Subject: Knox/antiwar 10.12 11:30am
11:30 am, Tuesday, October 12, Dr. Michael Knox will be at MAP luncheon at
the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, giving a
presentation on his dream, past, present and future. You are urged to
attend, and to invite others to attend this meeting as well.
Five years ago, Dr. Michael Knox of the University of S. Florida in Tampa
embarked on a quest to develop the idea for a Memorial to Peace in our
Nation's Capitol, Washington DC. www.uspeacememorial.org
Four years ago, in the summer of 2006, he asked Minnesota Alliance of
Peacemakers (MAP, www.mapm.org) to help build the base of small donors
which are the essence of his project. MAP came through.
Here is how Dr. Knox frames his project (his full bio, and a list of the
founding members thus far can be found at www.uspeacememorial.org:)
US Peace Memorial: Ending Wars by Changing Culture
Michael D. Knox, PhD, Chair, US Peace Memorial Foundation
War is a dominant aspect of US culture. The military honors its heroes
and reinforces warrior behavior with medals, promotions, ceremonies, and
monuments. There are few indicators that American society values those
who work for peace. This has resulted in a country that routinely
recognizes contributions to war, but often holds in derision those who
call for nonviolence and peaceful alternatives to war.
A national grassroots effort is underway to create a cultural shift toward
peace. The US Peace Memorial Foundation is documenting the broad range of
modern peace activism, as well as recognizing individual and
organizational role models for US peace leadership. Efforts of the
foundation include the creation of a national monument (US Peace Memorial)
in Washington DC <
http://www.uspeacememorial.org/article>www.uspeacememorial.org/article, publication of the US Peace Registry
<
http://www.uspeacememorial.org/registry>www.uspeacememorial.org/registry, and awarding an annual Peace Prize
<
http://www.uspeacememorial.org/peaceprize>www.uspeacememorial.org/peaceprize.
These efforts will help preserve the nation's long history of patriotic
citizens who have promoted peace and opposed war, reinforce antiwar
actions, increase comfort levels, and lead to greater citizen involvement
in interventions for peace. The goal is to change our culture by
decreasing the social barriers that citizens must overcome before they
publicly express antiwar sentiment. The Foundations efforts should
inspire more Americans to speak out for peace and to work to end the
hatred, ignorance, greed, and intolerance that lead to war.
The Internal Revenue Service has determined that the US Peace Memorial
Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations to
the Foundation are tax deductible. A receipt will be provided.