THE COMMUNITY TOOL BOX’s chapter on Spirituality and Community Building (Chapter 28) was written with the support and contributions of experts connected with the Charter for Compassion International and is an online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. Under continuous development since 1994, the Community Tool Box is widely used in teaching, training, and technical support. Currently available in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Farsi, and with millions of user sessions annually, it has reached those working in over 230 countries around the world. It is a project of the University of Kansas with partners that include the World Health Organization and Institute of Medicine. This specific section on Promoting Peace is our contribution.
To view the document on its original website, see here.
Excerpts:
The Importance of Peace to Community Building
Peace enriches our communities and individual lives, as it directs us to embrace diversity and support one another to the fullest extent possible. Through caring, generosity, and fairness we provide a cornerstone for attaining a sustainable, just, meaningful, vibrant, and fulfilling personal and community life.
To bring home this point, consider the following questions:
Can our families and communities thrive without mutual support and peace with our neighbors?
Can peaceful communities exist without attention to justice and equity?
What would be the prospects of a world without peace?
Mass Violence
Domestic incidents of mass violence in community settings are defined as those in which three or more persons are killed. Such incidents occur almost daily in the United States; according to the American Public Health Association, over 350 incidents were reported in 2015 alone. Some factors associated with such incidents include terrorism, mental illness, and gang violence. Each is discussed below.
Terrorism. Terrorism has been a factor in relatively few, if high impact, cases of mass violence. The Department of Homeland Security is engaged in a number of initiatives to advance community safety. Among these are:
National Network of Fusion Centers, which gather, centralize, analyze, and share threat-related information among federal government, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners.
Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, which entails coordination with the Department of Justice to report, track, and provide information “in a manner that rigorously protects the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.”
Domestic terrorism has been perpetuated by extremist individuals and groups of different backgrounds. It is vital to distinguish violent extremists from the religions they claim to represent. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was conducted by an individual claiming to be protecting Christian principles. Those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 claimed to be protecting Islamic societies. Yet the vast majority of Christians and Muslims do not condone violence, and their adherents and leaders are great allies in combatting domestic terrorism.
Hate crimes against Muslims (as well as those mistaken for Muslim, such as Sikhs), have risen dramatically following terrorist incidents. In the year of the September 11 attacks, the FBI reported 481 anti-Muslim hate crimes; similar spikes have continued to occur. Communities can anticipate and help forestall these responses by educating their residents and holding interfaith activities to help prevent hate crimes and heal communities in the wake of incidents that may arise. Political leaders can also help stem violence through their messaging; after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush reminded us that “Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America.” (Remarks to reporters by George W. Bush, Washington, DC, November 13, 2002)
In Summary
In our media and entertainment, as well as in our political spheres, we are surrounded by those who emphasize sensationalism and violence. This can feed personal dislike, anger, or even “hate” for a group of people we may hear are taking our jobs, corrupting the nation, or threatening us with destruction. It can lead us to throw up our hands and say that nothing can be done in such a world.
Yet, returning to the beginning of this section, listen instead to the voices of peace, from the youth in Afghanistan to those in each of our own communities. They can help us find hope through the simple solution of extending a hand in friendship.
Promoting peace is not a solitary activity. We are joined in the effort by the vast majority of people in the world who yearn for peace, and work to live together peaceably. For those times when you may find yourself overwhelmed, there is a saying beautifully voiced by the musical group Sweet Honey in the Rock: “Drops of water turn a mill, singly none, singly none.” If we keep moving forward step by step, together we will carve out the path toward peace dreamed of by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., alongside so many others.
From finding peace within one's life to demonstrating the greatest compassion and commitment to social justice, extending the principles and the practice of peace to others can guide us to a richer, more secure coexistence. We at the Community Tool Box, in cooperation with the Charter for Compassion and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, welcome and encourage each of you to further this vision, and to find ways to implement it in your lives, in your communities, and in our world.
Contributor
Terry Greene
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