On civil disobedience

Dissent is democratic and civil disobedience is a courageous version of it. It has given women the vote, ended legal racial discrimination, toppled colonial rule and recently, autocratic oppression.

It won't work without the press though. We need the press to share the news, show the courage of dissenters and cruelty of power. Hooray for the press.

I get a lot of my news through friends on Facebook. So I don't use mainstream media the way I used to. Still I cherish my local paper, though I ignore a lot of it.

I see things coming to a head. I am asking myself for what issues am I willing to be arrested. I don't have an answer yet but there is a lot of value in asking.

The first thing thatccomes to me is gratitude, for the press, for my FirstvAmendment rights, and that I have enough years and money to be able to contemplate earning a criminal record without fearing it much

Peace, y'all

Molly

Income distribution in the US -- an ugly truth

-I'm pretty sure this will link to the article that concerns me today.


http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

Peace, y'all

Molly

Stop the world, I want to get off!

That's an expression my mother taught me. I know we lack the ability to leave this world. Gravity ensures this. I thought of this expression because so very much is going on, I'd like to slow things down and deal with them one at a time.

Democracy is breaking out in Africa and breaking down in the US -- or so it seems as the rich get richer and try taking still more from the environment and the working people.

Mother Jones magazine posted a very graphic article on Feb 7 that clearly shows how the wealthy in our nation are getting more. I'm blogging from my phone so I can't link to it now. But I will.

The uneven distribution of wealth undermines peace and justice. I wish the wealthy could see the impacts of their wealth.

Peace, y'all

Molly

Peacemaking - my day job

To further the pursuit of peace today I will strive to hold the spirit of recent meetings for worship. Peace in my daily rounds. Grace for everyone. Peace y'all

Molly

First Amendment Rights in Action at Quaker Lobby Day

Yesterday I flexed most of my first amendment rights. I prayed. I assembled. I spoke. I petitioned the govt.

I am glad I went to Olympia and lobbied. Yet--I am so aware that those who lobby more than I do, who can give our elected officials golf trips and the like, are so much more successful and effective than I.

I really liked seeing so much democracy in one place. Lots of union folks, lots of kids, signs to save our kids, save our schools, protect state workers.

I guess I see democracy around me all the time, but not the baring of the stark reality of the competition of values. It was there, in the state Capitol, where people travel to plead their case.

I am glad to be home, yet I want to remain engaged. The measures I care about help to make the world better. Must keep trying.

Peace, y'all

Molly

More on Micah's words

Months ago these words started germinating in me. "what does the Lord require but that we love mercy, act justly and walk with our God?". Today I thought hard on these words. In English, mercy and justice are sort of opposites. And love is more than sentiment, it's action, an active verb. So it's clear to me what it means to walk with God. (though it is hard to do). But nurturing both justicevand mercy is still a puzzle.

Then a serendipitous thing happened. Tomorrow is Quaker Lobby Day in my state Capitol, and 'the issues we'll lobby on are criminal justice!! Talk about justice and mercy.

Quakers in my state place priority on efforts to repair the harm suffered by victims over soohong punishments to offenders.

We want to enable offenders to redeem themselves and reintegrate in society.

We wantto replace costly incarceration through diversion, drug treatment, job training, and education.

We want to redress racial inequity of the current criminal justice system.

Tomorrow I will lobby with Micah's guidance. I don't think God requires this. I think God prepared me for tomorrow some how.

Peace, y'a, and act justly, love mercy, and walk with God!

Molly

democracy, freedom, and the Middle East

Such exciting times these are.  Tunisia, Egypt, now citizens across the Middle East are stirring.  The U.S. must rethink its position in Middle East--supporting autocrats if they sell us oil and don't make war on Israel.  Advocating democracy is very close to the heart and soul of American policy.  Yet when the Palestinians held an election and chose Hamas, the US turned away.  As if the US has never used terror as a tool! 

The pro-Israel lobby is very powerful in Congress.  Will it hang the US out to dry?  Will it keep our nation in a 20th century paradigm? 

Yes, things are a-changing.  I am watching.  I'm wondering.  I'm eager to see what the future looks like. 

Peace, y'all

Molly

Revealing myself

The de-cluttering continues. I have found some stuff from the 1980s that is now on its way to scanning, shredding, and recycling. Most of the detritus is paper. I realized last night that the clutter has obscured from me a clear sense of self, and what I've found helps me know myself. I like the me I have found, and I'm ready to say goodbye to the parts that bury me in their 'shoulds.'

I think I've already noticed I'm more effective in doing what I think I should do.

Enough about me. How goes the stroll through life for thee?

Peace, y'all

Molly

What do I fear?

Thinking today about what makes people believe as they do. Is our nation on a path to ruin? Is the planet in peril from climate change? Will the US lose its comprtitive edge? What will happen when white people are the minority in this country? Are we becoming a socialist country? Will the US go broke?

These are not my own fears, except the first two, and the last one. I wonder if exploring fears is a way to determine what really matters to people, and what information they are getting, or not getting.

I have a fear related to global warming. I fear the collapse of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. I would like to see it before it disappears.

Beloved readers, what do you fear?

Peace, y'all

Molly

Clean my room, clean up my life

In the few weeks I have been purging my cluttered study, I have discovered a lot of things. First, the rest of my home deserves the same treatment. Second, I am ready to let goof far more than I ever imagined. Third, I am who I am, and have been for some time. Things I wrote or collected years ago still resonate. Fourth, this clutter has been far more limiting and crippling than I ever realized.

Part of project has me talking to folks with same kind of house as I live in. One is a retired pastor who enlightened me. She has helped many people close the home of someone who has died. The deceased's treasures become thrift store fodder. How much of this stuff do I want to take into the next chapter of my life?

It is a big question. So this de-cluttering is leading me to evaluate what matters to me, and what I want to leave for my daughter to deal with when I die.

Peace, y'all

Molly