Unfortunately, there are too many who are not. To be at peace with ourselves, we need to have a sufficient amount of self-love, which is composed of self-respect, self-confidence, and self-esteem. For us to have sufficient self-love, we must believe that as long as we do the best we can to manage and take care of our own lives, while harming no one, and doing our best to help others and to show love to our family and friends, that we deserve to feel good, and loving, toward ourselves. We deserve to be at peace during life, not just after death.

Those of us who had the influence of loving, caring parents, and/or other family and significant positive influences in our upbringing and beyond, have had a great advantage. The rest of us can only try to properly parent ourselves, and refuse to drag the baggage of any unfortunate past history with us through our entire lives. You can do nothing yesterday. You have today. What will you do with it? What can you plan for tomorrow?

As parents, we must show love to our children by setting the right examples, by being good role models, and by teaching and disciplining as necessary. No child can be allowed to grow up as a bully. No child should be allowed to be the victim of any bullies.

No one who advocates, plans, or threatens violence should be allowed to run for, or hold any position of authority, whether in a democracy or otherwise. No such person should go without being arrested, evaluated, tried if necessary, incarcerated if necessary, and counseled and rehabilitated if possible.

These are all tall assignments, but, then, how high do you rank peace? Peace within yourself, in your home,

in your family, your community, and your world? Ranks pretty high. Deserves some serious attention. Spread the love, Enjoy it. 

Let's reject the alternative to peace: Violence, war, destruction, and human misery.

How much violence is required for us to say that it represents a war? Do we need dozens of deaths, hundreds, thousands, millions? As discussed in The Peace Prescription, the fewer deaths the better, but nearly all violence is potentially preventable, and as much as possible, it should be.

A government sponsored survey there this year shows: 25% of women there say they have been raped, and 51% say they have experienced violence from men. 37% of men say they have committed rape, and 78% say they have committed violence against women. 7% of men, about one in every 14, say they have participated in gang rape.

Only 1 in 25 raped women reports the crime to the police.

A third of the admitted rapists were found not to feel guilty about it.

What does this tell us? In the Johannesburg area, sexual and other violent assault against women is generally accepted as the norm by a high percentage of the population. I don't think Nelson Mandela would approve.

What can be done? Police, psychologists, social workers, and other interested people should hold open public forums, perhaps on radio and television as well, to expose the facts, to encourage women to report to police all violent crimes against them, and to encourage men to behave better. If men knew they were likely to spend time in prison for the violence, that would likely produce different behavior by most men. It would be helpful to have local men who do not commit the violence also speak out against it.

The level of rape and violence against women in South Africa can fairly be called a kind of war on women. Other areas could be just as bad, or even worse, but this is certainly one that needs work.

For every suicide there are thousands more children suffering from bullying, including many thousands

of students who stay home every day because of bullying.

When you search Google, you find 13 million entries under bullying, and over 1.5 million under anti-bullying.

There are many newer anti-bullying programs showing up at schools in the United States and elsewhere.

They tend to have something in common: They are generally namby-pamby and ineffectual efforts.

Wearing awareness bracelets, and talking about bullying, are simply not going to accomplish much, if anything.

It's true that it's good that, in recent times, more people are talking about bullying and trying to do something about it. But, in the end, it's all pointless unless something effective is done about it. "It" is the bullies who need to be controlled, the actual perpetrators. Bullies usually begin their "career' in childhood, going on their rampage of asserting control-freak power over others. As adults, that behavior often continues on some level. There will be many more suicides, hundreds of thousands of school-day absences, and plenty of misery until it becomes routine to control bullies, unwaveringly, at every school, everywhere.

The Peace Prescription, published last year, names Bully Control as one of the Five Steps needed to prevent violence and war. Bullies sometimes grow up to be gang leaders, or organized crime bosses. And, in some countries, a few become military leaders who use coups to become dictators, and then murder their own people and start wars with neighboring countries.

Every school needs an effective, serious, Bully Control Committee, operated by teachers, parents, and students, with the support and attentive response of school principals and the school boards. These committees may need the support of legislation so that bullies can be referred for mandatory counseling or face suspension, and even expulsion. Bullies should have to fear being sent to juvenile detention centers. Parents should understand that they will have legal and economic consequences if they don't control their child bullies.

Why not help get a Bully Control Committee started at your local school? Contact your child's teacher, or the principal's office, and volunteer to help get it going. The younger the age of the bully when the management and control begin, the better the results will be, and the fewer the awful consequences, such as FOUR suicides of bully victims at just one high school!

What can be done?

Fortunately, massive aid is beginning to arrive in Haiti. Local police, foreign troops coming in, and everyone there who can do so, should try to recruit every able-bodied Haitian to join the clean-up, road clearing, rescuing the trapped, burying of bodies, and the distribution of relief supplies, People carrying weapons should be offered the chance to turn in their weapons in return for priority in receiving food and water, except that the helpless, sick, and injured should have top priority. Police could give receipts for weapons that can be reclaimed once reasonable order has been restored. The main thing is to get these obviously fit individuals mobilized into helping instead of threatening or carrying out violence.

I would like to see your suggestions. The thought of people surviving the earthquake only to be killed by some desperate people with deadly weapons, is appalling.

Chapter 11: Be At Peace With Yourself and Everyone in Your Life, doesn't just get close to home. It gets inside your home and beneath your skin, into your brain and heart. I'm a doctor, so I know about those things.

How can you hope to be effective at helping your own neighbors, your neighborhood, your friends, your co-workers and everyone in your life to be at peace with themselves and with you, if you are not even at peace with yourself? That's where it has to start. Each of us needs to appreciate and love ourselves so that we have the emotional health and wealth to appreciate and love others.

Many readers of The Peace Prescription tell me that Chapter 11 is their favorite chapter. It gets very personal, but it strives to give the best guidance and real support in the direction of inner peace that can shine through to cast its light on all those in our lives.

If you, or people you care about, are going through persistent and serious stress that threatens to end a marriage or other romantic relationship, or to keep that relationship from being peaceful and satisfying, read or tell them about Chapter 11. There, on pages 117 and 118, I describe a 45-minute session that a couple can use to get their relationship headed in a much better direction. Two pages. 45 minutes. Not even a whole hour. Doesn't cost anything, except a few bucks for the book. Compare that to the emotional and financial cost of divorce, even when there are no children to be affected.

Basically, the two people meet privately for about 45 minutes without interruption, and exchange lists of the things they like best and the things they most dislike about each other. The lists are discussed item by item. It works! No therapists. No lawyers. No divorce needed.

Then there is the rest of the book, showing how violence and war can be prevented by dealing effectively with beliefs and behaviors that lead to violence and war beyond our own homes and most intimate  and loving relationships.

For example, were you at a party, at work, or anywhere, when you heard someone speak hatefully about all of the members of some race, religion, or nationality? Did the person say that all of them should be killed?

Dr. Marshall wants to immunize the world against war - in fact he wants to eliminate all wars.  This is the stated purpose of his recently published book, The Peace Prescription: Five Key Steps We Can Take to Prevent Wars.  War must be defined, he argues, so that men can quickly recognize and take seriously all acts of violence.  Marshall argues the importance of resolving alleged injustices as quickly as possible before they can escalate to war-making. 

In the first part of the book the author identifies the causes of violence and war and provides a short historical analysis of their causes. Dr. Marshall argues that the common denominator of all murder, violence, subjugation, and destruction is abnormal human behavior.  These are insights derived from his years of counseling people as a physician of psychiatric medicine. 

In the second part of the book, Dr. Marshall offers a five step prescription for eliminating both war and violence.  The author’s five step prescription program begins with what he proposes as the Peace Law, a written statute that prohibits the initiation of violence.  The Peace Law and the steps that follow it all seek to enforce decent human behavior.  He allows that sometimes small wars are necessary to prevent larger wars but he also reminds us that reality is socially created, that our beliefs inform our actions and our actions create our universe.  He awakens us to remember that we can change our beliefs and thus our actions.  Marshall believes in the possibility for a gradual elimination of war and he has faith in the role of behavior modification.  The author believes that with the right preventative care, wars can be thwarted just as illnesses can be avoided.

The Peace Prescription is a thoughtful critique of power, greed, and exploitation and one that questions the soundness of nationalism, patriotism, and the death penalty.  Marshall reviews the principles and spirituality of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, reminding us of their similarities, noting as well that all religions embrace and promote the practice of peace.  In addition to his discussion of religion, the author weaves into his narrative ancient parables as well as excerpts of speeches from peace-seeking men such as Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Marshall’s alternatives to war and violence follow, in the tradition of Zen Buddhism, a practice that promotes an awareness of one’s lifestyle, one that encourages meditative reflection, and one that emphasizes the importance of living peace.  As the great Zen master, Thich Hhat Hanh, has written it is crucial to remember that if the means is peace then the ends will be peace.  Likewise, Dr. Marshall reminds us that we must take responsibility for what we do and for the choices we make. The means always become the ends.

Dr. Marshall’s purpose is to start a worldwide peace movement.  He offers clear realistic solutions to many of the social maladies we wrestle with.  In fact, what makes this book different from mere academic analysis is that Marshall gives practical suggestions on how things can be changed.  His prescription is person-to-person, a grass-roots, bottom-up strategy rather than a top-down, government-to-government remedy to the perplexing problems of contemporary society. The Peace Prescription is a critique of modern life and a proposal for a more humane and livable world.  The book is both critical and compassionate and offers intelligent and creative alternatives to the destructive patterns of contemporary society. 

While a bit repetitious and didactic, the book is a welcome addition to the literature on conflict resolution.  The book is a must read for every global citizen who deeply cares about humanity and wants to seek compassionate solutions to contemporary problems.  The book is relevant to students and educators.  It is engaging and intellectually stimulating.

Dr. Kim's review:

The Peace Prescription by Dr. Edward Marshall challenges the reader to think non-traditionally and intuitively about a question that has haunted most of humanity since the beginning of civilization. The goal of this book is less to end all wars than it is to present a prescriptive strategy for reducing all “warlike activity” (54). In essence, it is, as stated by the author himself, “intended to be the beginning of the end of all wars forever.”  

The book is worth picking up because the intention is noble in and of itself. The author’s argument and his “Five Steps” are worth considering given that he presents us with a clear roadmap instead of lofty intellectual argument as to why we should even consider eradication of violence. I give big kudos to the author for having the courage to begin this important discourse set in, what I believe to be, the right path. In doing so, the author may not win many supporters. His argument in the book will especially rub

the realists of the world in the wrong way. His “Five Steps” are also not likely to have much traction among advocates of cultural relativism, national sovereignty, and political order. Nonetheless, the book does ask an important question: how do we begin to end the never-ending cycle of violence, which plagues our society? The prescription is laid out in the second part of the book. Although the author is a medical doctor by training, his understanding and depth of knowledge spanning the statistical facts, history, and various religions (including the Koran), makes for a fascinating read.  

I cannot say that I would agree with all of the claims made by the author; nonetheless, I do think that the question being asked and answered in this book is very important and somehow our society must begin to address it. We need not look too far to find the hundreds of non-government, government, and intergovernmental organizations devoting significant resources to report on acts of violence all around the world. The reports and the statistics do not seem to end. When I teach my students about political

violence in the world, I find myself not being able to do more than simply state the harsh reality of the million deaths, rapes, maiming, and tortures. The question of what to do about this problem is less than easy to answer. Yet, The Peace Prescription presents an interesting approach and one I can share with others to begin the important discussion about ending this grim reality. 

Overall, I thought the format and editorial in the book was nicely executed. I found little grammar or spelling errors but I did think the use of single page for quotes was a little distracting to the reader. As far as the overall style of the writing is concerned, I thought it was fairly easy to follow. I enjoyed its colloquial flow and avoidance of academic jargons. 

I applaud both Dr. Marshall and Grassroots Press for having the courage and the will to provide an important starting point to begin the discourse about winning the peace. In my eyes, The Peace Prescription has successfully done its job in setting the discussion on the right path – towards peace. 

As you can see, when professional academics review your book, it's a bit like having your term paper graded. Neither of these Professors accuse me of perfection, but I'm so pleased that they seem to have an overall favorable impression. They deserve thanks and praise for their courage shown just by taking my book seriously enough to review it. They could have said, "Who's he? These ideas are not the usual things we read. What will my colleagues think of me if I review this book? Forget it!" But, no, they had the fortitude to go forward, and I am grateful.

These criticisms may have some validity, and if emergency response to horrendous evolving events on college campuses can be improved, by all means those improvements should be done. 

But, let's get real here! A crazed student determined to kill as many students and faculty as he could was already on the campus firing weapons and killing people. At that point prevention was out of the question, Even the most level-headed, efficient response would not have been likely to save anyone's life that day. And, if I'm wrong, and some lives could have been saved, then let's pay attention to how things should have been handled better and could be handled better if, God forbid, similar events were to occur in the future on that or any campus. Still, all of this is missing the most important issue of all about the Virginia Tech massacre and all other such events, such as Columbine High School, and more recently, Fort Hood.

Doesn't anyone care that the entire massacre could have been prevented? The killer's English professor, a lady who also happened to be Dean at Virginia Tech, knew, more than one year before the massacre, that the student who later did all the killings was a dangerous person. As his English professor, she had read writings by this student that suggested a serious threat to public safety. She knew that something should be done about him. She went to faculty members, to meetings of university officials more than once, and to the local police. Everyone agreed and told her that nothing could be done because the killer had not yet killed anyone.

This is outrageous! In California there is a law that a psychiatrist can go before a judge and request a 3-day psychiatric hospitalization for evaluation of a person deemed to be an imminent threat to the lives of others or themselves. The "hold" can be lengthened by the court to a total of 14 days at a second hearing after the three days. That California law is good, but not good enough. It should be the law in all states and all countries that anyone reasonably thought to be a serious threat to public safety can be evaluated, voluntarily or not, medically and psychologically to evaluate the severity and likelihood of the threat to public safety that such persons represent. This law, which I call the Peace Law in my recently published book The Peace Prescription, should allow a court to order not only the evaluation, but the treatment and even detention, when necessary, of such persons for public safety reasons.

How can we continue to allow massacres of innocent people by crazed persons who are already known to have threatened to murder others or who have made verbal and/or written statements that indicate the likelihood of such behavior?

Violence by an individual is certainly a form of war. What if such a murderer could obtain a nuclear weapon? There is no level of violence or war that we should tolerate. That means you and I have to take a stand for the Peace Law, or be satisfied with continued massacres on and on into the future. You, I, our families, our dear ones, our friends, could be the victims of such completely preventable murders. Will some murders occur anyway? No doubt. Let's reduce the number to as close to zero as we can get.