ENDING U.S. WARS by Honoring Americans Who Work for Peace

In this new book, Dr. Michael D. Knox, founder of the US Peace Memorial Foundation and Distinguished University Professor, says it's time for Americans who work for Peace to be honored as national heroes. From war epics that portray American soldiers as unfailingly noble, to public monuments that glorify war-makers, to a national education curriculum that rarely asks students to debate the value of war, the U.S. is a nation that venerates its warriors above all others.

The U.S. has bombed thirty countries since the end of World War II, killing millions of people, maiming tens of millions more, disrupting and destroying education, healthcare, housing, businesses, infrastructure, the environment, and creating untold numbers of refugees. Knox, who practiced clinical psychology for over 40 years, describes a behavioral approach to ending U.S. war. The book also documents the actions of hundreds of role models for peace in hopes of inspiring other Americans.

ENDING U.S. WARS by Honoring Americans Who Work for Peace aims to change the U.S. culture to one that celebrates its peacemakers. "In a culture that funds and esteems war-making, respect for peacemaking must be taught and modeled. We can change our cultural mindset so that it will no longer be acceptable to label those who speak out against a U.S. war as disloyal, anti-military, or unpatriotic. Rather," says Knox, "they will be recognized for their dedication to a noble cause and to saving lives."

Chapters include A CULTURE OF WAR, A CULTURE OF PEACE, and:

THE US PEACE PRIZE. Recipients of the US Peace Prize since 2009 include Chelsea Manning, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Ajamu Baraka, Dennis Kucinich, and Cindy Sheehan. In 2020 the US Peace Prize went to Christine Ahn "for bold activism to end the Korean War, heal its wounds, and promote women's roles in building peace." Detailed profiles of all 12 recipients are included.

THE US PEACE REGISTRY. A collection of 270 Americans who work for peace, demonstrating a broad range of peace and antiwar actions and activities. The Registry appears for the first time in print.

THE US PEACE MEMORIAL. The Foundation's most ambitious goal is to establish a monument on the National Mall. ENDING U.S. WARS offers a sneak peek at this exciting project. Plans include an inspiring and creative design that features a peace sign that can only be seen aerially and aims to serve as a reminder to government officials who fly over the Mall. As the US Peace Memorial is currently envisioned, twelve walls, or facets, will contain engraved peace quotes from famous Americans such as Jane Addams, Muhammad Ali, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., and Margaret Mead, and a variety of U.S. presidents who are not widely known for their antiwar statements. Until it is built, this book is the US Peace Memorial.

"An indispensable tool to overcome the culture of militarism that impoverishes human needs at home while creating endless wars, failed states, and boundless misery abroad. ...A critical piece of the uprising for people, planet, and peace."-Jill Stein

Author: Michael D. Knox
Publisher: Pax
Published: 01/01/2021
Pages: 308
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.28lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.75d
ISBN: 9781736099407

About the Author
Knox, Michael D.: - Michael D. Knox grew up on Grosse Ile, Michigan, and earned a PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1974. Knox's academic career focused on disease prevention, HIV/AIDS, death, community mental health, ethics, and peace. His work included over 130 scholarly publications and well over $50 million in research grants. He is currently a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida, holding faculty appointments in Internal Medicine, Mental Health Law and Policy, and Public Health. His long-standing peace and antiwar activities began in 1965 when he chose the Vietnam War as the topic of his first speech for a public speaking class. From that point on, a passion for peace and opposition to war were deeply ingrained in him. As a delegate to the 20th National Student Congress, he introduced a successful resolution to hold an antiwar demonstration in 1967 in front of The White House, and in 1970 he co-founded a draft counseling center. In 1971, he blew the whistle on prohibited classified research at the University of Michigan, disclosing secret details and providing evidence that university researchers were perfecting weapon systems used by the military to kill and incapacitate other human beings. Years later, in the summer of 2005, he took his son James to Washington, D.C. for a graduation trip. They visited numerous monuments to war, where they heard veterans talking about their combat-related experiences with young listeners who seemed proud of the speaker's military record, perhaps viewing them as role models. Suddenly, with his son present, he realized that all of his memories and stories in that realm were of antiwar activities and that there are no national monuments to show that our society values peace and recognizes those who took action to oppose a war. There is no public validation of antiwar activities and no memorial to serve as a catalyst for discussion regarding peace. This new awareness led to the organization of the US Peace Memorial Foundation in 2005, which he currently chairs. In 2007, Knox was awarded the Marsella Prize for the Psychology of Peace and Social Justice by Psychologists for Social Responsibility, recognizing him for more than four decades of outstanding contributions to peace and humanitarian assistance. After he retired in 2011, he discontinued his license as a clinical psychologist to devote his full attention to ending U.S. war and militarism. Dunedin, Florida is his home. For more information, visit: www.uspeacememorial.org/Knox.htm or view his antiwar activities in the US Peace Registry at www.uspeacememorial.org/Registry.htm.

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