The idea of creating a United States Department of Peace has been around for more than 200 years. And now, a bill proposing the creation of the Department of Peace and Nonviolence is currently before Congress.
National Public Radio recently reported on a women’s organization in Fairmont, Minn., that proposed a city council resolution to endorse the passage of the bill. But there was a backlash by citizens who feared that a Peace Department would send a message that the United States is weak, along with those who thought that it was an invitation to the United Nations to take over the U.S. government. So the Fairmont city council rescinded its endorsement.
Peace and nonviolence are not synonymous with weakness and cowardice. On the contrary, it takes strength, wisdom and effort to find peaceful solutions in volatile situations. How long will it take our leadership to understand that?
Posted by Patrice Hein
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42 Comments
We don’t need a Dept. of Peace to indicate the West is weak kneed. The recent Brit show and tell with the Iranians should suffice for that. Along with the entrance of Sharia law in Britain, A judge allowing wife beating in Germany while referencing the Koran as a law book.
Suggest the local newspaper read up on Dhimmitude and how to interact with it.
A lot of people have turned against the war in Iraq not simply for being against war but due to it not actually being waged. As long as there is a single B-52 sitting on the ground, then the war is not on.
The Dems may be right on getting out…if you are NOT going to unleash the dogs of war to the hilt and lay waste…then get out if you dont have the stomach. Then the Islamo’s can take over Spain, Germany, France, Britain. None of them have either the military or the fortitude.
That concealed carry may come in handy.
Bomb ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out?
How sad.
We don’t need a Department that will amount to a “Mother May I” Department of Appeasement.
It’s a good thing there never was such a Department of Peace or the United States would now be the largest German-speaking Muslim country in the world.
Although, it would give the French cheese-eating surrender monkeys a place to do business.
Damn, for once I agree with republicant. No dept O piece is needed. But his usual tripe about german and french is a bit over the top.
I want peace but don’t see the need for a Peace Department. I, as a liberal, am in totally support of peace and I totally oppose most wars including Iraq. I am just of the opinion that once you start a war, you have to finish it win or lose and not run off and leave Iraq a mess that you made. But I saw no need to start it to begin with. It was all based on lies and sexed up false intelligence and Bush wanted any excuse he could come up with to start a war. The only good thing to come out of it is that hopefully the GOP will be gone from power for a long time.
You’re right J M, but it does sound and look better in German and French. :)
Deutschsprechendes moslemisches Land
Singes français de reddition demanger
I think a department of peace is a good idea. Of course they’d need a way to inforce the peace, Then they would be the Department of Peace Enforcement or DOPE.
Hank
A lot of people have turned against the war in Iraq not simply for being against war but due to it not actually being waged. As long as there is a single B-52 sitting on the ground, then the war is not on.
You are so right Bill, we should bomb Iraq till there are no Iraqis left to fight! Kill every man, woman and child until all that is left of “Those” people are red spots in the sand!
Oh wait a minute, that time has passed, we are there to free them from the threat of death not defeat them.We just keep forgetting that little fact…uh? So next idea?
Does this mean we get to sit around and sing Kum Ba Yah and pass out flowers?
10000 Iraqis protest for the US to leave, guess Al-Sadr thinks he can take it from here.
CF2K would like to advocate for a Department of War Without End. That seems to be the default over the last forty-seven years since Ike’s farewell speech warning of the Military-Industrial complex.
However, to turn it around on mrbill, it is sign of America’s weakness that its leaders think it HAS to go to war to project its power. Given the way that the world is currently configued, hard power, frankly, doesn’t accomplish much of anything, and the blowback it creates is often worse than the original problem it was intended to solve. Soft power is much craftier and more effective.
Of course, given all the chest-beating upthread, CF2K doesn’t expect the would-be American “warrior” ethos to grow brains anytime soon. It may take having our asses handed to us by China’s global dominance for us to begin to take the long view.
Isn’t this what the Department of State is for?
What the hell would a “Department of Peace” do that a State Department wouldn’t do? Diplomacy? True, diplomacy may SOMETIMES be something of a joke with this administration, but a “Department of Peace” is not any sort of solution.
Creating a Department of Peace would be another DHS-style disaster. Agencies and programs currently operating in all the other departments would be disconnected from their current locations and plugged in to this new Department. It would take years for the management issues to be worked out, the turf wars to be refought, and so on.
Then there would be the inevitable color code that would take a year to create. “Peace Alert Level” on FOX New’s scroll…I can see it now…
“Department of Peace isn’t a commie plot”
The Headline says no no no, the truth says yes yes yes.
Another show of why you people will not get into the White House anytime soon.
I thought we already had the Department of State (same thing the DEP dreamers are advocating).
Oh Well! Just a chance for more government jobs.
I so agree with you Patrice.
Those who make fun of it, just imagine it is your son in the coffin. Fighting is not always the answer. And I’m not anti-war, I’m anti STUPID F’N wars with no real basis.
Patrice Hein,
What do they teach you kids in communication or journalism these days?
What do you think the Department of State does? They are our body of diplomacy around the world.
What a joke.
Do you WE editors even look at what these interns of yours are posting?
Don’t be too hard on the lass Nathan. :)
After all, this blog is for the WE Editors.
We are just the newsroom guinea pigs and hopefully for them, unpaid researchers that may on occasion deliver up a worthy idea. :D
We need a Department of Peace because there are too many cowardly Republicans who want war but are too chickenshit to fight in them; like the ones on this forum.
And there are too many cowardly decocrats on this forum who want peace, but are to cowardly to go to Iraq and negotiate it…
Try again Doug.
Republican,
What am I supposed to say to this intern?
It is so incredibly stupid on so many levels to promote a department of peace.
You have to have no understanding of the current federal government to think there is a need for a Department of peace.
Sigh…
Newspaper Editors don’t have to have any understanding. Part of their job is to create a boiling pot of controversy hoping it will be discussed.
Sometimes the “Boss” Editors will pass out an assignment to an assistant/intern Editor by serendipity, by tutorial assignment (i.e. they need to learn more) or the pool of information available is slim pickings.
Do newspaper Editors have personal agendas? You bet. :)
However, I’ve always held that newspaper blogs are considered more of an unofficial arm of active research and opinion polling without paying for the service. :)
Think of it as posting more guards around a perimeter than necessary. At least one of the guards will be fidgety and report more false security breeches than they should.
However, it only takes one security breech that is potentially dangerous that is reported accurately to outweigh all the bad ones.
When I was in the military there was an expression: “One aww Sh*t wipes out all those accumulated attaboys.”
In this case, “A whole lotta aww sh*ts may be necessary for one attaboy or attagirl to be achieved.” :)
Sometimes to catch a catfish, you have to use stink bait.
ermmm…I’m out of poorly phrased platitudes now. :)
I think their could be benefits to us leaving, and a 3 way civil war erupting. It could give them something to do BESIDES mess with us! In the mean time, elimination of millions of Muslims would make the world a better place. That religion is public enemy #1. It is not even a religion in my opinion, it is a way of life that involves destruction of anyone who disagrees with them. Calling it a religion only gives “them” a way of justifying their terrible way of life.
P.S. We should hope the Saudi’s, Iran, Syria, and others jump in, sell arms to all sides, and help them eliminate themselves, then swoon in once the smoke clears, and take all the oil for free!
Okay Nathan, provide me with some forms to enlist as a diplomat. I can provide you with enlistment forms into the military. But you’re a coward and you wouldn’t go anyway.
Doug,
I just got back from Iraq…
Department of peaceIs that like saying that diplomacy and peace negations are not working correctly?Diplomats not doing their jobs?
I think the women’s organization in Fairmont, Minn. have been smoking one too many in their spare time.
Yeah Nathan, so did McCain. Buy some nice rugs?
Doug calling a Marine a coward is not a wise thing to do.
I hope your fellow Liberals slap you around a bit for calling an active duty Marine a coward.
I couldn’t care less what he calls me.
I just thought it was funny that he was calling us all cowards as republicans and then said that I wouldn’t go anyway when I just got back.
And now he continues with the crap posting after I proved him wrong.
Oh well, I am used to it. You don’t get many if any posters here from the left willing to actually have a discussion.
Yeah, Doug shouldn’t have done that. He “misspoke” like McCain.
But you can’t blame him too much–every gung-ho war supporter EXCEPT Nathan has done nothing to sacrifice for the war they support.
Hell, they won’t even pay for it.
“I hope your fellow Liberals slap you around a bit for calling an active duty Marine a coward.”
They won’t. They are too busy being edifying and educational as it was meant to be.
Article in Saturday’s paper:
Two hundred Kansas National Guardsmen are being sent to Kosovo!
Did Clinton leave office without an exit strategy for Yogoslavia? I thought that he took care of that little problem.
Oh well, maybe they are coming home after we get our troops back from Germany, Japan, South Korea, the Phillipines…..
Hank
Somehow I knew Libs like Capn wouldn’t take Doug to task on calling Nathan a coward.
Libs are all about talking points not responsible behavior and conduct.
CapnAmerica,
I don’t see the liberals jumping at the bit to pay for their abortion on demand!
Why do they keep supporting governemt funded abortions instead of paying for it out of their own pockets?
These are not real questions, only meant to show the absurdity of your claim that Republicans are not funding the war themselves…
You’re right, Republican, the libs won’t say anything to the nasty post calling Nathan a coward.
Pathetic.
Doug-Are you now going to enlist as a diplomat? How about the Peace Corps?
just asking
Take your pick. You can achieve security by:
A. Dept. of Peace: Security by superior vocabularyB. Dept. of Defense: Security by superior firepower
You’re right, I misspoke and I apologize. Nathan isn’t a coward and I’m glad he made it back from Iraq safely.
People who are trained to make war have proved less than effective at keeping the peace.What is needed today is a Dedicated Peace Keeping Force, that knows the language and culture, and can effectively communicate and be trusted by all segments of the population. Their job would be to put together and train a local nonsectarian police force, as opposed to an army, that is capable of rebuilding war damage, finding humanitarian aid for whoever needs it, negotiating with, being trusted by and defending all segments of the society. That’s a tall order, but one without which all the military action taken is in vain.
Nathan, how many kills did you get in a Iraq?
It may not be a commie plot, but history would dictate that it is naive in the extreme.
A more apt name would be The US Department of Genocide.
See: http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2007/04/democrats-latest-brainchild-u.html