My husband, Lee, was a cabinet undersecretary and senior White House advisor to President Reagan. Of course, I work for President Clinton. But you might say we've negotiated our own peace, because we have a life together that is much more important than politics. Borders and minds come open for only a while at the point of a gun. It is peace that truly opens borders and that opens minds.
Peace is about personal reconciliation.
Leaders can sign peace agreements, but it is people who have to make them work. Reconciliation requires that we look at each other as individuals, not stereotypes, and that we raise our sights beyond the anguish of the past. I know it's true. I've seen old enemies with hatred spanning generations sitting across from each other, sharing a meal, shaking hands, even laughing at each other's jokes. There is a special challenge for women to find peace.