May we embrace peace with justice.  May we speak for it and stand for it.  May we make our voices heard and our presence felt.

May we awaken to the possibilities of our greatness if we stop wasting our resources on war and its preparation.

May we end all war in the new year.  Wars always end.  May we end them sooner and lessen the toll of death and suffering.  May we refrain from initiating new wars.

May we dramatically reduce military spending and reallocate the funds to meeting social needs – the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless and those without health care.

May we end the arms trade, and make pariahs of those who profit from it and from war.

May we stop provoking a new nuclear arms race with the Russians by the expansion of NATO and deployment of missile defense installations up to their borders in Europe.

May we recognize the omnicidal threat that nuclear weapons pose to humanity and all life.  May we take these weapons off hair-trigger alert, declare and enforce policies of No First Use, and begin negotiations for a new treaty for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of all nuclear weapons.

May we uphold and strengthen human rights for all people in all places.  May we seek justice for the oppressed.

May we stop to appreciate the beauty and abundance of our amazing planet, our most important common heritage.  May we make it a healthy planet for all life by restoring the purity of its air and water, the lushness of its forests and the richness of its soil.

May we demonstrate a decent respect for the lessons of history and for all who have preceded us on our unique planet, the only one we know of in the universe that supports life.

May we show by our actions that we take seriously our role as trustees of Earth for our children and their children and all children of the future – that they may enjoy a peaceful and harmonious life on our planetary home.

David Krieger is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.  His latest book, Speaking of Peace, Quotations to Inspire Action, is available from Amazon.com.