VERMONT NATIONAL PEACE ACADEMY
It has been important throughout the history of the
United States to maintain military academies for teaching the skills
and protocols of waging war. As Wendell Berry noted, “Authentic peace is no more passive than war.
Like war, it calls for discipline and intelligence and strength
of character, though it calls also for higher principles and aims.
If we are serious about peace, then we must work for it as
ardently, seriously, continuously, carefully, and
bravely as we have ever prepared for war.”
Children of the Earth joined with others at the 2002 We the Peoples Summit for Peace in Burlington to establish a National Peace Academy based in
Vermont. The basic intent is to promote non-violence and to
create conditions for a more peaceful world in keeping with the
principles of the Earth Charter. Premises
presented (July 11, 2001) in Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s bill, H.R. 2459, proposing a Department of Peace, were also taken into
consideration. The Vermont Peace Academy was officially
established, June, 2003, using space donated by Goddard College.
