THE IDEA
I travel
frequently and have seen the monuments
to soldiers and to wars that occupy our city squares and parks.
In the summer of 2005 I took my son James to Washington, DC after he
finished his first year of college.
We made the standard tour of the city, visiting museums, the White
House, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the
newly dedicated National World War II Memorial.
In this and other
visits to the Washington Mall, I have encountered dozens of war veterans
discussing their combat experiences with their children, grandchildren, other
relatives and friends. I suspect
that most of the listeners were proud of the speakerÕs military service and
some viewed the war veteran as a potential role model. These memorials exist to reinforce the
notion that war efforts or activities are highly valued and rewarded by our
society.
Suddenly, with my
son present, I realized that all of my memories and stories were of antiwar
activities and there were no National Monuments here to indicate that our
society values peace and those who take action to oppose one or more U.S.
wars. There is no public validation
of antiwar activities and no memorial to serve as a catalyst for discussion
regarding courageous peace efforts by Americans over the past centuries. This realization led to the organization
of the US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc.
It is time to
dedicate a National Monument to peace.
Our society should be as proud of those who fight for alternatives to
war as it is of those who fight wars. Demonstrating this
national pride in some tangible way may encourage others to explore peace
advocacy during times when only the voices of war are being heard.
Through the display of antiwar
quotations by American leaders and the documentation of U.S. antiwar role
models and activities, the US Peace Memorial will make it clear to our
citizens that advocating for peaceful solutions to international problems
and opposing war are
honorable and socially acceptable activity in our democracy. War is part of our culture; change requires that peace be
taught. We will provide
education about our nationÕs long history of brave citizens and leaders who
have actively opposed U.S. wars.
A national
monument to peacemakers can change our cultural mindset so that it will no longer be acceptable to label
those who speak out against a U.S. war as un-American, antimilitary,
traitorous, or unpatriotic. The
memorial will help decrease the social barriers that Americans must overcome
before they publicly oppose a war. If just a small percent of our citizens were to speak
out against a U.S. war, it would end quickly.
Please take a few minutes
to read these three short articles about our project. ÒWorld Peace: A First StepÓ was
published in the Journal
of Sociology & Social Welfare, June
2011 and is available at www.uspeacememorial.org/WorldPeace.pdf. ÒA Cultural
Shift toward Peace: The Need for a National SymbolÓ was published in the
journal Peace and Conflict. Read this essay at www.uspeacememorial.org/article.htm.
In 2009, ÒHonoring Peace and Antiwar Behavior: The US Peace RegistryÓ was
published in Peace Psychology. Read it at www.uspeacememorial.org/Article2.htm.
I hope that you
will share my enthusiasm and become a Founding Member of the US Peace Memorial
Foundation. CLICK TO JOIN US
NOW!
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charity.
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Foundation are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
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