Invitation to be part of the coalition for a National Peace Academy

[Bill Scheurer]

Beyond War has been invited to be part of a new coalition to advance and support formation of a National Peace Academy to take its place with the nation's military academies. Dot Maver from the Department of Peace Campaign is one of the moving forces in this new initiative. Is this something we want Beyond War to do, maybe through a new team? We can explore this together here.

[Dick Peterson]

I have long thought there needs to be a peace academy or some college or university that would teach peace as a undergraduate or graduate degree. I think Bill Ury in his book "The Third Side" has some wonderful concepts for conflict resolution - even among nations - which he has been very involved in.

[Janet Williams]

A Department of Peace and a Peace Academy would both be huge steps forward in creating a world beyond war. Yes, we should be part of the coalition.


Janet

[Dick Peterson]

I mentioned yesterday the book by Bill Ury. Are there any other models that someone knows about. Remember we must be peace with justice. The Soviet Union had peace but without justice and when it ceased to be then the countries where there was "peace" began to dissipate.

[Bill Scheurer]

This use of the word "peace" implies that peace is merely an absence of war. In fact, peace is a force more powerful than war. War is an absence of peace.

Exploring the power and meaning of peace is part of what it takes to grow a world beyond war. Peace is a presence, not an absence.

[Dick Peterson]

I tend to disagree with peace is the absence of war, that peace is a force. There is a "force" but there are disputes even in the best of societies and we have systems to solve the disputes. Further there are some who say there is a side of many who love war, who deep down want to send their sons and daughters off to be heroes in a great cause, like the crusades or the "holy" war in Iraq (according to our right wing friends) and until we get a handle on the "shadow" side of ourselves or society - we will continue to have war.

[Elaine Hallmark]

I appreciate this discussion very much. I have just completed participation in the national Peace and Justice Studies Association conference, which is the organization of all the peace studies programs in colleges around the US. There was quite a lively discussion of whether it is a good thing to support the Department of Peace and also the newly revived proposal for a Peace Academy. A number of thoughtful peace advocates think that supporting either would put the peace movement in the hands of the government, or would create concerns about who is deciding what is being taught or funded for peace studies and peace training. Others see it as a way to begin to divert some government dollars to peace. I understand the Peace Academy proposal is not yet clearly defined, but is envisioned by most to be a four year college that might compare to the military academies, but be focused on training peace workers.

I was impressed at this conference about the overall concept of building a culture of peace. I believe that is what we are about. I learned that there are several aspects to building a culture--including direct actions, values and systems. The Peace Academy and Dept. of Peace are part of the systems. We have been most focused on building the values. I certainly think there is a need for all. I am wondering if this might not be a good discussion for all of us at our annual meeting in March--to talk about what is Beyond War's role in building the culture of peace, and how do we go about doing it.

There is a United Nations resolution on the culture of peace, and it sets out 8 different components that all nations, ngos and others are asked to work on. It might be good for us to see which part of it we are willing to take on.

I am interested to hear what people think and to continue this conversation. In the meantime, I think it would be good for us to continue learning about the movement for both the Dept. of Peace and the Peace Academy.

Elaine