By now anyone not living in a vacuum knows that 6-year-old Zachary Christie brought a camping utensil to school in his Cub Scout zeal and -- before it was rightly overturned due to national outrage -- was sentenced to 45 days in reform school for bringing in a weapon.

We have been treated to many hysterical viewpoints on this genuinely teachable moment, but the one that sticks with me is the hope that his seemingly lovely parents emphasize that this rule was put in place to protect him. Further, his 15 minutes, so to speak, is a chance to say, “Zachary, you’re not a victim and that’s not what you should take away from this. You unintentionally broke a rule and it has shone a spotlight on what happens when adults lose the ability to see gray area and all the world is black and white.”

Fascinating that this comes in a week when our nation is particularly attuned to the concept of foreign policy and peace and what that gray area might look like. A day or so after President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, I recalled a day in 2005 when I heard Marianne Williamson speak in New York of The Peace Alliance, whose goal is to establish a United States Department of Peace. Its mission is to empower “civic activism for a culture of peace.”

Toward that end, it makes clear its intent is not to replace the Department of Defense, but to complement its work. Williamson -- co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Peace Alliance but not actively involved now -- wrote an op-ed in the Detroit News in 2003 comparing it to the way holistic medicine is complementary to traditional. Also in that piece she wrote, “There is no department seeking to harness the power of a nonviolent heart.”

“It’s a completely different set of skills,” said Matthew Albracht, communications director for The Peace Alliance, in our recent interview. “Conflict is inevitable; violence is not.”

This grassroots effort has produced legislation that was reintroduced into the U.S. House of Representatives last February by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. It’s currently still in the House and, according to Albracht, has over 70 co-sponsors right now.

Bringing individuals with this kind of mission together is recognizing that there is gray area in the process of peace. Years ago when I was dating a police officer I first became aware that police departments were teaching community relations to go along with their rigorous physical training. Knowing when to use each skill set was the key. Somewhere between complete pacifism and an all-out shootout lies a more peaceful planet.

“In short, based on my experience serving seven presidents, as a former Director of CIA and now as Secretary of Defense, I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use ‘soft’ power and for better integrating it with ‘hard’ power,” said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at Kansas State University in November, 2007.

Gates, operating under a different commander-in-chief now, as much as reiterated that philosophy on CNN’s Amanpour last weekend – “My view is the American toolbox should contain something other than hammers.”

Now let’s take that down a few levels and apply it to the community. Little Zachary Christie was hit with a hammer when the situation called for a feather. This is where it all starts, folks. With each of us at the community level.

“What is peace?” Albracht said. “It starts with each person.”

That is why The Peace Alliance is also working on the Youth Promise Act, which currently has over 225 members of the House signed on as co-sponsors.

“We’re calling for a national conversation on youth violence,” Albracht said. “How do we cultivate peace?”

While there might be vociferous disagreement on the answer to that, it doesn’t mean each of us can’t back our opinions and passions about it with action. This is not just about sitting back and letting people we’ve elected do all the work. We can play a part. We are called to, aren’t we?

“We have no illusion that having a Department of Peace will be the panacea that brings forth a violence-free society,” The Peace Alliance writes on its Web site. “What is certain is that if we don’t try, we will never even get close.”

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.