A Peace Leadership Agenda

( reference http://thepeacecompany.com/peacelibrary/Peace%20Agenda.pdf )

[Please note: All candidates for public office – from the local to the national level – as well as all individuals leading for peace, are invited to check off the items below that they can wholeheartedly commit to, and are willing to be held accountable for.]

I dedicate my public service toward creating a community, a nation, and a world at peace, and pledge myself to the following:

Because I understand we are all interconnected, and the good of any one of us depends on the good of the whole, I will:

___ Promote multi-lateral cooperation rather than unilateral action;

___ Employ "us and them" rather than "us or them" or "us versus them" language;

___ Engage in dialogue to find common ground, rather than debate that polarizes;

___ Establish political and economic policies that see national and global security as rooted in
         insuring the rights and well-being of the whole human family, not just the privileged few;

___ Encourage the careful stewardship of natural resources, the environment, and all life.

Because I know that violence begets more violence, and that nonviolence is morally and practically the right path for the human family, I will:

___ Use nonviolent conflict resolution, mediation, and negotiation to resolve disputes, and will promote
          these approaches at every level of society;

___ Hold disarmament as the highest priority, including the disarming of the public;

___ Recognize poverty, injustice, and all the "isms" as forms of violence, and do
          all in my power to address their root causes and alleviate the suffering they produce;

___ Energetically pursue racial healing and reconciliation in our society;

___ Lead with love and not with fear.

Because I realize that true power is power ‘with’ rather than power ‘over,’ I will:

___ Hold all forms of dominance and oppression as unacceptable, and work to overturn them
           wherever they appear;

___ Work in partnership, co-creatively, even and especially with those I most disagree with;

___ Appreciate the rich diversity of our world, and honor and incorporate the wisdom of our
          differences;

___ Refuse to collude with the false view that ‘money is power,’ and work for the
           interests of all rather than of a special few;

___ Insure that the voiceless have a voice in the decisions that affect us all.

Because I understand that as a leader, I must ‘walk the talk,’ I will:

___ Act to inspire, not to coerce or manipulate;

___ Lead by example;

___ Put the good of the whole first, and my personal benefit second;

___ Demonstrate the highest possible degree of integrity, avoiding even the perception of a conflict of
             interest or of dissembling;

___ Be in service to the people and to peace.

Because I know that creating a society grounded in peace will require many deep changes and the institutionalization of a culture of peace, I will:

___ Promote the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Peace, to embed peace policies and
           procedures, at home and abroad;

___ Strongly encourage the teaching of nonviolent conflict resolution, peace studies, and global
           awareness in our schools, from pre-kindergarten through university;

___ Work with the business community to support commercial and entrepreneurial activity that helps
            build a peace economy;

___ Encourage the media to de-emphasize the sensationalism of violence and to
           highlight the good news of peace and reconciliation;

___ Encourage the entertainment industry to see that violence, war, and mayhem are inappropriate as
           entertainment, especially for our youth.