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Local women lobby in D.C. to give a Department of Peace a chance
Special to the Tortoise
Peace is patriotic! At least that is what nine local women believe who went in February to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national conference supporting the establishment of a Cabinet level U.S. Department of Peace (DOP). For those unfamiliar with this landmark legislation, it should be stated up front that this is not an anti-military bill. Two-thirds of the language in the bill is focused on ameliorating domestic issues of violence such as domestic abuse, school violence, gang violence, and prison violence. It also would include a peace academy in which students would study peace education for four years and then would be required to spend five years doing public service in nonviolent conflict resolution nationally or internationally.
The World Health Organization recently reported that the U.S. spends approximately $300 billion annually on interpersonal acts of violence. Nicola Roxburgh, a recent graduate from the FSU School of Social Work, who also attended the DOP conference, said, "That's unacceptable, especially when we have programs proven to work in all areas of violence." Currently, 300 colleges and universities offer peace building studies such as Notre Dame's peace studies master's program and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.
Cindy Bigbie, Ph.D., the congressional district 2 leader for the grassroots DOP campaign, also attended the DOP conference and said that "there is no organization in the United States that is streamlining and disseminating all the available information, ensuring proper funding, and giving the institutional heft to make peace a priority. That's why a group of us decided to go to Washington - to make this front and center in the American debate."
Bigbie and eight others including her daughter, Jessica, 11, attended the national DOP conference Feb. 2-5. About 1,000 people from 48 states attended, three times as many as attended last year. During the conference, Bigbie and the other DOP attendees went to Capitol Hill to have their voices heard. There were approximately 250 congressional appointments on that day, eleven with senators, who included three Democrats and eight Republicans.
For more than an hour, the Tallahassee delegation met with Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) and shared information about the DOP. Boyd was gracious and listened intently, along with his legislative aide, who will work with the Tallahassee delegation on the bill.
Said Bigbie, "Congressman Boyd was a true gentleman who renewed my faith in our political process. I was blown away about how accessible our government really is and was thrilled that my daughter was able see for herself the way our government is really open to the people."
For information about the local campaign, contact Cindy Bigbie at OPI@tallynet.com . Here's a link to the national DOP campaign website: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/.
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