U.S. Dept. of Peace: A long overdue idea

In the violent times in which we live, it may seem an anachronism to continue advocating for a Department of Peace, but that’s just what the Peace Alliance does. The project was originally launched in D.C. in 2003. Its friends in the U.S. Congress, Barbara Lee and Dennis Kucinich among them, have been pushing legislation to establish such a department. A new bill is expected to be introduced into the 110th Congress on February 5. Unfortunately, it has little chance of passing.

Meanwhile, anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and a host of world leaders have been urging countries to adopt the Gandhian model of nonviolent struggle. “His philosophy contributed in no small measure to bringing about a peaceful transformation in South Africa and in healing the destructive human divisions that had been spawned by the abhorrent practice of apartheid,” former South African President Mandela said at a conference in New Delhi that marked the anniversary of the beginning of Mahatma Gandhi’s successful nonviolent movement against 300 years of British colonial rule.

It’s encouraging to hear that the idea of “satyagraha” or nonviolent struggle is alive and well. Even though the mainstream press is not touting Mandela’s call (I found it at Truthout.org), it’s encouraging that a leader of his stature is still a believer in not fighting fire with fire. It’s easy to dismiss Gandhi’s work as simply the product of one particular place and moment in time. It would never work today, I can hear the critics say.

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