All Dad Wanted Was Just A Little Peace

Washington, DC. For Father's Day, hundreds of dads across the country said all they wanted was a little peace-and they didn't mean the kind where the kids are quiet so dad can watch his favorite sports show. This Father's Day, these dads wanted an unusual gift - a letter to the editor of their local paper discussing the importance of HR 808, legislation in the House of Representatives that will create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence.

The idea to write letters to the editor originated with the Student Peace Alliance (SPA), an organization active on 30 campuses from Massachusetts to California. "As students," said Aaron Voldman, Director of the Student Peace Alliance, "we are all too aware that the roots of violence were planted a long time ago and today we bear witness to the impact. We are determined to be part of the solution by calling for a Department of Peace that will address the root causes of violence. And so we are calling for bold action to educate the community about the Department of Peace."

Coordinating the Father's Day Campaign with SPA was The Peace Alliance, the nonprofit nonpartisan organization leading the grassroots effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace. The campaign has citizen activists in all 50 states, many of whom participated along with the students in writing letters to the editor.

One was Gay Montague of the Central New Yorkers for a Department of Peace, whose letter was printed in her local paper under the caption, "A Father's Day Gift Even a Mother Would Love," encouraging readers to write to politicians and ask that they give "the gift of peace."

"What do fathers REALLY want for Father's Day?" Montague's letter begins. "The answer to this question applies to mothers and others, also. They want a peaceful environment in which to live, to build community and to raise their families. They want safe schools, safe streets, a safe place to work and to play. The concept of creating safe spaces through the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace is currently working its way through Congress in bill HR 808. ...Encourage our legislators, Rep. James Walsh, Sen. Hilary Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer to support this resolution to give dads, mothers and others the gift of peace."

Domestically, the Department of Peace will research, propose and facilitate practical, field-tested solutions to reduce conflict, providing financial and institutional heft to strengthen and complement our current efforts to deal with all forms of domestic discord and violence. It will promote and facilitate the education of students in grades K-12 on how to resolve conflict nonviolently through peer mediation, and provide for training in alternative dispute resolution techniques and nonviolent communication skills.

Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the most innovative techniques to establish and promote peace among nations, and will research and analyze the root causes of war to help prevent conflicts from escalating to the point of violence.

It will create a Peace Academy, on par with the Military Service Academies, to build a world-class faculty of peacebuilding experts, many of whom currently live in the United States. They will analyze peacebuilding at the highest level, advise other branches of government, and expand the training of civilian and military peacekeepers.

HR 808 currently has 67 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. To find out if your Representative is a supporter, visit The Peace Alliance website at www.thepeacealliance.org and look under "The Legislation."

For information about the HR 808 and the campaign, please visit www.thepeacealliance.org or the Student Peace Alliance website at www.studentpeacealliance.org.

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