Rachel Maddow "raised an eyebrow" about the Dept of Peace recently. If you feel called to write to her and ask her to take a serious look at our movement, please do so.

At very beginning of her show, she was saying how the Unites States Institute of Peace was a good idea, saying "it's not like Dennis Kucinich's Dept. of Peace, which wants to take over the Pentagon." She was kind of rolling her eyes.

Here is the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28568029


Terry Mason, State Co-Coordinator supporting the SoCal area, wrote this letter to Rachel Maddow. You may find some good talking points here, and possible answers to some objections you encounter.

Please feel free to write your own to Rachel@msnbc.com -- short or long -- to encourage her to look at this idea, investigate the truth, and speak out. She could become a terrific advocate!
_________________________________________

Hi,
First, let me say I'm a huge fan, my husband is a huge fan, many of our friends are huge fans. I've even got my 78-year old mother-in-law watching, and she is now a huge fan. Huge.

In your recent story about Afghanistan, you misrepresented the concept of a Department of Peace as one that would replace the Pentagon. Nothing could be further from the truth. The USIP has terrific value -- but the idea of a Department of Peace presents a different scope.

The idea is that a Secretary of Peace would work with the State Department, Defense Department, Justice Department, Department of Education -- all related cabinet-level positions -- to work together to explore alternate responses to violence or the threat of violence when it occurs. It would not replace the Pentagon. It would work with the Pentagon.

Look at it this way: if I get hit by a truck, and am hemorrhaging, call 911 and get me to the ER. That's the Pentagon. But if I am diagnosed with cancer, I may want to explore alternatives to the treatment. I want to talk with the oncologist, and possibly the surgeon. But I may also want to explore accupunture, energy healers, nutrition, and support groups, all of which may have a positive effect. I want to explore the options, research them, and determine my best path forward. That's the approach that would include a Department of Peace in the mix. In certain circumstances, our decision may be to utilize military force. But wouldn't it be smart to explore alternatives, and possibly find another approach that would be effective without the cost of war?

Right now, there is no voice at the table to propose alternatives to our traditional responses to violence. Clearly, our traditional responses are not working, given the increase of violence in our society.

Consider just a few facts:
- The cost of Corrections is up 585% from 1982 to 2004 - building prisons is the single largest urban industry in our country
- 12 children in the US lose their lives to gun violence every day in the US. If you take 25 first world countries -- England, Germany, Japan, etc. -- and add up all their numbers together, then multiply that number by 10, that's what we have in the United States
- Youth suicide rates are 10 times higher in the US than in other industrialized nations
- A woman is beaten by her partner or former partner every 15 seconds
- The World Health organization estimates the cost of interpersonal violence, excluding the cost of war, at $300 Billion annually
- As to war, in the 20th century an estimated 191 million people lost their lives due to armed conflict; well over half were civilians
- Overall, more than 1.6 million of the world's citizens lose their lives each year due to violence.

We are at an all systems breakdown, and we need an all systems response.

An institutional platform is needed for the peace-building community that exists, but is underfunded, under supported and under publicized. Throughout the country, there are countless programs and projects working to ameliorate the effects of violence, with proven and practical methods to effectively treat the root causes of violence.

We can either continue reacting to violence after it occurs, or we can get serious about proactively preventing violence in the first place.
- 20 years ago, health insurance companies didn't pay for preventive care. They've learned -- we all have -- that preventing illness is far more effective and less expensive than treating illness after it occurs
- My husband, Paul, says it's as if we're living alongside a beautiful river, and pollution keeps on flowing down into our river. We are expending tremendous resources cleaning out the river, cleaning the water, and removing the pollution. But we're not sending anyone upstream to find out where the pollution is coming from -- wouldn't that make more sense?

8th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates created a charter for a world without violence, citing violence as a preventable disease. The charter states: To address all forms of violence we encourage scientific research in the fields of human interaction and dialogue, and we invite participation from the academic, scientific and religious communities to aid us in the transition to non-violent, and non-killing societies.

The bill before the U.S. House of Representatives, HR 808 in the 110th session of Congress, is to establish a United States Department of Peace. This historic measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

Is this a new idea? No. It was first introduced in 1792 by Benjamin Banaker and Benjamin Rush, both Republicans. That concept was a lot different than the current one, but the idea has been brought forth many times over history. Between 1955 and 1968 similar legislation was submitted to Congress over 85 times.

Why another governmental structure? We need an institutional platform to set the intention and be dedicated to building and creating a more peaceful and safe society. In the 1960's President Kennedy said we'd be on the moon in 10 years. At the time, that seemed like a pretty fantastic idea. In fact, the science existed, but it wasn't coordinated. Based on his stated intention, and the leadership behind it, NASA was created -- and we were on the moon in 10 years. What better intention could we set today than to leave the world safer for future generations?

Is it an idealistic vision? The first abolitionist had no reason to believe that abolition was possible. Any real social change is not brought about because it seemed possible at the time. From the abolition of slavery, to women's suffrage, to the civil rights movement of the 1960's, social change occurs when citizens come to a critical mass and clearly direct the elected leaders to make a change. I submit to you that peace -- the proactive, practical intention to create and build a safe, secure and peaceful world in which to live -- is the issue of our time.

Peace is not just the opposite of war or the absence of violence.
 
Peace is practical. Peace is the only sustainable option. It must be a conscious choice, of conscious and active citizens.

Check it out at www.thepeacealliance.org. Wendy Greene is the Managing Director of the Peace Alliance, and Lynn McMullen is the Executive Director. Robert Koehler of Tribune Media has written several pieces supporting the creation of a Department of Peace. Any of these people or many others would be terrific guests to explore this with you. We're having our national conference in Washington DC March 20-23, when 1000 volunteers attending from all 50 states, including members of our Student Peace Alliance, will be lobbying our members of Congress. Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun when 80+ people from California show up at Senator Boxer's and Senator Feinstein's office!

Here are links to two promotional videos that Paul created for the campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxCfs4l15EY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My6BF8GZM2g&feature=related

Thanks for your show, and for your intelligent yet humorous approach to keeping us abreast of what's going on in the world.

in appreciation,

Terry Mason
State co-coordinator, Los Angeles, Valley and Santa Barbara areas
Day: 818.981.3319; Cel: 818.687.2942
Volunteers for the Department of Peace and Nonviolence campaign
Local: www.DoPeaceSoCal.org - National: www.thepeacealliance.org