Colorado DOP Campaign

Colorado Department of Peace

Cyber Peace Gallery!

Sponsored by the

Colorado Department of Peace Campaign

Creating a space where artists can express the universal human yearning for peace. Exploring the creative use of art as an educational force in the movement to create peace in our homes, schools, community and our world.

For more on the national DOP Campaign and legislation to create a U.S. Dept of Peace, go to: www.ThePeaceAlliance.org

OUR NATIONAL CAMPAIGN:

There is currently legislation (H.R. 808) introduced in Congress to establish a United States Department of Peace. This historic measure will augment our Nation's current problem-solving capabilities. This additional function will provide effective, practical, nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflict.

The legislation will pass from a bill into law and then into a viable resource for our local, state and federal agencies under one condition: that a wave of citizen interest rise up from the American people and make itself heard in the halls of Congress.

The campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace is a bipartisan initiative intended to serve all Americans. If the bill, as it is currently written, misses that goal, we want to hear about it.

During the 20th Century, over 100 million people lost their lives to war -- most of whom were non-combatants. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the extent and current speed of nuclear proliferation makes the achievement of non-violent alternatives to war the most urgent need of the human race.

From the growing rate of domestic incarceration to increasing problems of international violence, the United States has no more serious problem in our midst than the problem of violence itself. Prison-building is our largest urban industry, and we spend over 400 billion dollars a year on military-related expenditures. Yet there is within the workings of the U.S. government, no platform from which to seriously wage peace. We place no institutional heft behind an effort to address the causal issues of violence, diminishing its psychological force before it erupts into material conflict. From child abuse to genocide, from the murder of one to the slaughter of thousands, it is increasingly senseless to merely wait until violence has erupted before addressing the deeper well from which it springs.

The problem of violence is a many layered one, and its solution will be, as well. Violence occurs in many forms: e.g. physical, verbal, emotional, etc. Individuals can act violently. Groups, organizations, and businesses can act violently. Governments can act violently.

"Violence is any action that prevents a person from reaching their human potential" Johan Galtung.

While no one action -- governmental or otherwise -- will provide a single solution to such an entrenched and deeply rooted problem, we must treat the problem itself as an all-systems breakdown requiring an all-systems response.

The campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace ( House Resolution 808 and Senate TBD) is only one aspect of a fundamental response to the problem of violence, but it is critical. It represents an important collective effort, as American citizens, to do everything we possibly can to save the world for our children's children.

Throughout America, there are numerous peace-builders and peace-building projects. Those skilled in ameliorating the effects of violence - from conflict resolution experts to nonviolent communicators - have proven their effectiveness at treating root causes of violence.

Peace is more than the absence of war.

"Peace is a never ending process... it is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflict." Oscar Arias Sanchez, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Peace is more than the absence of violence. The peacefulness of a society can be measured by how well it applies the principles of nonviolence and provides opportunities for each of its members to reach their human potential.

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.

The Department of Peace Campaign will educate and inspire thousands throughout the country with the knowledge, skill and enthusiasm to become powerful citizen activists on behalf of the Department of Peace legislation. Our campaign has citizen organizers working in all 50 states. Local activists are mobilizing a mighty wave of momentum by working with their members of congress, writing editorials, doing local radio and TV interviews, organizing local talks and trainings, getting city council endorsements, visiting with Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, Military Officials, Prison Officials, Directors of Abuse Shelters, School Boards, etc. to share and discuss how a Department of Peace and Nonviolence would benefit their community.

Our mission as a National Campaign is to move this realization from the margins of our political dialogue to its rightful, central place within our national understanding. The humanitarian impulse to foster brotherhood and justice is not just an utopian ideal; it is an issue critical to our national security and 21st Century prosperity.

OUR STATE CAMPAIGN

Our mission as a Colorado Campaign is to work with our Senators and local district Representatives to better understand their concerns and issues with the proposed bill and communicate these issues to the National Campaign for consideration.

Our local activists are working with their members of congress, writing editorials, conducting local radio and TV interviews, organizing local talks and trainings, getting city council endorsements, visiting with Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, Military Officials, Prison Officials, Directors of Abuse Shelters, School Boards, etc. to share and discuss how a U.S. Department of Peace would benefit Colorado and our communities.

In an effort to support the Colorado Campaign, a team of volunteers have initiated a "Model DoPN Project" desiged to simulate how the Department of Peace and Nonviolence would operate at a "Regional" level. This project will help demonstrate how the Department of Peace and Nonviolence can address local issues and add value to each Colorado congressional District. For more information....