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There will always be problems to deal with
because we are human beings. They may be personal or family or community,
national or world. In the
After or during our discussion of issues you
may wish to contact a newspaper. I give some suggestions and links to papers in
Letter Writing. Of course we have an
obligation to Contact
your representative at the state
and national levels.
There are two ways to address issues. One is debate; the other is dialog.
Debate assumes there is one right answer and I have it! I become combative and try to prove you wrong. It is about winning and listening to find flaws in your views. It defends assumptions as truth and critiques your positions. I defend my own positions against yours. I search for weaknesses in your positions and seek conclusions that ratify my own thinking.
Dialog, on the other hand, assumes that many people have pieces of the truth and together we can devise a new solution. Dialog is collaborative and explores common ground among people. In dialog, I listen to understand and find meaning and agreement. I talk about assumptions that underlie my views and so I re-examine all positions. I admit that your thinking can improve mine. I search for strength in your views and discover new options.
St. Benedict said that if you want the truth you must be willing to admit you may be wrong!
(modified 4/10/08) We are a violent nation. We were born in violence in the Revolutionary War, sustained in the War of 1812, expanded through the decimation of Native Americans under "Manifest Destiny", took over foreign lands in the Spanish American War, fought among ourselves in the War Between the States (Civil War), and continue to act violently in the world by imposing ourselves on other nations, such as in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and finally the war of aggression against Iraq started in 2003. Internally we continually are violent in race relations, legalizing abortion, and think guns are a birthright.
Non-violence begins
with the individual. Ghandi in
One of the very
serious acts of violence is violence that occurs within the family, commonly
called domestic violence. This
could be physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, or neglect.
The victim(s) can be male or female, adult or child. To find out more about
domestic violence, check out the National
Domestic Violence website or call their hotline for help: 1-800-799-7233.
In
The Midland County Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership locally is promoting peace by using material from Families Against Violence and Advocacy Network. They suggested families display a Pledge of Nonviolence during the week of February 18-24. This pledge included the following: To respect self and others, To communicate better, To listen, To forgive, To respect nature, To recreate nonviolently, and To act courageously. These sound like pretty good principles for everyday living - plus they promote non-violence!
Also check out Amnesty International for information on
people being held political prisoner (no crime committed) and National Campaign for Tolerance (after
April 1, 2001) for ways to foster tolerance among all people. Midland Interfaith Council on Peace and
Justice is a
The US Catholic Bishops addressed domestic violence in "When I call for Help"
Other sites of interest are:
Power to Change: Faith Communities Take Action Against Family Violence
Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence
Read what one person
has to say about violence and what to do about it in a letter to his
How can you and I promote a less violent country and world?
Instead of everyone going up the ladder of economic improvement during the 1990's, the reality is that the poor got poorer and the rich got richer. This continues intot he 21st century. Tie this in with the issue of taxes. CEO compensation went from 1.4 million in 1970 to $40 million in 1999. Workers wages in the same time period went from $30,000 to $45,000. (Sojourners Mar-Apr 2003, 17)
The disparity is even greater today.
I have written letters to newspapers for over forty years. I
have had the pleasure of getting quite a few of them published. Here are
suggestions for good letter writing:
a) be sure to include your full name, address, and phone number
b) do not send the same letter to several newspapers: they want to think you are writing to them only.
c) do not copy paragraphs from this site or any source. It shows lack of thought and possible plagiarism.
Here are some email addresses to get you started.
Midland Daily News: mailto:MDNletters@mdn.net
Detroit Free Press mailto:editpg@freepress.com
To contact a member of the
http://www.house.state.mi.us/locate.html
To contact a Michigan Senator:
http://www.senate.state.mi.us/SenatorInfo/senfullframe.htm
To contact your
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
To contact your