| Oklahomans for Global Solutions |
| Envisioning a future in which people work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, establish a culture of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone. |
| "I salute the flag of the State of Oklahoma. Its symbols of peace unite all people." |
| This website is maintained by Bill Bryant, dba Small World Business Services ... Page created January 12, 2005. |
| The Woolly Rhino Hunters You know about the Woolly Rhinoceros, don’t you? They were fearsome creatures. They lived thousands of years ago, and they occupied a vast stretch of land from Europe to eastern Asia. They were big. They were fast. And they had a bad temper. … [MORE] You Might Be a World Federalist If... 10. You think it is perfectly plausible that Klingons and Vulcans would be able to live peaceably as part of a planetary federation, so why not the nations of Earth? 9. You admire the people of Switzerland, and not just because they make good watches. 8. You celebrated the 200th anniversary of the publication of Immanuel Kant's essay, "Toward Perpetual Peace." … [MORE] The Unconquerable World Jonathan Schell has written a hopeful book, “The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People.” …Schell describes how our world operates, in a political sense, on two basic types of power. One kind of power is coercive … Another kind of power is “cooperative power...” It is a power that manifests itself when people work together to achieve a common goal. … [MORE] Department of Peace By Dennis Kucinich The United States was founded on hope, optimism, and a commitment to freedom. We can once again become a beacon of hope for the world…. It is time to jettison our illusions and fears and to transform age-old challenges with new thinking. This is the idea behind my proposal to establish a Department of Peace. This is the idea to make nonviolence an organizing principle at home and abroad and dedicate ourselves to peaceful coexistence, consensus building, disarmament, and respect for international treaties. Violence and war are not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable…. [MORE] On World Democracy By Jim Stark At the height of the Cold War, in 1977, I founded “Operation Dismantle” in Canada. The organization spent years and a busload of money trying unsuccessfully to launch a global referendum on balanced and verifiable nuclear disarmament. On reflection, that goal was far too limited…, plus there was a showstopper, in that the only practical way of having any global referendum was for the governments of nations to conduct the world vote…. Now, a quarter century later, there is a new route around that showstopper, and there is no doubt what the question on the ballot must really be. That “new route” is the Internet, and the objective must be world democracy. ... [MORE] |
| Articles |
The Department of Peace
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
| More Resources on our Community Page ... Message Board ... Events Calendar ... Link to State & Local Groups |
Community Page
"Our goals are the same as those
of the U.N.'s founders, who sought
to replace a world at war with one
where the rule of law would
prevail, where human rights were
honored, where development
would blossom, where conflict
would give way to freedom from
violence."
–President Ronald Reagan
Address to the U.N. General
Assembly, Sept 26, 1983
of the U.N.'s founders, who sought
to replace a world at war with one
where the rule of law would
prevail, where human rights were
honored, where development
would blossom, where conflict
would give way to freedom from
violence."
–President Ronald Reagan
Address to the U.N. General
Assembly, Sept 26, 1983
From -- http://www.kucinich.us/issues/departmentpeace.php
The United States was founded on hope, optimism, and a commitment to
freedom. We can once again become a beacon of hope for the world. To
do that, we must reject the current administration's policies of fear,
suspicion, and preemptive war. It is time to jettison our illusions and
fears and to transform age-old challenges with new thinking. This is the
idea behind my proposal to establish a Department of Peace. This is the
idea to make nonviolence an organizing principle at home and abroad
and dedicate ourselves to peaceful coexistence, consensus building,
disarmament, and respect for international treaties. Violence and war are
not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable.
We can conceive of peace as not simply the absence of violence but the
presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of human awareness, of
respect, trust, and integrity. We can conceive of peace as a tool to tap
the infinite capabilities of humanity to transform consciousness and
conditions that impel or compel violence at a personal, group, or national
level toward creating understanding, compassion, and love. We can bring
forth new understandings where peace, not war, becomes inevitable. We
can move from wars to end all wars to peace to end all wars.
Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great cause to
establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the
transformation of our society, to make nonviolence an organizing
principle, to make war archaic through creating a paradigm shift in our
culture for human development for economic and political justice and for
violence control. Its work in violence control will be to support
disarmament, treaties, peaceful coexistence and peaceful consensus
building. Its focus on economic and political justice will examine and
enhance resource distribution, human and economic rights and
strengthen democratic values.
We must change the metaphor of our society from one of war to one of
peace. The Department of Defense now requires in excess of $400 billion
for its activities. A Department of Peace can be an effective
counterbalance, redirecting our national energies towards nonviolent
intervention, mediation, and conflict resolution on all matters of human
security.
A Department of Peace can look at the domestic issues that our society
faces and often ignores as we focus on matters internationally. We have
a problem with violence in our own society, and we need to look at it and
address it in a structured way. Domestically, the Department of Peace
would address violence in the home, spousal abuse, child abuse, gangs,
and police-community relations conflicts, and would work with individuals
and groups to achieve changes in attitudes that examine the mythologies
of cherished world views, such as "violence is inevitable" or "war is
inevitable." Thus, it will help with the discovery of new selves and new
paths toward peaceful consensus.
The Department of Peace will also address human development and the
unique concerns of women and children. It will envision and seek to
implement plans for peace education, not simply as a course of study,
but as a template for all pursuits of knowledge within formal educational
settings.
Americans have proven over and over again we're a nation that can rise
to the challenges of our times, because our people have that capacity.
And so, the concept of a Department of Peace is the vehicle by which we
express our belief that we have the capacity to evolve as a people, that
someday we could look back at this moment and understand that we
took the steps along the way to make war archaic.
Violence is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace
are inevitable. We can make of this world a gift of peace which will
confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives. We can send into the
future the gift which will protect our children from fear, from harm, from
destruction.
Congressman Kucinich is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. Former
recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez, A.J. Muste, Dr. Linus
Pauling, Dorothy Day, Sen. Wayne Morse and Marian Wright Edelman.
The United States was founded on hope, optimism, and a commitment to
freedom. We can once again become a beacon of hope for the world. To
do that, we must reject the current administration's policies of fear,
suspicion, and preemptive war. It is time to jettison our illusions and
fears and to transform age-old challenges with new thinking. This is the
idea behind my proposal to establish a Department of Peace. This is the
idea to make nonviolence an organizing principle at home and abroad
and dedicate ourselves to peaceful coexistence, consensus building,
disarmament, and respect for international treaties. Violence and war are
not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable.
We can conceive of peace as not simply the absence of violence but the
presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of human awareness, of
respect, trust, and integrity. We can conceive of peace as a tool to tap
the infinite capabilities of humanity to transform consciousness and
conditions that impel or compel violence at a personal, group, or national
level toward creating understanding, compassion, and love. We can bring
forth new understandings where peace, not war, becomes inevitable. We
can move from wars to end all wars to peace to end all wars.
Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great cause to
establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the
transformation of our society, to make nonviolence an organizing
principle, to make war archaic through creating a paradigm shift in our
culture for human development for economic and political justice and for
violence control. Its work in violence control will be to support
disarmament, treaties, peaceful coexistence and peaceful consensus
building. Its focus on economic and political justice will examine and
enhance resource distribution, human and economic rights and
strengthen democratic values.
We must change the metaphor of our society from one of war to one of
peace. The Department of Defense now requires in excess of $400 billion
for its activities. A Department of Peace can be an effective
counterbalance, redirecting our national energies towards nonviolent
intervention, mediation, and conflict resolution on all matters of human
security.
A Department of Peace can look at the domestic issues that our society
faces and often ignores as we focus on matters internationally. We have
a problem with violence in our own society, and we need to look at it and
address it in a structured way. Domestically, the Department of Peace
would address violence in the home, spousal abuse, child abuse, gangs,
and police-community relations conflicts, and would work with individuals
and groups to achieve changes in attitudes that examine the mythologies
of cherished world views, such as "violence is inevitable" or "war is
inevitable." Thus, it will help with the discovery of new selves and new
paths toward peaceful consensus.
The Department of Peace will also address human development and the
unique concerns of women and children. It will envision and seek to
implement plans for peace education, not simply as a course of study,
but as a template for all pursuits of knowledge within formal educational
settings.
Americans have proven over and over again we're a nation that can rise
to the challenges of our times, because our people have that capacity.
And so, the concept of a Department of Peace is the vehicle by which we
express our belief that we have the capacity to evolve as a people, that
someday we could look back at this moment and understand that we
took the steps along the way to make war archaic.
Violence is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace
are inevitable. We can make of this world a gift of peace which will
confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives. We can send into the
future the gift which will protect our children from fear, from harm, from
destruction.
Congressman Kucinich is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. Former
recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez, A.J. Muste, Dr. Linus
Pauling, Dorothy Day, Sen. Wayne Morse and Marian Wright Edelman.