As the founding father of our nation George Washington stated, “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.” As the President of the United States I would follow the counsel of a wise leader and continue the tradition the United States of America has strived to maintain in keeping peace and unity not only domestically, but globally as well by establishing guidelines and programs to make peace and unity a priority.
In order to inspire peace, I believe that you must be willing to live it. With the many opposing views that are held in politics, arguments arise and are seen by the public through media outlets. In order to promote peace and unity, this cannot happen. When government officials are shown bashing, belittling, and bemoaning each other, the whole country sees their examples and then feel like it is okay to hate someone because they are different or have different beliefs. My first act as the president would be to stop this from occurring by encouraging participation in leadership conferences and inviting inspirational speakers to teach about peace and unity with the national government leaders. This would help strengthen relationships and therefore increase productivity in the national government. Now that being said I understand that it is essential for civic leaders to have differing views and opinions, so that conflicts can be solved in a plethora of ways, but these views can be expressed and disagreed with respectfully which is what team building and trust would bring.
Foreign relationships between the leaders of the various countries throughout the world are made very public through all different types of media. Because of this the President’s words and actions towards these foreign dignitaries can be seen and observed by all of their constituents, this is where living the principle of peace comes into play. I would set in place standards for all officials in foreign relations to avoid derisive comments, show gratitude, treat them with respect, etc. to ensure that peace is not just preached but practiced.
Philanthropist, Margaret Mead, stated, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. The president can publicly show peace and unity which may inspire some, but peace will only come with those small groups who will inspire change locally. To do this, I would set up a government funded program run by local volunteers who would organize service projects and community projects to inspire local peace and unity. To make this a priority across the nation, I would offer tax break incentives to the cities who complete a set of established guidelines and record growth made in their communities through the program.
Establishing peace and unity will not be an easy task, and would require the cooperation of millions of people, but if it is done it would aid in the progression of our nation. As Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”.