Peace and unity go hand in hand, so in order to have one, you must have the other. Therefore, all actions taken would be to address both goals. My first action would be to establish a diverse cabinet, one that has leaders from their respective fields to head their departments. This cabinet would also be half male and half female, along with being racially diverse. These individuals would help with the start of a progressive society, moving towards peace and unity. My plan would be divided into two separate tracks, one geared towards those still in school and one geared towards those in the work force. However, to reach our goals, we must address the undercurrents of hatred and inequality in society that prevent us from truly reaching peace and unity.
First, we must address the hatred of others’ differences, which starts at a young age. In order to combat this, children would be exposed to a variety of cultures and peoples starting in kindergarten. To implement this exposure, I would make learning a second language necessary to graduate from high school. Children would start learning their second language as soon as they enter public school, and would continue with this up until they graduated. By mandating language learning, kids would get exposure to different cultures and gain understanding of others. This would promote unity as fear and misunderstanding of other’s limits how we grow as a society. I would also enforce stricter anti-discrimination laws within our schools, in order to tackle the inequalities for LGBT+ students. This would be through the recognition of so-called “Bathroom Bills” as discriminatory laws that harm transgender individuals. I would also encourage schools to acknowledge their transgender students with their preferred names and pronouns. With transgender teens much more likely to attempt suicide, I believe this will help to prevent that and increase respect of each other. By implementing a plan to recognize our students’ differences and have them learn from each other, I believe that this will lay the groundwork for a generation that embraces unity.
Next, we must combat inequality through economic growth and monitoring. I would first focus on the federal government’s policies so as to ensure equal pay for equal work among men and women. This would be a larger step towards closing the wage gap, which prevents men and women from ever truly being equals. Then, I would encourage Congress to set up a caucus focused on improving economic equality for men and women. As part of my plan for job growth, I would also encourage the growth of “green” businesses, such as wind farms, solar farms and hydropower dams, through tax incentives. With the promotion of “green” job fields, there would be a growth in demand for workers. I would also promote technical schools as an alternative to not gaining an education in college. Many teenagers, and adults for that matter, either don’t want or can’t afford an expensive degree. Getting an education in a field, such as mechanical engineering, allows for more employment opportunities. By decreasing economic inequality and providing more opportunities, we can decrease societal strife, thereby promoting peace.