A Politician for Peace

[The Sushi Bandit]

Congressman Dennis Kucinich visits Maui on his continuing campaign for domestic and international peace.

http://www.mauiweekly.com/features/story2348.aspx

In the 2004 Democratic caucus, Congressman Dennis Kucinich was Maui’s choice for President of the United States. John Kerry took the vote statewide, but Kucinich still feels an attachment to Hawai‘i, and to Maui in particular. He returned to the Valley Isle last week to show support for the reelection of Senator Daniel Akaka.

“I share with Maui a sense of beauty, a connection to the natural world. And that is the essence of peace,” said Kucinich. The notion of peace has been at the forefront of Kucinich’s campaigns throughout his career. One of his most prestigious projects is a bill (HR 3760) he proposed in 2001 for a U.S. Department of Peace (DOP)—the Congressman’s idea to counteract the Department of Defense. And since we already have military academies, he proposes a Peace Academy, which, among other things, would train international peacekeepers.

As of Thursday, Aug. 9, when the Maui Weekly was offered the opportunity to speak with Kucinich, HR 3760 had 74 co-sponsors, and the list continues to grow. The bill is based on a 1798 proposal by founding father Benjamin Rush, who wrote an essay called “A Plan of a Peace-Office for the United States.”


Congressman Kucinich and the Sushi Bandit discuss Peacebuilding in Haiku, Maui

[sgxnk]

1. how is

how is "a connection to the natural world. And that is the essence of peace"

how is "a connection to the natural world, the essence of peace?"

this seems a silly platitude

fwiw, the native hawaiians (kanaka maoli) were FAR from peaceful. the iao river is named thusly due to the fact it ran red with blood due to the great war fought there.

i see zero evidence that connection to the natural world has ANYTHING to do with peace

am i missing something?

[The Sushi Bandit]

2. I'm not sure I understand your question(s)..

maybe as you obtain a closer connection to nature the more internal peace you feel

[sgxnk]

3. i think the gist of the article

is that he is claiming that a 'connection to the natural world" in our society would mean we would have more peace

i don't see any empirical evidence for that, and TONS of evidence that it is not the case

it seems one of those things that SOUNDS good until you look at real world history and realize it's a nice sounding silliness

but i might be missing something

[The Sushi Bandit]

4. Maybe you need to come to Maui for a few weeks

Isolation from the mainland does wonders for your spirit

[sgxnk]

5. i used to live on maui

that's why i mentioned the history of hawaii, and the iao stream named so because it ran red with blood from warfare.

i think kucinich's statement was a silly platitude. that's my point.

maui is also not particularly peaceful, especially as regards Hawaii in general. last i checked, it had a higher crime rate (per capita) than any of the other three counties.

but it is no ka oi

of course

honolua is way too crowded with kooks, though

many time i want give one false crack, brah

[The Sushi Bandit]

6. kick for peace