Wage peace

In these times of increasingly negative political campaigning, it seems that almost everyone is focusing on the faults of their opponents rather than their own strengths and records.

Apparently, House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) sent an e-mail to the media and posted an alert on his Web site saying that, "While Republicans fight the War on Terror… House Democrats plot to establish a Department of Peace…" He is also actively fighting the Department of Peace legislation.

I'd like to clarify the issues he raises:

1. The Department of Peace (DoP) campaign is a transpartisan effort. There are plenty of Republicans working at the grassroots level along with Democrats.

2. The campaign for a Department of Peace is for peace and nonviolent solutions - it is not anti-war or anti-military. Proponents are quite aware that some situations cannot be resolved peacefully, as when irrational, suicidal terrorists are bent on destroying lives

However, through education on nonviolent communication and training on peace-building skills, we believe that a significant amount of the violence that is now escalating in our country and throughout the world could be eliminated. Incidentally, domestic, gang, and drug-related violence were the original targets of the DoP legislation, which predates 9/11.

3. Mr. Blunt says the DoP is expensive. It's significantly more expensive not to start being proactive on issues of violence. A recent World Health Organization report estimated the cost of interpersonal violence in the U.S. (excluding war related costs) at $300 billion a year. (The Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence, World Health Organization, 2004).

That's expensive!

With the high cost of violence right here in our United States, myself and the many other Montanans who support the campaign for a Department of Peace, believe we can't afford not to wage peace.

Sincerely,

Debi Strong