I’m a slow learner. It took me 80 years to learn about the Kellogg-Briand Pact and another five to visit this wonderful Antiwar.com site. But here I am with an observation and an opportunity. Antiwar activists do not realize the potential of the Kellogg-Briand Pact to change the deep-seated war culture of America. It’s a simple fact that the law is on our side but (virtually) nobody knows it exists.
Ever since Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Kathy Kelly handed me David Swanson’s book, When the World Outlawed War, I’ve been intrigued by the efforts of small groups of peace activists all over the world to demand that their leaders sign and ratify this treaty. Now 62 counties have outlawed war and the threat of war as an instrument of policy. But obviously it had little effect. Why?
Most people are totally unaware of the law against war. Who’s responsible for that? I’ll return to this question later.
From my experience the first thing people do when hearing about it (since KBP rarely appears in print) they Google Kellogg-Briand Pact. And up to a couple of months ago they would find in Wikipedia an abstract of KBP describing it in the past tense! First impressions had been doing their part in ascribing the pact to the dustbin of history. My editing (so far) has been accepted and Kellogg-Briand Pact is now more accurately presented in the present tense. After all, it is the supreme law of the land. Ha Ha.
Why don’t we take it seriously? I believe that those in power, starting probably with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, need us to believe that war is necessary; we need to be strong to protect our interests. And so any suggestion of treating others the way we would like to be treated is ridiculed as unrealistic. Most people realize the immense power of the military-industrial-congressional-media complex but may be unaware of its subtle influence in distorting and ignoring the law.
Antiwar activists should be aware of this. However, as a Servant Leader of the West Suburban Faith-Based Peace Coalition, I continue to be amazed by the number of peacemakers I encounter who have never heard of the Kellogg-Briand Pact. If we are ignorant of the law against war, we probably don’t have to look any further for why it remains as an artifact rather than a tool. What can be done?
The Contest
We need to make the law against war work by first educating the public. WSFPC is sponsoring a Peace Essay Contest with a top prize of $1,000. Participants are asked to write an essay of 800 words or less on “How Can We Obey the Law Against War?” and to send it to a person in authority. The rules can be obtained here. Essays and the responses from them are evaluated by a team of peacemakers. Winners will be announced at a luncheon on August 27 to honor the (now 88th) Anniversary of signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact. Winning essays of previous years can be found here, here, and here. Our hope is that as many people as possible will join this year’s essay contest before the April 15 deadline.
Not everyone is into contests. Some peacemakers like the Quakers prefer emphasizing cooperation over competition. Therefore, we have just introduced the Peace Essay Cooperative which has no rules, timetables or awards. People are urged to help educate the public by writing letters encouraging their leaders to take action. If their country has not signed on to the Kellogg-Briand Pact writers should urge that their leaders to do so. Otherwise they should take steps toward compliance with the law against war. In all cases we would be delighted to publish the letters and responses on our website.
This year we have been disappointed that more people in the United States have not yet entered the contest but there is still time before April 15. We’re delighted, however, by the participation as far away as Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan. Our hope is that one day the Contest and Cooperative will go viral. That we dispel our collective ignorance and have a national conversation to reach a common understanding that all war should be abolished. When a majority of people understand that war is a crime that devastates civilization and our environment we will give much more attention to peaceful alternatives.
Frank Goetz [send him mail] worked as an engineer and technical director for Bell Laboratories for 42 years, including 2 years in the U.S. Army Scientific Personnel Program. After retiring in 1995 he volunteered for 12 years with Peoples’ Resource Center and helped create their computer and job assistance programs before joining the West Suburban Faith-Based Peace Coalition where he coordinates the Peace Essay Contest. He also coordinates programs for the DuPage Coffeehouse.