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1) Debbie, you have written a book about peace. Yet the history of mankind is basically a long period of warfare, interrupted by periods of peace. What makes you think things are going to change?

First, let me explain that calling historical periods between armed conflicts periods of "peace" isn't entirely accurate, since underlying problems inevitably lead to the next war. This is a perfect example of the definition of "insanity" as continuing to do the same thing while expecting a different result.

I contend that the only sane thing would be to look for creative, out-of-the-box ideas that would address the underlying problems in society with win-win-win solutions. True peace would be a self-perpetuating condition requiring strong, unified activity from everyone, beginning at the community level and going all the way up to a level of international cooperation.

2) I think Sept 21 is International Peace Day. How did this come about?

In 1982, a U.N. resolution established September 21 as the United Nations International Day of Peace. It began in small ways, but now millions of people consider the day a holiday when they can celebrate positive ideas, enjoy upbeat activities, and help spread the message of peace. Since I can only write and talk about these ideas, I take advantage of special opportunities like this one to discuss what I believe needs to be done to end poverty and build a peaceful society.

3) I believe that we have been working on our educational system for some time now…what do you think is wrong and what needs to be rectified?

The biggest problem with education is the institutional approach with its age-grade, lock-step method of turning out graduates as if they were factory products. They should not label any student as a "failure" for needing help in one area, even though they might be a natural-born whiz in other areas. We need a system that puts less emphasis on "teaching," where students passively absorb facts at a prescribed rate, than on "learning," where people of all ages study each subject at their own pace, receive the individual help they need to master each subject in their own time, and develop learning as a lifetime habit.

Young people should also be able to integrate work in different areas and with different companies into their educational experience. This will accomplish two things: 1) They would be able to earn the money they need to help pay for their basic needs--no unpaid internships allowed. And 2) they will have the opportunity to learn what is involved in different jobs so they'll be better equipped to decide what they want to do as adults.

There is a great deal more to the educational model I imagine. Much of it is included in The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace, and I'm continuing to talk and write about those ideas every chance I get.

4) Everyone I know is getting older. What needs to be changed to help them age more gracefully. Or what do you propose?

Older people, as well as young people and disabled people, deserve two things to help them function in their lives and in their communities: 1) Like everyone else, they deserve access to all the basic goods and services they need to enjoy a dignified existence. And 2) they deserve every opportunity, along with the tools they need, to participate in their communities as functional, productive, contributing citizens--without fear of losing any of their basic benefits because they are working.

This approach would enhance every aspect of their lives, physical, mental, psychological, and reduce the need for more expensive medical care. Such a practice would also lower the overall financial burden of any population on society, so there would be less isolation of these groups and more inclusion.

5) We have an election coming up, and we are constantly reminded of 9/11 and the London and Madrid terrorist bombings. What needs to be done, in your mind to rectify these situations?

Of course, effective action must be taken against the terrorists that are guilty of these attacks, instead of using the events as an excuse to execute any politician's personal vendetta. More importantly, this situation should be an object lesson on the need to eliminate the biggest recruiting field for terrorists: disaffected poor people around the world. As long as poverty exists, bullies will be able to exercise control, whether in small local groups or over entire national groups.

6) The leader of Iran has gone on record as saying some pretty nasty things about various racial and ethnic groups. I also think that he hasn't studied history very much. But what does the civilized world, if you will do about this individual?

This question relates to the previous one. Like other autocrats, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rules in Iran because the rampant poverty in that country generates fear. Poverty and fear are the two strongest tools that dictators use to gain and exercise control over people. Ending that fear will require education and eventually ending the condition of poverty. This won't happen quickly, and it can't be done in countries with authoritarian leaders until it's first accomplished in countries that now call themselves democratic, but where large groups of citizens are powerless because they exist in a state of abject poverty.

Eventually, I would like to see a unified approach taken by the so-called "free" countries of the world to the problem of dictators like Ahmadinejad through something like the World Court. If this had been done with Saddam Hussein, the United States would not now be mired in a winless conflict in the Middle East, and would not have had an excuse to take the pressure off of Osama bin Laden and his minions.

7) Some believe that peace and poverty can co-exist as long as people are content with what they have- I don't need a new car, I don't need a boat, I don't need to vacation in Italy. I can still be relatively happy listening to my old 45 records, and 33 albums and reading (gasp!) books !

(which will show you where I am at) What say you?

It's nice that you have the older car and the old records. (I'm in a similar place, with mostly old things to be content with--including myself!) What about the people who don't have a home to live in, don't know where their next meal is coming from, or are seriously ill but are being denied access to adequate medical services? Poverty is a lack of access to at least some part of the basic goods and services needed to enjoy a dignified existence. Old records probably seem pretty dignified to somebody who has to sleep under a bridge or on an inner-city sidewalk.

Ending poverty doesn't mean giving everyone shiny new cars and I-Phones. My formula for ending poverty is both simple and complex: The only way to eliminate poverty is to establish a system in which each person receives all the basic goods and services necessary for a dignified existence at a cost of no more than half the amount earned by the lowest-paid full-time worker on the planet.

This would require establishing the difference between truly basic "needs" and everything else, which are called "wants." And why does everyone deserve at least a little extra beyond what they need to purchase the basics? To have some choice in their lives, and maybe even the opportunity to better their situation.

8) Do you have a web site or 800 number?

My web site is: www.imaginetheworldatpeace.com. My web e-mail address is:debbie@imaginetheworldatpeace.com.

9) Tell us about your book and your recent endeavors.

My first nonfiction book, The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace, is a collection of essays I wrote for my column in the Arizona City Independent Edition. I've long had the idea that there must be a better way to organize this world so we could end poverty without giving up our individual freedoms. In fact, it would require that we guarantee the civil rights of every single person, balanced with civic responsibility.

I'm still writing columns in this vein, sharing ideas on how we can all work for fundamental change. I'm also writing columns on related subjects, such as green living. My next book, which I hope to publish in the first half of next year, will be a collection of these essays entitled Keep on Imagining: Spreading the wings of peace.

I also love writing fiction, and I'm currently working on a children's book--my first in that genre. There will also be a novel, which I hope to release in 2010, dramatizing the principles contained in my nonfiction work. And I love mysteries--my first published book is an historical mystery entitled Lion's Pride, also available from all online book stores--and plan to finish several mysteries over the next few years.

And with my husband, Jim, I enjoy our cats and our favorite baseball teams, especially the Arizona Diamondbacks, because we live in Casa Grande, just outside Phoenix.

10) What question have I neglected to ask?

My favorite questions are: Why did you write the book? What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

My answer is always, I'm sharing ideas, some from my own imagination and many from others that I've seen during my life that work well but aren't being implemented everywhere. I want to spark others to think creatively and share their out-of-the-box ideas too. I'd like to see everyone take more responsibility in their own neighborhoods and communities and more groups dedicated to ending poverty and building peace work more closely together in order to spread positive ideas.

We won't realize any of these goals quickly. It will take a lot of work to reach them, if we ever do. It could take generations, but if we don't take the first steps, we'll never get there anyhow!

Published September 23, 2008