You can’t have a Peace Rally without music. So before we go any further, click play. .

Today is the International Day of Peace, celebrated around the world since 1981.

To inaugurate the day, the “Peace Bell” is rung at the United Nations. This bell was cast from coins donated by children from all the continents, and given to the United Nations by Japan, the only country ever bombed with nuclear weapons. It is referred to as “a reminder of the human cost of war.”

I don’t think I need a reminder. But just in case you do, here are the places on the planet that are living with war today. India. Afghanistan. Somalia. Iraq. Pakistan. Mexico. Sudan. Myanmar. Israel. Palestine. Colombia. India. Indonesia. Philippines. Turkey. Sudan. Democratic Republic of Congo. Ethiopia. North Korea. And hundreds of other places, including the living rooms of video gamers who are just practicing killing.

I’m a peacenik by genetics, with my mom routinely marching in anti-war, anti-nukes, and pro-Test Ban Treaty rallies. But by personality, I’m kind of a warrior – as anyone who knows me could tell you. So I’m suggesting that maybe you join me (and hopefully a million others) at noon today to spend one minute of this World Peace Day praying/thinking/conceiving of peace.Feels good, doesn’t it?

Today my $100 donation goes to those ardent peacemongers at Coalition for Peace Action in Princeton, NJ who have spent 30 years advocating for nuclear disarmament, a peace economy, and an end to weapons trafficking at home and abroad.

I’m getting the urge to pick up a picket sign –hey, see you at the next march! To join me, give here.