(HOST) Commentator Willem Lange is bemused by people’s reactions to a proposal to form a Department of Peace.
(LANGE) What do you see when you read the words, "Fairmont, Minnesota"? Middle America, right? Cornfields in the summer, blizzards in the winter. Germans, Norwegians, Swedes. White. Lutheran. Republican.
You’re not far off. Fairmont is halfway across Minnesota, just north of the Iowa border. Middle America. Population 11,000. The county is among the top ten pork producers in the nation. A fairly peaceful place, too, right? – far from the hysteria of Washington, remote from threats of terror, steeped in traditional virtues, and guided by gentle souls like Garrison Keillor’s Father Emil and Pastor Inquist.
That’s what the members of the Fairmont Peace Club thought, too. For 45 years club members have been discussing ways of promoting peace. Nobody bothered them, probably because they didn’t bother anybody.
Then they heard of a campaign by the National Peace Alliance to persuade Congress to create a Department of Peace, a counterpart to the Department of Defense, to promote peaceful resolution of conflict among nations.
The idea was first proposed by Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He wrote an essay titled "A Plan for a Peace Office for the United States." In over 200 years, it hasn’t gained much traction. But there’s currently a bill in Congress that would create a Department of Peace, to develop sophisticated research into conflict resolution, education and training equivalent to West Point’s, and the reduction of violence.
When the members of the Fairmont Peace Club asked their city council to endorse the idea, the council acceded unanimously. Who could argue with the ideal of promoting peace?
Well, quite a few people. When newspapers reported the council’s adoption of the resolution, many Minnesotans were outraged. A Vietnam veteran swore, "These Communists are trying to do it again." The council scheduled a meeting to reconsider.
Critics voiced familiar fears. A Department of Peace would let the rest of the world know we’re afraid to fight The United Nations would assume control. The red-baiting veteran feared Americans would become "a bunch of wusses." The council reversed its decision, and Minnesota returned to the status quo.
Americans believe we’re a peace-loving nation, though our military budget is larger than those of all the rest of the earth’s nations combined. Many of us who think this is madness are silenced by intimidation. Yet we’re educated to point it out when we see the emperor is naked; that killing people in the pursuit of peace doesn’t seem to work. They never appreciate it as they ought to.
However slim its chances, the bill to create a Department of Peace deserves our support. We may be called wusses, or worse. But it takes courage to speak out when you’re armed only with peaceful intentions, your wits, and an olive branch.
This is Willem Lange up in East Montpelier, and I gotta get back to work.