Dear Friend/Colleague:

I am requesting your support of the attached Proposal to Establish an Office of Violence Abatement to Which the Cabinet would Report. This Proposal would require each federal agency and related state and county agency to address the issues of violence at the root level by putting in place conditions for meeting the needs of all people, balancing power among all people, and promoting respect for diversity. If we don't work together now, our children may not get the opportunity to work together in the future. We are at a critical juncture in our Democracy when our children are taking the lives of others, often without empathy for the victim. Obviously something essential is missing from their lives. It may be this lack of remorse that is our greatest indicator that a critical situation exists that we must address, and we need to address it systemically and systematically. In other words, all of our efforts, important as they may be, continue to remain isolated and unsupported. We need to require our government leaders to work together, and to require those within their agencies to do likewise. By requiring collaborative planning at the top levels of our government, we help to insure that it will occur at state and local levels also. When all agencies that serve families and children work together, our society will be far better served.

Please send a letter to your national leadership, other relevant organizations, as well as our state and local legislators requesting their support of this Proposal. Feel free to include it in your newsletters, and ask others for support. I would urge you not to become focused upon the detail, but upon the concept of the Proposal so that we can move forward decisively and powerfully at this moment in our history. We must bring the issue of violence to the national agenda, especially violence toward and by youth.

Thank you for your commitment to maintaining Democracy for present and future generations.

Yours truly,