03:55 PM Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, August 18, 2004

By NewsChannel 3 / azfamily.com staff

The United States has a Department of State, a Department of Justice and a Department of Defense, so why not a Department of Peace?

Believe it or not a growing number of people are working hard with that goal in mind.

"When I read it, I thought I'm going. I'm going to Washington to be part of this grassroots movement," said Terri Mansfield, talking about her newest passion.

Nearly 18 months ago, Mansfield became one of the first volunteers from Arizona to sign up with the Department of Peace. Now she runs the state campaign from her Paradise Valley home.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced the concept to Congress in 2001. His bill would create a position in the president's cabinet for a secretary of peace.

"At least half of what the secretary of peace will focus on is ways to eradicate violence right here in America," Mansfield said.

Mansfield and her efforts to get the bill passed are getting a lot of attention.

A documentary crew, which followed her to Washington and back, is producing a video called "Critical Mass" about people and programs that address the roles of peace and violence in America.

"We have so many issues of violence that are not addressed at the national level," Mansfield said. "We have no national champion that's addressing ways to eradicate violence in America. And by that, the violence issues, I mean domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, animal abuse."

These would be the type of issues that the Department of Peace would confront.

"The mission statement for the Department of Peace is to have peace and nonviolence as organizing principles in American society," Mansfield said.

Mansfield and other supporters know some people will think the Department of Peace campaign is a naïve notion. But with volunteers in 37 states so far, she and the others believe they can make a difference especially when listening to instead of ignoring their critics.

"What we're doing as advocates for the Department of Peace and Arizona Department of Peace is listening to people's points of views," Mansfield said. "... If you think this is a naive concept, but you agree that you want peace for your family and your neighbors and peers, help us to work in your ideas as to how we can make this a viable option for everybody."