“It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
What is Peace? The misperceptions continue as do the stereotypes. We must succeed in raising awareness about the definition and practice of peace and making central in our institutions and our lives. In their book: “An Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies” David Barash and Charles Weber explain the concept. The most common definition is 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.
Here are two groups composed primarily of Veterans who have had the courage to speak out against the use of violence, dedicating their energies to building a culture of peace through nonviolent means:
Veterans for Peace : https://www.veteransforpeace.org/
Combatants for Peace: http://cfpeace.org/