It is about time to get to know us. Every Monday we will introduce someone: an employee, a professor, a student, a Milwaukee resident. Every Monday we will introduce someone who is devoted to peacemaking and nonviolence. Today we will get to know Patrick Kennelly, Associate Director for the Center for Peacemaking.
Briefly introduce yourself.
Happy New Year! I am Patrick Kennelly, the associate director for the Center for Peacemaking. I graduated from Marquette University and have previously taught high school. I am involved in the Catholic Worker Movement, the Iraqi Student Project, and other peace initiatives.
What exactly do you do for the Center for Peacemaking?
My primary responsibilities are helping facilitate student programs. I co-coordinate the veteran re-entry program and help implement nonviolence in the Milwaukee Public Schools.
Why did you get involved with peace and nonviolence?
My roots as a peacemaker began with my upbringing and the value in the dignity of human life. My choice of nonviolence comes from my ability to think as a logical and rational being. I choose to be nonviolent because it makes sense. Consider for a moment the scene in which a child slaps another child. The parent then slaps the child saying “Don’t hit.” The child does not learn not to hit but rather learns not to use violence when the parent is around. A more effective parenting approach would be to model not hitting. Similarly, if I am working for peace I would not use violence because it contradicts the peace I am trying to achieve. I use nonviolence because it demonstrates in word and action to others that peace is based on respect not humiliation and submission.
What is the greatest challenge for achieving peace nowadays?
The greatest challenge for achieving peace is ignorance. We live in a society that longs for peace, yet few people study peace. Our society sets peace as a goal but often on the micro and macro level we use tactics that encounter violence. We often try to achieve peace through the use of violence, fear and intimidation. We humiliate individuals we hope to live in respectful co-existence with. We must rethink our way of interacting directly and indirectly with others.
What can common people do to achieve peace? We all believe that only people with power such as politicians can help with peace. What about us?
People can get educated. Study nonviolent movements and practice noncooperation with individuals and organizations that promote or use violence to achieve their goals.
What do you hope people take away from our events?
I hope people catch the courage to be peacemakers themselves. I hope that they are willing to stand behind their values and incorporate peacemaking into their daily lives by engaging in actions that work for the common good of all people.
