We must continue to make clear that nonviolence is not passive complacency, but rather, a means of exposing injustice and political corruption through strategies of nonviolent resistance. These strategies include political initiatives, but also, various forms of social activism and noncooperation.
People fail to realize that the root cause of physical violence lies in hostile, abusive and offensive rhetoric, and in political, social and economic policies that are discriminatory, resulting in oppression and loss of equal opportunity. Physical violence is just the tip of the iceberg. Until we deal with its root cause, physical violence will persist and continue to plague our world and its divisive cultures of hate.
There are those who say that nations cannot practice nonviolence. Not true. Nations practice nonviolence by participating in positive peace building. This is accomplished by cultivating mutually beneficial collaborative relationships. Trade, cultural and educational exchange, various kinds of foreign assistance and political alliances are examples of activities between nations (as well as between people) that build peace.
In Peace Studies, we maintain that peace is not a static state or condition. It is an unfolding process you have to invest in, and it is developed through business and economic ties, foreign aid, treaties, and through intellectual and cultural interaction.
As Green Party members, we much call upon ourselves, our lawmakers and our political leaders to bring an end to violent confrontation and instead, focus on re-establishing the institutions in our government responsible for providing food and medical assistance where needed in our world. We much return the United State to being a force for moral good, investing, not in war, but in the many peace-building initiatives that have been systemically dismantled by the current Trump administration.
May this become the message of the Green Party during this troubled time. | 
