The Kalamazoo Revolution

Whereas,

All human beings share the fundamental intimate needs for attention and affection;

All human beings are political beings, engaging others by persuading them through their ideas;

The values that compose peace, like effective communication, creativity, empathy, nonviolence, love, and cooperation, are already present in all societies of the world;

Peaceful engagement is immune to violence;

Conflict Transformation is a dynamic process that requires sufficient time to be completed;

The creation of a positive social epidemic demands ordinary efforts of ordinary people in a common direction;

A revolution is a faster-pace evolution;

Transparency generates trust, and trust fosters virtue;

That in presence of good, there is no further need to dichotomize good and evil;

A critical mass of inhabitants of the United States of America have reached a Tipping Point of spillover in their level of tolerance for the way their political elite has been governing their country and relating with other countries of the world, and that this energy needs to be channeled in a constructive manner;

A critical mass of inhabitants of the United States of America are willing to make the sacrifice epitomized in the endeavor to generate positive change and to contribute with their individual and collective efforts;

The peoples of the United States of America deserve to be engaged in peace by all other peoples of the world;

The global leadership that the United States of America has had during the last half century, entitles this great nation to appreciation on behalf of all of those people, individuals and groups, that have been aided or benefited by American cooperation, including, especially, the millions of culturally diverse immigrants that have found a safe home in American territory;

That whatever wounds the United States of America, through its foreign policy, might have inflicted on individuals and groups around the world, may only be forgiven through the sole initiative of its victims;

That the reconciliation process between the world and the United States of America, and between the American Civil Society and the American Government, will begin the moment the American Government recognizes its wrongdoings, acknowledges the basic needs that have been violated, and expresses its apology for the harms done;

That the degree of success of peaceful revolutions in comparison with violent ones confirms the mandate that this Revolution be a peaceful one, through creative solutions, an attitude of empathy, and most important of all, nonviolent interaction and behavior;

Now therefore,

The Kalamazoo Revolution is hereby launched as a Declaration of Peace from the people, by the people, and for the people of the United States of America;

It shall be based on the principle of unidentifiable leadership, to avoid mistakes in the past committed by revolutionary leaders like Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and other prominent revolutionaries whose endeavors were interrupted violently by those in fear of addressing the truth;

The values promoted by this Revolution are those related to peace and democracy, keeping in mind that the Institutions of the United States of America have been pillars of social justice for all;

The principle of networking, deeply embedded in American cosmology, is the principle to gain adepts to the movement, all of which are already agents of change in their communities, contributors to a better world and promoters of ever-greater peaceful coexistence;

The first change that shall be promoted by all endorsers of this Revolution is an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America to move Election Day to the Sunday immediately after the constitutionally appointed date, allowing a greater majority of citizens to freely exercise their right to vote.

Kalamazoo, Michigan
October 31, 2006