From a culture of war to a culture of peace

Bruce Kent, an active peace campaigner, currently vice president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Pax Christi UK and the Movement for the Abolition of War, wrote an article recently on OpenDemocracy.net entitled "From a culture of war to a culture of peace". The article is brilliant, the ideas fresh and original and the issue covered being of the utmost importance in today's overly militarised world. His article is a must read for all.

He touches upon the importance of developing a "consciousness of global citizenship" where high school pupils should be given a copy of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He challenges governments in their role in peace and states that Bank Holidays should be replaced by more significant dates such as the signing of peace treaties. He encourages the celebration of peacemakers rather than war heroes and brilliantly concludes that "it is a task for all of us, if we are serious about building a culture of peace. Culture has to change. We are all part of the process of making that change happen".