A
MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT
A NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF PEACE.
WHEREAS, the framers of the
United States constitution declared that the achievement of peace is recognized
as one of the highest duties of the new organization of free and independent
states; and
WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 1
of the constitution of New Mexico declares the United States constitution to be
the supreme law of the land; and
WHEREAS, finding peaceful
solutions to problems and conflicts is, therefore, a fundamental American
value, and peace is an organizing principle by which to coordinate services to
every level of society; and
WHEREAS, peace promotes justice
and democratic principles to expand human rights and promotes the development
of human potential; and
WHEREAS, a department of peace
would provide a vehicle to:
A. create a climate of respect, cooperation,
safety and nonviolence for our citizens, our children and future generations;
B. ensure the betterment of humanity by
instilling hope, inner peace and compassion and by making the citizens and government
officials of New Mexico aware of the high benefits of peacemaking;
C. encourage the use of dialogue, diplomacy,
negotiation and goodwill at all levels of public life and discourse;
D. teach mediation and alternative dispute
resolution techniques throughout the state in public schools and state
government, including provision of written and electronic materials pertaining
to mediation, negotiation, diplomacy and peacemaking and the provision of
resources to those who cannot afford professional legal services; and
E. study the relationship between the use of
negotiation and the lowering of incidents of hostility, criminal behavior,
domestic violence, dropout rates, costly litigation and expensive
incarceration; and
WHEREAS, accumulated injustice
and hatred, when persistently ignored, incites those who have been given no
voice and no place at the table to desperate and destructive acts; and
WHEREAS, the positive, social
and healing force of peace is the only possibility for sustaining life on our
planet;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that a New Mexico
department of peace be supported and the legislative finance committee be
directed to determine the costs to create such a department; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and the chairman of the
legislative finance committee.