U.S.A. — in our communities, neighborhoods, and even within families.
This violence is not only physically and emotionally painful — it is expensive. Evidence shows that programs that prevent violence saves money and boosts the economy and well-being of communities.
Try this quiz regarding some of the issues related to issues of peace in the U.S. (answers below):
1. Who said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Ronald Reagan
c) Cesar Chavez
d) John F. Kennedy
2. Who first proposed a U.S. Department of Peace?
a) Rep. Dennis Kucinich, in 2001
b) Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 1792
c) Sen. Matthew Neely of WV, 1935
d) Sen. Hubert Humphrey of MN, in 1960
e) Sen. Vance Hartke, in 1969
3. How many congressional co-sponsors are signed on to the current U.S. Department of Peace legislation?
a) 4
b) 15
c) 27
d) 71
e) 98
4. The U.S. youth homicide rate is higher than other leading industrial nations by what factor?
a) 2 times higher
b) 3 times higher
c) 5 times higher
d) 10 times higher
5. According to the World Health Organization, the cost of (non-war-related) interpersonal violence in the U.S. in 2004 was estimated at how much?
a) $30 million
b) $300 million
c) $3 billion
d) $30 billion
e) $300 billion
There is much that has been learned about resolving conflict peacefully, if only we have the wisdom and commitment to do so.
Peace is not a sectarian issue. Whether we are conscientious objectors or war veterans, Democrats or Republicans, executive officers or farm laborers, young or old, all of us have a stake in living a prosperous, safe and nonviolent life.
Some of us believe that many years of war have proven that war and violence are not the answer. But even those (like my own father and so many others) who served in wars they considered just and necessary can agree that finding another way to solve disagreements would be far better, especially in a world of advanced and nuclear technology.
Let us put our heads and our hearts together to find those other ways. As Albert Einstein is reported to have said, “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
More information about The U.S. Department of Peace is available on the Web site of the U.S. Peace Alliance (www.thepeacealliance.org).
Better yet, see you at the Peace and Prosperity Parade on July 2. The parade begins at 6:45 p.m. Line up at 6 p.m. Join us afterwards at The Peace Center, located just up from the Center for the Arts, at 316 W. Main Street. Simply follow the sound of rhythmic drummers, and relax on the porch with us.
H.R. 808 is a bill currently before the U. S. House of Representatives to create a cabinet-level department that would concern itself with effective means to peaceful solutions of conflict, a U.S. Department of Peace.
Peace. What a concept. Nearly everyone longs for peace and yet it seems so elusive that many give up and conclude that war and violence are inevitable and seek only to figure out the best way to wage war. But what would happen if we, as a nation, put even a small portion of the money, energy and commitment into being ready and learning the best ways to create peace in a situation of conflict as we commit to being ready for war?
In spite of prayers, in spite of threats, in spite loss of so many lives of combatants and innocent civilians in various wars including the “war to end all war,” and in spite of the signing of the United Nations Charter 64 years ago on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco (with a goal of peaceful end to conflict), we seem to have learned only how to kill and maim more people more efficiently and little about the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Violence is not only an issue of wars between nations. Sadly, we experience violence and the threat of violence within our own good old U.S.A. — in our communities, neighborhoods, and even within families.
This violence is not only physically and emotionally painful — it is expensive. Evidence shows that programs that prevent violence saves money and boosts the economy and well-being of communities.
Try this quiz regarding some of the issues related to issues of peace in the U.S. (answers below):
1. Who said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Ronald Reagan
c) Cesar Chavez
d) John F. Kennedy
2. Who first proposed a U.S. Department of Peace?
a) Rep. Dennis Kucinich, in 2001
b) Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 1792
c) Sen. Matthew Neely of WV, 1935
d) Sen. Hubert Humphrey of MN, in 1960
e) Sen. Vance Hartke, in 1969
3. How many congressional co-sponsors are signed on to the current U.S. Department of Peace legislation?
a) 4
b) 15
c) 27
d) 71
e) 98
4. The U.S. youth homicide rate is higher than other leading industrial nations by what factor?
a) 2 times higher
b) 3 times higher
c) 5 times higher
d) 10 times higher
5. According to the World Health Organization, the cost of (non-war-related) interpersonal violence in the U.S. in 2004 was estimated at how much?
a) $30 million
b) $300 million
c) $3 billion
d) $30 billion
e) $300 billion
There is much that has been learned about resolving conflict peacefully, if only we have the wisdom and commitment to do so.
Peace is not a sectarian issue. Whether we are conscientious objectors or war veterans, Democrats or Republicans, executive officers or farm laborers, young or old, all of us have a stake in living a prosperous, safe and nonviolent life.
Some of us believe that many years of war have proven that war and violence are not the answer. But even those (like my own father and so many others) who served in wars they considered just and necessary can agree that finding another way to solve disagreements would be far better, especially in a world of advanced and nuclear technology.
Let us put our heads and our hearts together to find those other ways. As Albert Einstein is reported to have said, “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
More information about The U.S. Department of Peace is available on the Web site of the U.S. Peace Alliance (www.thepeacealliance.org).
Better yet, see you at the Peace and Prosperity Parade on July 2. The parade begins at 6:45 p.m. Line up at 6 p.m. Join us afterwards at The Peace Center, located just up from the Center for the Arts, at 316 W. Main Street. Simply follow the sound of rhythmic drummers, and relax on the porch with us.
Answers to quiz
Some of these answers may surprise you.1. b) Ronald Reagan.
2. b) All are true, and there have been many others over the last 200 or so years. But the first was Dr. Benjamin Rush, a member of George Washington's cabinet, who proposed in 1792 that since there was a War Office in the government, there should also be a Peace Office.
3. d) There are currently 71 from 27 states, including the sponsor, Rep. Kucinich.
4. d) 10 times higher, according to the World Health Organization “World Report on Violence and Health,” 2002.
5. e) $300 billion, according to the WHO report, “The Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence”, 2004.
Carol Ann Jones lives in Big Oak Valley.
