Peace Navy Parade of Boats for Peace to Parallel US Navy’s Parade of Ships of War

We are out on the Bay in our small boats to emphasize that there is an alternative to military solutions. If the U.S. uses its great institutions and its enormous resources to create a just world, terrorists will find no recruits and tyrants will fall. Our actions are an expression of our love for our country and our respect for all humanity.

The Peace Navy was formed in response to what we believe is an inappropriate emphasis on military hardware rather than human needs and peaceful solutions.We believe that being a world leader requires the US to set an example by its humanitarian behavior not by its military strength. For example, the $10 billion cost of ONE proposed nuclear destroyer could be used instead to provide clean drinking water for every person on earth. The goodwill this action would create throughout the world would make us far safer than an addition to our already overwhelming military arsenal.

We support the valiant men and women in our armed forces and their important work. We therefore do not want to place them in harms way for any but the highest purposes—to maintain peace and defend all peoples against violence. We ask them to do this only when all other peaceful options have been exhausted. We reject the corporate greed that is overwhelming many of our cherished political institutions.

The U.S. already has more military might than all other nations of the world combined. Our $500 billion annual military budget is ten times that of any other country. Rather than glorify our might, we challenge our leaders to use this power in the service of creating a just world. We object to the environmental degradation created by excessive armaments. We object to neglect of human needs in favor of unnecessary military spending. We believe that we will best achieve our national goals through the powerful example of our democratic institutions, rather than through global domination.