eNews Summer 2021

 

 

 

Check the Calendar of Events on the website for connection information for everything!

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our quarterly eNewsletter!

 

I have been reflecting a lot on the concept of re-imagining. We find ourselves in a moment of shift where manifesting how we want our society to behave, with regard to systems that support and defend those among us who need the most help, is within our grasp. How can we re-imagine this “New normal”??

 

At the Peace Alliance, we are having these deep conversations about how justice for everyone, especially Black, Brown, and Indiginous people, will transform this country into a space where peace can be felt by all. We must have the courage to admit when systems are not working, and the wisdom to include voices from all intersections of society as we re-imagine how this new space will come into being. 

 

Just a short time ago, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first US Department of Peace bill, introduced on July 11, 2001. While some may be frustrated by how long evolution can take, we are feeling a deep sense of renewed vigor because we know that a cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding will be the infrastructure we need to take the energy of this moment for re-birth and expand it into a functional system where all new policies around equity, balance, and repair can flourish. 

 

Won’t you partner with me on this journey? Please check out all that we are doing at The Peace Alliance, reflected in this eNewsletter and go to peacealliance.org to explore how you can be a part of this movement for re-imagining. 

 

It’s going to take all of us… Peace

 

 

 

 

This year is the 20th Anniversary of Department of Peace (DoP) legislation in Congress.  On July 11, 2001, then-Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D,OH) introduced the first modern-era DoP bill which he sponsored in every Congress through 2011.  Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D,CA) has introduced Department of Peacebuilding legislation in every Congress since 2013.  The DoP Campaign has been a part of this historic effort.  

 

We highlighted the DoP and peacebuilding with a series of calls/events:

 

September is a month of peace and celebration of International Day of Peace (Sept. 21).  It is also the month when we AMPLIFY our advocacy with members of Congress to promote DoP legislation (HR 1111).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Googling “reimagining the criminal justice system”, I came away encouraged and excited to share initiatives in the US currently addressing much-needed social and criminal justice reform.

 

 

“Today, there is widespread, bipartisan recognition that current incarceration levels are too high. And with high recidivism rates, few people agree that our criminal justice system is effective. But the growing momentum to reduce the number of people behind bars also provides a parallel—and as yet underutilized—opportunity to reexamine the purpose and goals of incarceration, and the values that underlie its use.

 

 

“The roots of mass incarceration in the United States lie in policies and practices that result in jail for millions of individuals charged with but not convicted of any crime and lengthy jail or prison sentences for those who are convicted. These policies and practices are the results of 50 years of efforts at criminal justice reform in response to the “War on Crime” and the “War on Drugs” that began in the 1970s—intended to improve public safety, curb drug abuse, and address perceived inequities in the justice system, these reforms also had unintended consequences that exacerbated disparities.

 

As the United States grapples with yet another iteration of calls for social and racial justice following multiple deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement, the time is ripe to develop and implement deep structural reforms that will increase fairness and ensure proportionate punishment without sacrificing public safety.”  

 

 

Square One is considering the fundamental issues of justice: poverty and racial inequality, violence and safety, criminalization and punishment, and a reexamination of traditional responses to crime. By looking in new places for more effective responses, we ask the question: if we could start at “square one,” how would justice policy be different?

 

It’s time to consider a fundamental reevaluation of justice policy and practice in this country.

Let’s reimagine how we create justice for all – especially in neighborhoods that suffer from injustice and that deserve public safety that works. The good news? The left, the right, and everyone in between agree we need this to happen – and now is the time.

 

 

 

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals impacted by the justice system faced nearly insurmountable barriers to accessing quality employment, education, physical and mental health supports, and more. As the nation responds to the public health crisis, it is more important than ever to advance economic justice for them and their communities. Without targeted actions, these barriers will only further preclude those impacted by the criminal justice system from accessing opportunity.

 

“In 2019, CLASP convened over 60 national, state, and local advocates, public systems leaders, policymakers, youth and young adults and other partners from a wide range of disciplines. These stakeholders bridged economic and criminal justice reform with an intentional focus on those who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system.”

 

 

 

 

 

Believing you cannot change a current circumstance, be it personal or political, engenders hopelessness. Think of something you believe will not change and imagine the change you want to see. Most of us imagine something we think is possible. Reimagine what you imagined. Reach further into your imagination and pull forth a grand impossible vision. 

 

We are attracted to dreams that hold expansive visions because we want to spend our precious time, not on something small, but on a grand idea. Malala Yousafzai has a mission that imagines all women and children educated, not just those in her village or her country. She wants to educate the world. Would you be as inspired if her vision was less magnificent?

 

Greta Thunberg challenges world leaders to take immediate action to mitigate climate change. Since age 15, she raised awareness with decision makers. She believes and intends to succeed. Would you be as moved if her vision was not as courageous and bold?

 

In the children’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, the tortoise believed he could win the race against the hare. Do you remember how the hare ridiculed the tortoise for thinking he could win? Have you been ridiculed for believing in something others think will never happen? The moral of this tale is slow and steady wins the race. No matter how much ridicule may come your way, keep moving forward. For example, we just celebrated 20 years of holding the vision for a cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this will never happen. I remind myself, slow and steady wins the race.

 

The Peace Alliance has a vision as expansive and inspirational as Malala’s and Greta’s. We want to eliminate violence in our families, our communities, our country, and the world. We want generosity, empathy, compassion and interdependence to guide us. We want to deconstruct social constructs such as racism, sexism, genderism etc. We want an end to the most egregious form of violence – war. 

 

We are deeply connected to each other. If we truly held beloved every human being, every animal, every plant and tree, every stream, river and ocean –  the world would not allow violence in any form to continue.

 

It feels like a tangled mess of a puzzle. A billion pieces with no straight edges. But each of us has a piece of the puzzle. We can do this. I’ve decided I can’t work on everything, but I can do my part. I can devote myself to what inspires me and calls forth my highest self. 

 

Devotion requires love,  loyalty, courage and enthusiasm. Choose your community and devote yourself. Choose visions as grand as Malala’s and Greta’s. If you are reading this, I hope it is because you have chosen us, and are devoting yourself to the world we are reimagining. To quote Arundhati Roy, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty years ago, Representative (D,OH) Dennis Kucinich introduced a transformative bill to create a Department of Peace(building) in the United States government to cultivate a culture of peace.

 

We began the journey of imagining… imagining a world where our children would study war only as a relic of the past.  Imagining a world where people do not harm each other or the Earth.  Imagining a world where all are cherished and thrive.  

 

The Department of Peacebuilding was — and is — a framework to make such a world our reality.  We continue to learn about listening, hearing, seeing, mindfulness, restorative practices, forgiveness, healing, connecting and being.  That we are One.

 

“Imagine the stories we will tell, the institutions we will build, and the lives we will lead when we affirm that every person is a person.  Imagine the world we will birth when we see no stranger.” – Valarie Kaur

 

Then re-imagine.  And create that world.

 

 

 

About The Peace Alliance

Mission:

The Peace Alliance empowers civic action toward a culture of peace.

Who We Are:

We are an alliance of organizers and advocates taking the work of
peacebuilding from the margins of society into the 
center of national discourse and policy priorities.

We champion a comprehensive, collaborative approach 
to peace and peacebuilding.

www.peacealliance.org