"Jared Flag" by Eric Gulliver, Engaging Peace graphic designer

Jared Loughner's deadly attack on innocent civilians in Tucson, Arizona, was morally reprehensible. Maybe he is mentally ill, but he is also the product of a society with an enormous tolerance for violence.

• An estimated 1,740 children died in 2008 as a result of abuse and/or neglect. Yet the financing of social programs to address such problems has been constantly under attack;
• The annual murder rate was 29^th among the 31 countries... Read more...

Illustration by Margot Bendery, staff illustrator for Engaging Peace

Martin Luther King, Jr., champion of peace

On Monday, January 17, we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and an exemplar of moral engagement. He demonstrates all the criteria for moral engagement:

• He provided moral justifications for peace, fairness, and justice.
• He used accurate descriptive language when referring to the evils of racism and war.
• He compared segregation, injustice, and war to better alternatives.
• He demonstrated personal agency, accepting the responsibility to... Read more...

(by guest author Michael T. Corgan)

What makes a war "just"?  Is a just war also a "legal" war?  As generally accepted, just war theory imposes six criteria for identifying a war as just:

1. The war must have a just cause
2. It must be initiated by a proper authority
3. It must be a last resort
4. The use of force must be proportional to the object to be achieved
5. There must be a chance of success when one uses force; and
6. The ensuing peace, if attained, must...  Read more...
    

January 24 represented a milestone for Engaging Peace: our 50th blog post was published!