Democratic presidential contender Marianne Williamson made a bold pronouncement about American society that stands in stark contrast with the typical political pandering heard from candidates.
Williamson said the U.S. is “not a peaceful society because we are a violent society” during a two-hour long event at Sanders Theatre with philosopher and former Harvard professor Cornel R. West, where the Department of Peace held its inaugural Cultural Impact Award ceremony Saturday.
The Department of Peace is a social justice organization that aims to bring together activists and leaders to discuss topics including politics, culture, academics, and the environment. The group hosted the discussion between West and Williamson.
“The reason we don’t have peace in the United States is because we do not have justice. We do not have criminal justice. We do not have racial justice. We do not have environmental justice and we do not have economic justice,” Williamson said.
Williamson said the existence of poverty is one example of injustice in the U.S.
“Poverty is an expression of violent economic policies when 39 percent of Americans in the richest country in the world are now skipping meals in order to pay their rent,” Williamson said.
Williamson pointed to four methods of establishing peace. These included expanding economic opportunities for women, increasing educational opportunities for children, ameliorating violence against women, and eliminating unnecessary human suffering.
“You can have all these wonderful conversations where we talk about the importance of peace, but we as a generation need to do more than say what we already know,” Williamson said. “We need to do something about it.”