Peace, justice, and nonviolence are being discussed this 4th of July holiday.

The PAXi Peace Index for today, July 4, 2015 is:
850.

You can learn more about the PAXi Peace Index in our original post: Peace Index Intro

Two stories in the news about ways to further the peace are: 1. A story on Public Radio International about how American police can learn from English police who use weapons less (umm….okay, a little ironic for Independence Day!) and 2. A story about schools sharing lessons about peace and justice from the Ferguson community.

Excerpts and links to those stories at the readmore:

Police Story from PRI…

How British police officers keep the peace, without carrying guns

Anger and protests over police tactics and shootings have sparked a re-evaluation of the role, and structure, of policing in America…

Underlying these low numbers is a different perspective on the role of police and the types of situations in which police belong.

“If you end up using your police force for mental health services, then the trouble is that police officers end up having to deal with people who often have disorders or are troubled in certain ways,” Fahy adds. “So we worked very strongly with our health service to make sure that it is health workers who respond to mental health crises, not police officers.”…

School story from Press & Guide, Michigan

St. Linus students participate in nationwide peace project

…Students at St. Linus Catholic School [Michigan] helped spread a little peace across the country this year by joining in a project with Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School in Ferguson, Mo.

The children of Ferguson [Missouri] wanted to do something to make a difference in response to the unrest their city experienced.

So, they started a nationwide peace program in the hopes that their message of love, tolerance, justice, acceptance, and peace would prevail…