Reframing Peace

Crafting a New Peace Movement

By Eric Sirotkin

For millions of Americans the shock still lingers. An election we thought would finally shift us away from war resulted in confusion, calls of fraud, but most significantly, a growing feeling that the message of peace and human dignity, that we thought was so clear, is not being embraced. Something is simply not working.

Peace has always been for me the essence of being human—our highest state. A principal founded upon respect, security, dignity, trust and love. As Congressman Dennis Kucinich says, “Peace is a civil right that makes other human rights possible. Peace is the pre-condition for our existence.” Yet, when we call for a more peaceful world, it is labeled weak, liberal, and unpatriotic. A local school board asked to establish a “peace curriculum,” panics, fearing it’s “controversial,” wondering how to “show both sides.” Both sides? Are they planning to teach hate, violence, disrespect and warfare? Somewhere along the way this universal principle of human relationship has been marginalized, stigmatized, packaged up and politicized beyond recognition.

I’ve begun to reflect upon the effectiveness of always being against something and its impact on our increasingly polarized nation. While the peace and social justice movements have been led by people seeking a more peaceful and caring world, the majority of Americans have sat silently, viewing such actions as radical or naïve. Each demonstration has essential moments of success and transformation for the participants and those they touch, but I dream about the day in which America will wake up its sleeping potential as that “shining city on a hill” modeling peacemaking and justice for the world.

Prior to the Nelson Mandela’s historic election, I had traveled the countryside in South Africa with election officials who were using peacemaking and mediation, not only to set up voting, but also to create an atmosphere for free and fair elections. This meant actively opening dialogue between opposing factions and bringing together hostile tribes and villagers. Through bringing them together and facilitating listening, they were able to put down their differences and peacefully participate in the electoral process for the common good of a new society. Despite the threats and bombings in the months leading up to the elections, the violence-free voting days were the first time in South Africa that peace was allowed to shine.

I learned from that experience that it’s not enough to protest for peace, we have to create an atmosphere of peace in our communities, institutions and most importantly in our own hearts. To overcome decades of peace bashing, from within and without, we need a new universal language of peace, a language of the heart, to reach out to our neighbors, leaders and fellow Americans. We need to re-pattern our language and explore how to communicate and institutionalize a culture of peace in America.

Positive peace is not just the absence of war, but is a very high state where we refuse to passively accept all forms of injustice. How we model peace in all of our relationships helps strengthen peace for all. Nelson Mandela said “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

These are exciting times. Dozens of universities are turning out students who have been majoring in peace and conflict relations. The traditional adversarial nature of law is being exposed as ineffective, with the growth of collaborative and restorative justice principles. Proposals for a Department of Peace have been made on both federal and state levels to provide policymakers with peace-building policy options for domestic and international issues. Millions of people around the world are exploring how to make war obsolete and plugging into the United Nations Decade for Creating a Peace Culture.

Last month I visited the War memorials in Washington DC and pondered the day in which we build memorials to peace. I have been to the Hiroshima peace park and seen how a nation can turn tragedy into a graphic call for peace an end of all aggression. But my saving grace was a visit to the congressional office of Dennis Kucinich where we discussed his definition of peace; something he has called “an active presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of human awareness.” Dennis told me that everyone could create a world which is more peaceful “by striving to create relationships that are more peaceful.”

I asked him, “What does peace mean to you?” Without missing a beat he said, “Peace is a condition of the heart. It’s a state of mind, of tranquility, of calmness, and of centeredness. It’s an understanding of the reciprocal nature of love, a presence, a journey. It’s all of our aspirations. Peace is not a luxury or merely the absence of war, it’s a kind of grace—which we’re all entitled to as people who are alive.” I left the office more alive, hopeful and knowing that peace is as close as my beating heart.

Eric Sirotkin will host a community forum in Ashland, Oregon addressing the issues involved in “Reframing Peace” on May 1st from 1-5pm. He will be joined by Jeff Golden from Jefferson Public Radio and Carol Hwoschinsky of the Compassionate Listening Project. The purpose of the afternoon is to invite ideas from participants on ways we can change our language to more effectively work for peace in our community, society and the world. All who are engaged in peace work or wish to be are invited. The forum will take place at the Redford Lounge in the Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University. Call (541) 552-9441.

Eric Sirotkin is an international human rights lawyer practicing in Albuquerque and living whenever possible at his home in Ashland, Oregon.

There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 808). This landmark measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

Domestically, the Department of Peace will develop policies and allocate resources to effectively reduce the levels of domestic and gang violence, child abuse, and various other forms of societal discord. Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the most sophisticated ideas and techniques regarding peace-creation among nations

Last count it had 69 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.