Since December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the vast majority of Americans have been calling for urgent lifesaving gun regulations. Still without sensible regulations, at least 1,813 more people in the US have been killed and 6,434 wounded in no less than 1,601 mass shootings to date. In addition to passing criminally overdue gun regulations, following are solutions that transform violence into peace from the inside out, and for the long term. Included are links to petitions you can sign.
1. Urgently end and proactively prevent criminally liable fear- and hate-mongering, and ensure the unifying truth and joy of oneness.
A 2011 United States survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University found viewers of partisan ideological news programs among the least informed citizens, and listeners of National Public Radio and viewers of Sunday morning talk shows among the most informed. Fairleigh Dickinson found that “especially Fox News leads people to be even less informed” than people who say they watch “no news at all.
2. Just as urgently end and prevent criminal hate speech and incitations of violence.
Immediately replace spokespeople who attempt to trivialize or romanticize what President Dwight Eisenhower called “the horror and lingering sadness of war” and divisiveness. Insist on empathy and shared understanding, and embody the golden rule. Treat yourself as kindly as all beings, and all beings as kindly as yourself.
3. Ensure passage of the Bill to establish a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peacebuilding.
California Democratic Representative Barbara Lee has consistently reintroduced a Bill that would proactively prevent violence and wars with funds immediately applicable to diplomacy and conflict resolution from global affairs to relations within our own cities and schools.
4. Strengthen laws that prioritize and ensure universal health and safety.
Compromises to health and safety caused by revolving-door corruption across government and industries are exacerbating climate catastrophes, and have been blamed for earlier and more frequent cases of cancer and other deadly and debilitating illnesses, especially among children.
5. Balance time spent on electronics and work with physical and social activities, preferably outdoors.
Spend quality time in nature. Play. Read. Listen to music. Enjoy the creative arts—as Aggie Perilli Communications International’s filmmaker Joe Wein did in his creation of the following award-winning comedic peacemaking film, Goldfish:
6. Vote for honest and informed leaders who are competently empathetic and unifying.
Find nonpartisan solutions people affected agree are for the common good. In an interview with The New York Times, Israeli President Shimon Peres said, ”The man with a hammer thinks every problem is a nail. Problems are not nails. When there is good will, they can all be overcome.”
7. Immediately end counterproductive drone and other military attacks.
Former President Jimmy Carter wrote in a 2012 New York Times op-ed article, “After more than 30 airstrikes on civilian homes in Afghanistan last year, President Hamid Karzai demanded such attacks end, but they have continued in areas of Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, which are not in any war zone. We don’t know how many innocent civilians have been killed in attacks …that would have been unthinkable in previous times.” Since, last year, The Guardian reported that more than 15,000 civilians were killed by explosive weapons, a 42% jump from the previous year. This year, international monitoring groups have lost count, saying it’s virtually impossible to say how many civilians have been killed.
8. Accelerate universal disarmament from illegal weapons of mass destruction, and urgently halt human rights violations and war crimes.
This includes the targeting of untried citizens for assassination or indefinite detention; the use of bombs and ammunitions made with depleted uranium; and the wiretapping or mining of electronics.
9. Redirect the trillions of dollars the United States, alone, has squandered on tactics devised to annihilate, rather than save and support ourselves and all interdependent beings now.
Where you live, shift from calamitous nuclear power and fossil fuels to safe renewable energy suited to your locale and resources, as in Burlington, Vermont, and elsewhere. Research and ensure universally pure and clean drinking water; affordable education and healthcare for all; voluntary and independently tested and approved medicines and vaccines; equal taxation and pay; and one person, one vote. Without delay, insist on native organic landscaping and regenerative organic agriculture; the safe and humane treatment of animals; and chemical- and GMO-free food, clothing, and other products and processes. Transform the violence and desperation that can feed violence into empathetic communications and partnerships that equitably enrich our world community.
10. Insist the media, entertainers and spokespeople and decision makers at all levels of government and industry promote peacekeeping as what is truly safe and sexy.
The shock value of brutality is no substitute for empathetic communication and wit. When did modern society become like the ancient Romans who went to The Colosseum and watched killing for entertainment?
In all areas of everyday life, be audaciously aware and proactively responsive. Apply your talents and abilities to build on a world of peace, however menacingly some may disapprove. Create visionary and inspiring communications, and be as forgivingly patient and tolerant of others as you’d like others to be with you. Maintain mutual boundaries and always be kind yet firm.
“The soldiers who are dead and gone…” sang Curtis Mayfield in the 70s. “If only we could bring back one, he’d say that ‘we’ve got to have peace to keep the world alive.’” Is world peace impossible? At 89 years old, Peres said he had often seen faith triumph over cynicism and skepticism. Realize the only true and lasting power of courageously unifying communications and faithfully enthusiastic partnerships.
How are you applying your talents and abilities to ensure the universal safety and well-being of all interdependent beings now and always?
Aggie Perilli is president of Aggie Perilli Communications International (APCI).
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APCI creates empathetic and unifying communications and transformative campaigns for nonprofit and for-profit organizations and spokespeople. To engage and align your audience to exceed your expectations while inspiring a world of connection, contact APCI.
recommended media:
Shimon Peres on Obama, Iran and the Path to Peace
The War on Terror is Not the New Normal
Vaxxed: From Cover-up To Catastrophe
Beyond Pesticides advocates for alternatives to agricultural chemicals linked to elevated rates of cancer, diabetes, learning disabilities, asthma, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, birth defects, reproductive disorders and more.
