A Department of Peace by Jim Ramelis

All thoughts and ideas are ultimately based on love or fear. All the world's great religions teach love, but so few of us operate out of the love mind set. Some people even find words like love or peace, displeasing, upsetting, and irritating. Those who speak of peace in a dog eat dog world are called impractical dreamers.

Yet at some level, we all understand that our society and our world have to stop operating out of fear. We all know at some level of consciousness that something is wrong. We know there must be a better way.

There is a movement to establish a U. S. cabinet level Department of Peace. This Department would address and study peaceful and non-violent solutions to problems ranging from school yard bullying, domestic violence, prison violence and our ever expanding correctional system, gang violence and the violence that occurs on a global international scale. It would be a Department just like the Department of Defense, Treasury, Agriculture, etc. It would ask for 1% of the budget. The bill to establish the department is H.R. 808 and is before the House now. It will probably be re-introduced in the next Congress.

It is time for the next step in human evolution. We have to stop killing and hurting each other. Ours is a culture of fear and violence, as are some other countries in the world. The other countries that are fear based usually aren't Western style democracies, though. They are third world dictatorships.

We are the world's leader in so many things, let's be the world's leader on non-violent solutions to problems. Let us have a Peace Academy that trains peace leaders just as we have Military Academies that train military leaders. The Academy would be part of the Department of Peace. After 4 years of attending the Peace Academy, the graduates would have an obligation to serve in peace keeping roles after graduation.

Now is the time to start developing a culture of peace and non-violent solution making as opposed to a culture of violence of fear and harsh reactive measures to deal with our problems. Let's be proactive. Support the movement to establish a cabinet level Department of Peace. For more information visit www.ThePeaceAlliance.org