I don’t know if former Congressional Representative Dennis Kucinich was the first person to introduce the idea of a Department of Peace into the Congress, but I know he did it often. And when he was campaigning for president, he was thoughtful, powerful and peaceful in presenting his ideas.
Just last Friday, with Dennis gone from government, Representative Barbara Lee of California introduced legislation into the Congress to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding. It’s very similar to legislation introduced by Dennis, and the bill number is the same – H.R. 808!
The Peace Alliance, a national organization based in D.C., asks for support and says: Imagine: a national where peacebuilding has a voice and a choice in the U.S. cabinet — where key policy decisions are discussed and prioritized.
One good reason to support it is that violence is costly. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, violence containment costs the U.S. around $2.16 trillion dollars a year. Just think what a country we could build if we had that kind of money to spend on communities, schools and joy.
Let’s hold the Department of Peacebuilding up and see it manifesting in the here and now. Wow!