The following text, under the headline above, is provided by Dr. E. Martin Schotz, coordinator of the JFK Peace Speech Committee, a prominent member of the Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA), and author of the book, History Will Not Absolve Us: Orwellian Control, Public Denial, and the Murder of President Kennedy. He provides it for wide discussion. He described how it came about in his remarks to the International Peace Coalition on Oct. 2: “What some of us have done is to take the ANC’s Freedom Charter and to take President Kennedy’s speech [June 10, 1963] and combine them into a document which is called a Freedom from War Charter.”

We, the People of United States, declare for all our country and the world to know: that the United States is an equal member of the community of all nations; that as an equal member the United States is bound to obey international law; that peace is a human right for all people, the right of people to live out their lives without fear of devastation, the right to breathe air as nature provided it, the right of our children to a safe and secure future; that peace is not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by weapons of war, but a system of solving problems that makes life better for all, that insures that the weak are safe and the strong are just, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the fundamental human right of peace.

The people of the United States have been robbed of their right to peace by a government that is under the control of wealthy individuals and corporations, that is dominated by a military-industrial complex, and that is governed by economic powers that have sought to make the United States a world hegemon. We assert that the people of the United States will never be safe and secure until they have a government that is built on the principle of peaceful coexistence between nations. Furthermore we assert that the people of the United States must take it upon themselves to see to it that they have such a government that truly represents their interests and their desire for peace. Therefore, we, the people of the United States, equals, brothers and sisters adopt this Freedom From War Charter, and we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.

Peace Is a Topic on Which Ignorance Abounds and the Truth Is Rarely Spoken

At all levels of our educational system peace will become a topic of study and discussion. People will be encouraged to examine their own attitudes to peace, toward war, toward other nations, and to peace in our home communities. People will be educated to identify pro-war propaganda and to identify and reject images of other nations or people as “enemies.” Competition will not be seen as hostility. People will be encouraged to understand the perspective of foreign peoples and foreign governments, and will be provided with educational materials that make this possible. Opportunities for common people to meet common people of other countries as well as officials of other countries will be provided. Peace will be understood as a matter of domestic affairs as well as international affairs, and education on the relationship of peace and justice will be available. All people will be encouraged to see that they have a responsibility and a role to play in securing a peaceful society. Peace will be understood as a process, a way of solving problems, without resorting to violence.

The People Shall Have the Peace That Flows From True Democracy

Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws. Corporations are not people and do not have the rights of people. All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country. Public councils in which all are equal and are open to all will be formed at all administrative levels so that people can educate themselves on matters of concern and on that basis direct government officials on the policies they wish to see implemented. True democracy is incompatible with government secrecy. As a result all people have the right to have access to all government proceedings.

The United Nations Is a Critically Important Institution for Building World Peace

Measures will be adopted to ensure the smaller nations have an equal voice in the proceedings of the United Nations and that the United Nations becomes an increasingly democratic forum.

Peace Is Critical To Protecting the Environment

A major source of pollution and destruction of the environment is military activities. We cannot protect and preserve a healthy environment without peace.