Tag Archive for justice

Let Me Dream

Starting in November, no matter who we vote in as President, I fervently hope the spirit of Martin Luther King., Jr. rests upon his shoulders and infuses his decisions with the fire to fight violence and its major cause, injustice, in our nation.  I dream that this spirit spreads from our leader to our lawmakers, who will then regain the respect of their constituents, who will, in turn, reject violence in all its dehumanizing forms and embrace justice for all of our citizens.  From there, they will demand justice for all other citizens of the world and pursue it in peaceful, yet effective ways.

This is a huge dream, even a foolishly optimistic one.  But, just imagine–if everyone shared my dream and worked to make it reality, what would our new world look like?

Let me dream.

Rome?

I feel like I’m in Nero’s Rome. Come on, people. We’re better than that. We can band together and practice peace and justice!

A Good Time To Tell Them What You Think

Seems like those Presidential candidates don’t have a clue! Like all they want is to get elected. They don’t seem to care about injustices caused by our broken penal and immigration systems.  It’s okay to try kids as adults, then throw them into adult prisons to harden and learn new criminal skills.  Homeless, elderly, disabled people–all that matters is money and power, not lives and human dignity. If an issue strikes a moral chord with us, we should exert our influence.  Now is the time to contact those candidates, letting them know what’s important to us and what they need to address if they want our vote. Remember, too, that they read newspapers, so write a letter to the editor. And social media, so post there.  If you get a positive response, encourage others to express their opinions.  If a candidate won’t listen, give your vote to someone who will.

Movie Recommendation

I don’t go to many movies, mainly because I get tired of shallow characters and plots driven by alternating scenes of shooting, car-chases, explosions, and sex. But I just saw one I highly recommend–On the Basis of Sex. It doesn’t try to cover a whole bunch of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s life, as the TV documentaries do. Instead, it focuses on her as a young woman, long before she became a Supreme Court Justice. It depicts her experiences at Harvard, including discrimination against her, a woman, despite the fact that she was well into the top 10% of her class. And how she used those experiences and revelations as a lawyer just starting out–much more timid than the RBG we know today. That period in her life explains this current Justice’s motivations, ideals, drive, and determination to work for justice and equality for all people.

She personifies the line that sticks with me most from the movie (paraphrased here): Talking about an issue is a support group, not a movement; doing something about it is a movement.

We All Deserved It

I AM OUTRAGED!

Whomever is telling the truth, Christine Blasey Ford or Brett Kavanaugh, is NOT the issue. The Senate Judiciary Committee has treated both of them unfairly.

Ms. Ford was not allowed to present witnesses who would be subpoenaed to substantiate her claims under direct questioning  and oath. Yes, some submitted short statements, but, as any attorney will tell us, that doesn’t bring out as many facts that in-person, under-oath questioning does.

Judge Kavanau may have benefited from those witnesses, because they may have contradicted each other or said something to prove his side when under the heat of direct questioning. He, too, did not present in-person witnesses which could have bolstered his side of the story.

On both sides, a thorough FBI investigation would have uncovered truths, half-truths, and inconsistencies. Or a history that made one or the other or both suspect. That’s their job–the job they’ve done for accusations made in past nominations. But the Judiciary Committee decided to take on most of that task themselves.

Remember that this is a committee that is supposed to be non-politically biased, like a court. Yet they were drowning in political accusations, blame, and verbal fights. Both sides had political motives. So how could they make an unbiased decision, especially without knowing the whole story that an FBI investigation would foster?

Why are both parties being harmed? Neither has actually had their day in court. Neither is vindicated. Neither has had their good name cleared. Both have had themselves and their families go through a demeaning experience in these hearings. These are people, not pawns.

And our country loses, because we’ve added a person to the highest, most important, citizen-protecting court in our land who will always be surrounded by a cloud of suspicion as he makes serious decisions that affect our lives.

Why would a delay of a couple of weeks–with a vote still before the November elections–have been a bad thing?  Both of these people, and America, deserved it!

 

Really, Who WAS this MLK?

I just learned three things about Martin Luther King, Jr. that I didn’t know but found interesting. I knew that he wasn’t perfect–had some flaws, did some sinning–and that he was the leader that was needed during that part of the history of American social justice.  Here’s what I didn’t know:

  1. He was a champion for the environment. He did it not as a tree-hugger but as a believer in the interconnectedness of all life.
  2. He was a “democratic socialist” (not the same as a communist) long before Bernie Sanders came along.  He preached that we should form the economy in ways that meet people’s needs, not to make a few people richer.
  3. You could disagree with him, but he’d never throw a punch or get nasty.  Even when Malcolm X, another prominent civil rights leader of the time, derided him viciously and called him names.

You can read details about these three facts at CNN’s Three ways MLK speaks to our time.

 

Sippin’, Sunnin’, and Ponderin’

Recipe for a nice summer day: sunshine, a comfy lawn chair, a cool drink, and a good book.  Combine relaxation with something worthwhile–read up on a social-justice issue.  The library is filled with great novels with social-justice themes and biographies of fascinating people like Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa. Explore a major issue you’ve been struggling with, like elder care, hunger, ethics in business, poverty, war, abortion, violence.  Ponder our responsibilities as part of the human family.

I have a  long list of titles to get you started.  Most  have annotations to give you an idea of what they’re about.  Email me at [email protected] and I’ll gladly send it to you.

Think about it: while you’re laid back sippin’ and sunnin’, you can learn how to simplify your life and make a better world at the same time.

Woman, Light a Fire!

Violence! Fighting! Rock-throwing! Vandalism! Fires!  These are common events at marches and protests.  There were 470,000 or so people in the Women’s March in DC (and many, many more in other cities, including my home town of San Jose, CA).  And what did they do?  The raised their voices to express their demands for justice, peace, and equality in our country. Women carried signs related to a multitude of social justice issues and expressed their displeasure with a President who has promised (and has already started) to set policies that they see as perpetuating social INjustice.  They sang and chanted, gave and listened to speeches, discussed issues with  those around them, became more and more determined.

They did not riot. Or destroy property.  Or attack each other.

My daughter and granddaughter attended.  My apolitical granddaughter decided  that giving up a planned snow trip and enduring the several-hour bus ride from their New Jersey home to DC was worth it, that this was an historical and meaningful event she wanted to participate in.  My daughter, more political, agreed, and off they went.  See pictures below.

There are several lessons here.  First, women united can light a fire that makes a difference.  Second, the next generation of adults care about the human family.  Third, protests can be peaceful, and they should be if participants are to be taken seriously.

I’m proud of my family’s involvement and of all the 470,000 people in DC and all the others who showed up and spoke up.

  

Nebraska, Death, and Shame

Nebraska lawmakers have banned the death penalty, even overriding their governor’s veto.  I congratulate them on realizing that the “eye for an eye” law was–listen up, Christians–the old law, replaced by a new Law of humanity and reason.  They came to understand that the death penalty, on the moral level, is unequally applied and too permanent in cases when guilt is later disproved; on the practical level, far too expensive; and, on the emotional level, seldom brings victims’ families the peace they long for.  Lawmakers saw that the practice was not justice but simple revenge.

Nebraska is state #19 (plus DC).  We’re well past 1/3 of our civilized nation’s ridding itself of the practice, as much of the rest of the major nations have done.  Yet we’re so far away from even 1/2.

I’m sad to say that my state, California, is on the wrong side of those percentages.  If you live on that side, urge your state’s lawmakers to do something about ending this national shame.

 

Mandela on Overcoming Poverty

 Today’s Thursday Thought: