2This book is a tribute to all who answered the call to bring this new American institution into existence. It provides guidance for better understanding the strategies and tactics for creating political will in ways that resonate with lasting peace and social justice. The story is both reflective and instructive. Told by the Director of the national campaign to create it and of the Federal Commission that developed it, the story captures the beliefs and values of the major players responsible for USIP. In the early stages of the COVID world, the reality of the important work ahead should be clear to all of us. It is worth repeating that today our American Democracy is caught in an unpleasant and entangled web. Each strand has been woven with remarkable tensile strength by cultural and economic dynamics; each sustaining their own complexity and entanglements. We face enmeshed processes of racism, discrimination, excessive military spending, corporate influence, runaway capitalism, environmental degradation, and the system straining cycles of poverty and injustice. Creating political will is one means to leverage the resistance we need to break these bonds