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Reflections on the Annual Department of Peace Conference, September 10-12, 2005

By Pat Simon of Waltham
In the press to reach our nation's capitol, in the stress of loose ends left behind, imagine the relief, the utter joy, found in a gathering of some 500 from across the nation and other lands, to plan for waging peace! Dot Maver, Executive Director of The Peace Alliance and Foundation, in welcoming the third Annual Conference for a Dept of Peace, said "We're holding the earth in a new way!" Marianne Williamson, Chair of the Board and host of the Conference, called upon the "angels of our better nature" as citizens, as did Abraham Lincoln, to bring spiritual principles to our politics and to demand, of the next presidential candidates, that their first act be to establish a cabinet level Dept. of Peace!

Feeling blessed to share with so many, a common dream - a shift, in our country, to non-violent solutions to conflict, we heard speakers describe the many projects for peace, a foundation for our work. Jan Hartke told of his father, former Senator Vance Hartke, who submitted legislation for a DoP in 1969, which had bi-partisan support. We were urged to "rouse the nation", to "go to the Hill", and pull us back from the brink.

It was hoped, by Conference leaders, that the weekend would bring a deeper understanding of the legislation to be re-introduced by Dennis Kucinich in the House on Sept. 14th. As we listened to panelists describe community programs already in place across the country, which are teaching and modeling mediation of conflict and dispute resolution, we realized that these and other tested programs would be expanded and funded by a Dept. of Peace!

One such project is the Community Conferencing Center in Baltimore, MD. Founder and Director, Lauren Abramson, PhD, noted that "our society doesn't let its souls meet, anymore"¦neighborhoods have vanished." But in Baltimore, where many city homes are attached to form "row houses", neighbors began to gather to talk about a juvenile's harmful behavior, and included him/her in the discussion. Everyone got to speak about what happened, how each felt, and what they would all like to happen. This grew into an organized social service which holds people accountable for their behavior, allows those affected to be included in deciding outcomes, is an alternate to suspension in schools, and gives families opportunity to identify their own needs and gain access to community- based resources. Recidivism rates are 60% lower for youth who participated in a community conference when compared with comparable juvenile justice cases. The cost is one-tenth the cost of criminal disciplinary practices.

On Monday morning, inspired and supported and trained for lobbying, conferees "took to The Hill." The Massachusetts tribe visited five Congressmen's offices, made passionate pleas for co-sponsoring of the bill to establish a Cabinet level Department, to bring peace to the table of power in D.C. - a new kind of support for our president, a new direction for our country, and a new image in the world.

By Kim Richlin of Wellesley
As a first-timer to the Peace Conference in DC, I really didn't know what to expect. Would everyone be tree-huggers? As I grabbed a seat for the first presentation, I looked around the room. There were people from all over. I looked closely at some name tags. New Jersey. Wisconsin. Lots of people from California. There were mothers and fathers with their children. Older women. Younger men. Different people from different backgrounds. But, all had come for one common cause: to support Peace. Of all the speakers, I think that Azim Khamisa stood out the most. His son had been killed by a 14 year old gang member. And, instead of being angry at the man who killed his son, he embraced him. He embraced his son's murderer and has lobbied for his release from jail. He has formed a friendship and bond with the grandfather of the boy who killed his son. Together, these two men from very different backgrounds, travel the country in the name of educating children against violence. Mr. Khamisa strongly believes in the Department of Peace and shared with the conference members that nothing is more important. Nothing is more important. And, to me, that said it all.

By Andrea Loretz-Frey of Everett
In my life, I can attest that there have been profound experiences where words were simply not sufficient in adequately expressing the incredible hope, joy, sense of renewed energy, or love that I have shared with others. The Department of Peace conference I attended in Washington, D.C. this September 2005, was one such experience.

Attending this conference with many other individuals, whose desire for greater Peace was as great a desire as mine, caused for me a much more profound experience. The collective, active participation of us all gathering for this conference, from all over the country and those from other countries as well, by its own experience - created greater Peace in our communities, our states, our nation, and our world. There were countless examples in conversations with each other and throughout lectures presented at the conference, where we witnessed Peace very active, alive and flourishing everyday in many corners of our world!

It was apparent to me throughout this conference, that the question was no longer, "How can we have Peace ?" but rather, "How can we spread the practices of Peaceful resolution already working and share more readily with others; that they too can bear witness to the awareness that: Peace is happening and it IS continually possible for us ALL?"

I will never forget the incredible experience with so many wonderful people carrying Hope and Joy. I will never forget the synchronicities that took place, pushing us to move forward with courage. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to share the desire and action in helping to renew Hope. Renewing Hope for greater Peace and recounting experiences and programs that are examples bearing witness to Peace - for our communities AND those in government, gave me great pride and Joy - and will forever!

By Nancy Wiesner of Waltham
It was a joy to meet with over 500 like-minded, inspired Americans from just about every state who were committed to establishing a cabinet-level DoP in our government. Highlights for me were discovering how useful a combination of respectful listening, finding common ground and dialogue can be in solving people problems at every level of our society. We were reminded that it will be necessary for democrats and republicans to learn how to talk with one another. I have been practicing this at home! I will be attending a workshop called "The Power of Dialogue" at Public Conversations Project in Watertown in October. I also appreciated the opportunity to visit the offices of several of our congressmen and lobby for the DoP bill, reintroduced in the House on Sept. 14, 2005, by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Overall, I loved experiencing all of this adventure with my Massachusetts traveling companions!

By Barbara Walker of Concord
Being at the peace conference was wonderful. It was great to see so many people, almost 500. There was so much spirit, and the possibility of having a Department of Peace someday is very hopeful. The talk between Walter Cronkite and Dennis Kucinich was a great dialogue. I'm looking forward to next year's conference.

By Jason White of Acton
As someone who is new to political activism, the Department of Peace conference was an unforgettable lesson on the power of the American people. After two days of honing our purpose, inspiring our spirits and practicing our lobbying skills, we took our message straight to the heart of the federal government. In a brazen exercise of fundamental and rightful American political power, the Massachusetts delegation of Pat Simon, Andrea Loretz-Frey, Nancy Wiesner, Barbara Walker and myself walked to Capital Hill to call upon the offices of our elected officials. While we only had appointments scheduled with two of our congressmen's aides, we were undeterred from marching into the offices of five Massachusetts congressmen and those of both senators.

We were greeted amiably and had good discussions with staffers. The discussion must continue. Through discussion we will create the future we know is possible. The Department of Peace is only a certain number of conversations away from becoming reality.

Barbara Marx Hubbard, philosopher, futurist and one of the many great speakers at the conference, is right on when she says that we are entering a phase of conscious evolution. Our species is unique in our ability to choose to follow our creative, generative impulses or our destructive, degenerative impulses. It has never been clearer how great an effect this choice has on how we perceive the future and how events unfold in the present. Ms. Hubbard asserts that our realization of conscious evolution, and the clash of evolution versus devolution, is the greatest news story of our age. The campaign to establish the Department of Peace embodies our work for evolution.

Strategy

Legislation to establish a Department of Peace and Non-Violence reintroduced by Dennis Kucinich on September 14 (HR 3760) has been referred to four committees. It is important that we call the MA Representatives who serve on these committees: Meehan (Judiciary), Tierney (Education and the Workforce), Lynch (Government Reform), and Delahunt (International Relations). Ask them to help to move the legislation to the floor of the House for a vote. Also, let's ask Congressmen Olver and McGovern to call the Committee Chairs and the minority leaders of these committees (Conyers, Judiciary, and Miller, Education, who are co-sponsors of the bill), to get the legislation to the House floor. Even though it will be a "no" vote, it will begin to get attention with our help.

To foster this growth within the state of Massachusetts we are calling upon all of you to take action now and repeatedly. Any amount of commitment is okay. But as you have read the above accounts, some commitment to a peaceful future is essential.

Please read the following list of actions you can take to get involved. The list starts with simple actions and moves toward greater commitment. Consider what level of action you would like to undertake. Do what you are good at. Please send feedback to Pat Simon or Jason White, letting us know of your progress so that we may report on it and recognize your contributions.

1. Mention the Department of Peace campaign to friends, colleagues, family, neighbors and/or the person next to you on the T, and give them the Peace Alliance website address (http://www.thepeacealliance.org).
2. Keep a few flyers with you (ask us for sources for these) and hand them out to the above people.
3. Ask to post flyers at your place of worship, your school, your favorite café or grocery store, or other public places.
4. Ask to have an information table during a social event at your place of worship, school etc.
5. Call your congressman's and senators' offices to tell them that you support the Department of Peace legislation and urge them to do the same.
6. Hold a meeting with your friends, colleagues, family and/or neighbors to discuss the Department of Peace. Ask us for videos you can show and other ideas for what to do at meetings.
7. Carry a Department of Peace banner or sign at a rally, demonstration or other public gathering.
8. Schedule a meeting with your congressman and senators to discuss the Department of Peace legislation and urge them to support it.
9. Bring a resolution of support of the Department of Peace before your city/town government.
10. Become a city/town or regional coordinator to help your congressional district coordinator organize and activate in your area. We are currently working on the goals and action plan for the next year leading up to the 2006 elections. We will report on that in the next newsletter.

The Al Filipov Peace and Justice Forum

Al Filipov, a Concord resident, was on American Airlines flight 11 on September 11, 2001. In his honor his family has created the Al Filipov Peace and Justice Forum. The forum hosts distinguished speakers on peace and justice. The forum on September 17, 2005 at the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Concord featured Rev. Dr. David Smock, Director of Religion and Peacemaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Dr. Smock spoke of the many great peacemaking projects being carried out by the institute. Many of the projects featured bringing religious leaders together from conflicting denominations to discuss and peacefully resolve their differences.

When asked about his stance on the institute being folded into the Department of Peace, Dr. Smock said that he would welcome it, but that others in the institute were less accepting. Dr. Smock described the U.S. Institute of Peace as a $17 million a year, 100 person operation. Clearly the institute's work, which has demonstrated excellent results on a small scale, would benefit from greater funding enabling it to scale up to handle the large issues that military engagement has been unsuccessful at resolving.

U.S. Senate Lobby

This section is a new and very welcome addition to our newsletter! S.1756, the senate version of the bill to create a U.S. Department of Peace, was introduced by Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota on September 22, 2005. This is a great moment and a big breakthrough for our campaign! It is now crucial that we begin lobbying Senators Kennedy and Kerry to support the legislation. This section of the newsletter will cover our efforts to do that.

Our strategy will be to leverage the energy and talent of our congressional district 1 and 3 supporters to lobby the senators. While it is still important to spread awareness at the grassroots level in those districts, they do not have to expend effort lobbying their congressmen since Olver and McGovern are already co-sponsors of the House bill. Their effort can be put into keeping the pressure on the senators instead.

Our delegation at the Department of Peace conference visited the offices of Senators Kennedy and Kerry while in D.C. Kennedy aide Derrick Nayo was quite receptive to our visit and our discussion. The aide in Senator Kerry's office was also quite receptive. We left information and a promise that we would follow up soon and often.

While leaving the senate office building we bumped into Senator Kennedy, who had just stepped out of the Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Roberts. He greeted us warmly, but did not have time to talk.

U.S. Congressional Lobby

District 1
Congressman John Olver has been a co-sponsor of the Department of Peace legislation since it was first introduced in 2001. However, community outreach needs to be done to educate citizens about the bill and the facilities it would create. In addition, organizing many calls to Senators Kennedy and Kerry, to ask that they co-sponsor the new Senate bill, S. 1756, could make a difference!

District 2
Susan Lantz reports that Congressman Neal continues to brush them off, especially as they are in Norhthampton, so she is looking for support in other District 2 towns. She is asking 10 people on a given day to call the Congressman. She will be organizing calls to the Senators now, as well, for support of the new Senate bill.

District 3
Congressman Jim McGovern is already a co-sponsor of the bill, but again, community outreach is needed. Judith Torian can be contacted for information about efforts to educate about the bill and the campaign.

District 4
Coordinator needed.

We're looking for information about any Department of Peace campaign-related activities in district 4. Also, if you know anyone who would like to participate in the campaign in any capacity in district 4, please contact Pat Simon. Kim Richlin of Wellesley attended the Department of Peace conference. See her summary on the first page of this newsletter. We hope to hear more from Kim.

The Massachusetts delegation at the Department of Peace conference visited Congressman Barney Frank's office on Capitol Hill. It was an unscheduled visit, but Pilar Falo, a legislative assistant, received us and we had a good 15-minute conversation. Ms. Falo was very receptive and we felt that close follow up with Congressman Frank's office might produce results fairly quickly.

District 5
Linda has been following up with Congressman Meehan's office locally. She is also attempting to identify city/town and regional leaders to help organize the effort in district 5. Please contact Linda to learn how you can help.

Jason White, Barbara Walker and Bill Deignan attended the Department of Peace conference. Our delegation met with Heather Silber, a legislative aide to Congressman Marty Meehan. Ms. Silber was receptive to our discussion. Her questions centered around the cost of the Department of Peace and about how the agencies that would be folded into the department would feel about that (see article above about the Al Filipov Peace and Justice forum with Dr. David Smock, director at the U.S. Institute of Peace). We have followed up with Ms. Silber and are requesting a meeting with Congressman Meehan. We are confident that we can persuade Mr. Meehan to co-sponsor the bill, but we must keep up the pressure.

District 6
Claire Ritchie has written a Letter to the Editor at the Salem Times. She reports that there has been intensive signature-gathering in Marblehead, in which Tom Gale has been active.

District 7
Andrea, Nancy, and Pat of District 7, and comrades from other MA districts, enjoyed a lengthy discussion with Jeff Duncan of Congresman Edward Markey's Staff. We felt quite strong support from him for a Department of Peace, especially when we praised Markey's initiative in the Nuclear Weapons Freeze movement in the 80's. He reminisced about all the talks with Freeze workers in Cambridge, and went on to cite the history of the congressman's work to support the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and his efforts against renewal of Nuclear weapons development.

District 8
Coordinator needed.

On September 19, 2005, Cambridge became the second city in Massachusetts to pass a resolution of support of the Department of Peace legislation. As we pass resolutions in more cities and town, we will create a political mandate that will be impossible for our congressmen and senators to ignore. We have gained a powerful ally in Vice Mayor Marjorie Decker. In October, we will approach Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, as well as some Boston City Council members, about sponsoring city resolutions. We are searching for a coordinator in this district, which includes Cambridge, Somerville and parts of Boston. We are certain that there are many supporters in district 8, and we need help in getting activities organized there.

Inez Benichasa (Inez.b@earthlink.net) is a regional coordinator in Somerville who, in speaking with Congressman Michael Capuano's aide, was told that he had not yet read the bill. Inez has now sent HR-3760 information to that office. Suzy Pearce, of Cambridge, is assisting in arranging a meeting on Oct. 8, to plan a visit to Congressman Capuano's office. Marjorie Decker, who has sent the Resolution adopted by the Cambridge City Council to Mr. Capuano, will accompany other District 8 people on that visit.

District 9
Ellie Pechet attended the Department of Peace conference. We enjoyed meeting her and look forward to working with her in this campaign.

Pat Simon and Jason White gave a talk and Q&A on the Department of Peace at the Lyceum at First Parish in Needham on September 18th. Many thanks to the minister there, John Buehrens, for this opportunity. And thanks to Linda Davis for arranging that connection with the Rev. Buehrens, for he has become a strong supporter of a Department of Peace. We should have a video of the event available soon for those who are interested.

District 10
The 10th congressional district group met with Congressman William Delahunt's aide on Sept. 26th and again requested that he sign on to the Department of Peace legislation, and an invitation for the briefing on the Resolution, which took place in the capitol building after the bill was reintroduced, was sent to his office. It is not known if the aide or anyone from his office attended.

In Closing

We've learned that Jimmy Tingle, the political comedian who so generously gave a benefit performance of "The American Dream" for the Department of Peace Campaign in late June, now has an open-ended run of the show in his Off-Broadway theater in Somerville. For those who missed the benefit, it is well worth the trek into Davis Square for an evening of howling laughter! For free parking and other information: http://www.jtoffbroadway.com.

It is important that we hear from you. What are your thoughts on the Department of Peace? Let us together find ways to make this a reality. Email or call Pat Simon or Jason White using the contact information on the letterhead. November newsletter submissions about local Department of Peace activities are welcome from all. Please submit to Pat or Jason by Halloween.

We leave you with a quote. Many thanks for all you do. We hope to hear from you soon and often!

In Peace,

Pat Simon & Jason White
State Co-coordinators
http://www.propeace.net/madop

"Nothing is more important. Nothing is more important. Nothing is More important."
-Azim Khamisa in closing his remarks, at the Annual Conference for a Department of Peace

Links and References

• Abramson, Lauren: Community Conferencing Center, http://www.realjustice.org/library/cccbaltimore.html
• Cambridge City Council, http://www.cambridgema.gov/ccouncil.cfm
• Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, http://www.ctbto.org
• Cronkite, Walter, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite, conversation with Dennis Kucinich, http://tinyurl.com/8b47g
• Dayton, Senator Mark, http://dayton.senate.gov
• Filipov, Al Peace and Justice Forum, http://www.alfilipov.org
• First Parish in Needham, http://www.uuneedham.org
• Hartke, Jan, http://tinyurl.com/9avfd
• Hartke, Senator Vance, http://tinyurl.com/aee26
• Hubbard, Barbara Marx, http://www.evolve.org
• Khamisa, Azim, Tariq Khamisa Foundation, http://www.tkf.org
• Kucinich, Congressman Dennis, http://www.kucinich.us, conversation with Walter Cronkite, http://tinyurl.com/8b47g
• Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/WMD/treaty
• Nuclear Weapons Freeze, http://tinyurl.com/bjnru
• Peace Alliance, The, http://www.thepeacealliance.org
• Public Conversations Project, http://www.publicconversations.org
• Trinitarian Congregational Church in Concord, http://www.triconchurch.org
• U.S. Institute of Peace, http://www.usip.org
• Williamson, Marianne, http://www.marianne.com