Hillary Clinton on Ireland "The Work of Peace Permeates Down to the Kitchen Table"

Speaking in New York at her induction into the Irish America Hall of Fame, she said she was accepting the honour "on behalf of all the remarkable women that I met and admired in Northern Ireland".

She described sitting at a table in Belfast with women from both sides of the conflict and watching as they discovered how much they shared, over cups of tea.

She said that when "the work of peace permeates down to the kitchen table, to the backyard, to the neighbourhood, around cups of tea, there's a much greater chance the agreement will hold".
"You cannot bring peace and security to people just by signing an agreement,'' she said."In fact, most peace agreements don't last.''

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-31918813

In the last election, the issue of community organization was discussed. What does it mean to organize a community as opposed to imposing change from above? People are more likely to accept change if they are included in the process. They own the decisions that are made. Whether the cause is cleaning up a vacant lot or getting children immunized or bringing a halt to a nasty war, all the participants need to be engaged---otherwise the "solution" is not really a solution, it is just a bright and shiny bandaid.

For far too long, women have not been invited to the table during peace talks---even though women and children disproportionately suffer during war. How many times have we seen men in suits gather together to decide the fate of people who are not consulted? How many times have we seen those so called "peace talks" fail? No one wants any political decision forced down their throat, whether it is the decision to go to war or the decision to halt the fighting.

Much has been made of Clinton's "yes" vote on the Iraq Invasion. Clinton did not single handedly force the country to invade. Her vote reflected popular opinion----after the Bush administration did a lot of from the top "organizing" on their own, with the help of the nation's mainstream media and even Colin Powell, without whose help they most likely would not have been able to persuade Congress to vote "yes". If anyone should be accused of walking into the Iraq fiasco with his eyes open, it is Powell, not Clinton. She represented her constituency in New York, the men and women who were scared shitless after 9-11. Her job, as she saw it then, was to make the people sitting around the kitchen table safe. Would she vote "yes" again? Not a chance. Too bad she did not have a crystal ball. Too bad the nation--and its women---did not have a crystal ball in 2002.

And here is one of the reasons why some justify not including the women and children in the decision making. "They are too close to the events to make a reasonable, rational decision." "They are too emotionally invested----"

Yeah, we are emotionally invested. Because watching your child die is a bummer.

It is easy to declare "All peace, no war!" But how do you actually go about securing peace during civil wars? How do you get two sides who have opposing economic interests to see that it is in no ones interest to keep fighting? You talk to the men and women involved. You organize them. You do your work from the community, you do not send down a decision from above.

Unfortunately, there is a huge strain of messianic worship in this counttry when it comes to the office of the president. We---and that includes Democrats--are always looking for the next Jimmy Carter or Barack Obama who promises to Change the World for us. Oh, they consult us. They answer our prayers for peace. But in our heart of hearts, too many of us think that if we only select the right politician for the job, everything will change and we will all live happily ever after.

I want to select the politician who will force those of us at the kitchen table to confront the issues and to make a decision to improve the world. I want the kicthen table to decide my family and country's future.