10 Platforms for Increasing the Peace
by Quixada Moore-Vissing
The global peace and justice movement today must collaborate and commit to working for peace at every social level. In this election season, during which political parties issue platforms for legislative action, here are ten platforms our movement should adopt:
- Strive for social justice. Poverty, crime, discrimination, environmental ruin, and social inequity are forms of violence. A. J. Muste believed “There is no way to peace — peace is the way,” and so we must commit to a holistically nonviolent lifestyle. War and violence are not accidental, but the logical outcome of thought and action.
- Support a national U.S. Department of Peace. Develop opportunities for young people to serve their country through nonviolent action. Put the money behind these programs to ensure that they are viable alternatives to military service.
- Address current tensions against groups like Muslims by studying historical models of how communities have moved past hate and fear of a targeted group. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the post-Reconstruction and post-civil rights movement periods in the United States, as well as post-Holocaust Germany and post-apartheid South Africa, as models of healing and reconciliation.
- Educate yourself about governmental decisions and business actions that limit information and chill freedom of speech. The January 2010 Supreme Court decision that corporations have no spending limit for endorsing political candidates threatens democracy and allows the wealthy to dictate the outcome of political campaigns. British Petroleum’s pollution has created environmental catastrophe as it continues to profit. Supporting capitalism does not mean allowing business to run democratic processes or ruin lives.
- Hold the media accountable for what they cover and how they spin news. Support policies that reduce centralized control of the mass media. Globally, a handful of corporations own most news media. Profit, not accuracy, often drives stories. Google and Verizon are working to undo our currently free Internet system so that Internet providers can limit and manipulate information. Freedom of a diverse press and support of media reform against the growth of corporate news is essential for an informed public.
- Utilize technologies like cell phones and the Internet to create new options for networking and organizing for peace, such as those described in Jeffrey Juris’s book Networking Futures.
- Bring definitions of “peace,” “liberal,” and “progress” back to their historical roots. The far Right has usurped these terms and disconnected them from their original meanings, which promoted the humanitarian treatment and concern for all individuals.
- Strengthen nonviolence education in K-12 schools and encourage higher education to integrate nonviolence into teacher education programs. The California State Polytechnic University at Pomona’s Ahimsa Center (www.csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter) is a model.
- Encourage faith leaders to educate congregations about our oneness as humans, and that all religions teach love, kindness, and generosity towards all.
- Recognize that aggression and hate against Muslims, immigrants, gays, and others stems from vulnerability and fear. Gandhi taught us to respect others and acknowledge all people’s truths, even when those truths are antithetical to our personal beliefs.
Quixada Moore-Vissing started her peace work as Fellowship of Reconciliation intern in 2002, and has worked with youth as a high school and college teacher for the past six years. She recently graduated with her masters’ degree from the University of Illinois’ department of communication, and was a teaching fellow at Cal Poly’s Ahimsa Center in 2007.
