The new semester has begun and the Think Peace Club is forming. Here is our Mission Statement. Feel free to use it and get a group going. Think about getting them started in schools and/or other settings and the collaborative work we can do together.
Think Peace Club Mission Statement
The Think Peace Club has four simple goals:
- Helping promote peace through patience, equality, awareness, civility, empathy, and compassion.
- Helping promote peaceful/nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts.
- Helping promote peace by respecting the dignity, diversity, and human rights of all people.
- Supporting the practice of civility individually, in the school community, and in the local community.
How this will be accomplished:
- Through practicing civility (setting an example).
- Continuing to learn about the conditions which allow peace to manifest.
- Practicing peaceful means of conflict resolution.
- Partnering with other clubs that are interested in supporting peace and human rights.
- Partnering with the Civility Committee, Sustainability Committee and any other groups that support civility and human rights.
- Participating in activities such as: the International Day of Peace, Random Acts of Kindness Day, International Human Rights Day, Green Day/Spring Clean-Up, etc…
P – Patience
E – Equality
A – Awareness and Acceptance
C – Civility and Compassion
E – Empathy
FMCC Civility Statement
FM is committed to fostering an environment of civility. All members of the FM community and visitors have the right to experience and the responsibility to create and maintain an environment of mutual respect and support that is civil in all aspects of human relations. Civility facilitates professional growth and achievement and promotes an environment where each person can reach his or her full potential.
Visit us on Facebook at: FMCC’s Think Peace Group
or
Contact: john.vanbladel@fmcc.suny.edu
What is Peace?
In their book: “An Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies” David Barash and Charles Weber do an excellent job of defining peace. They delineate two perspectives. The first is the most common definition called negative peace. This is defined as an absence of war. The second, positive peace, is defined as “a social condition in which exploitation is minimized or eliminated and in which there is neither overt violence nor the more subtle phenomenon of underlying structural violence. It includes an equitable and just social order, as well as ecological harmony. Structural violence is built into our social, cultural and economic institutions. It usually has the effect of denying people important rights such as economic well-being: social, political, and sexual equality; a sense of personal fulfillment and self-worth; food, clean water, and medical care; environmental rights.” This focus on human rights is an important shift as it is provides us with specific components of peace.