Thoughts on the election from a friend and related musings
Well.... I got through this morning's crisis, meeting with my colleague, expressing my concerns, finding a solution, and moving on. But I still only get about a 'C-' in effective manager. A good manager does not let the urgent drive out the important, which tended to be my problem, today.
Listenting to post election discussions is particularly interesting for me because both my son and daughter in law, whom I respect and love deeply are both staunch Bush supporters and evangelical Christians. They are thoughtful and non dogmatic. We have many interesting discussions. The book Streams of Devotion which I read each morning was a gift from my daughter in law. I have attended their church services in both Kentucky and Salt Lake City. So when I hear steriotypic characterizations of 'evangelicial Christians' it gives me pause. They are no more justified than steriotypic characterizations of gay marriage.
Here is a moving reaction to the election, in the form of eighteen principles, written by my friend (and collaborator on the book Ending Hunger, author Elizabeth Neeld.
I am so sad this morning. The election seems to have gone Bush¹s way.
When I honor my sadness and grief and get to the other side of that, I will continue to stand for and work for and honor those principles and values I hold so deeply which led me to work so hard for John Kerry.
I will continue to stand for and work for and learn more about and speak about and honor things like:
1. Protecting the environment, including not allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and the beautiful forests of northern New Mexico, as an example
2. A Supreme Court whose vacancies are not filled with judges who will use the courts to further the right-wing positions of the people Bush calls his ³base²
3. Never going to war unless you have to and always telling the truth about why you are going to war
4. Openness and transparency in the White House and the Administration,
rather than secrecy and a stonewall against disclosure
5. Open and free science, not science manipulated to support a political agenda
6. Social security for elders that is honored and protected by not spending the surplus to offset a deficit and by keeping the system intact
7. A surplus not a deficit in the federal government
8. Health care for people who cannot afford it, including all children
9. Our country's being respected in the world for our principles and our behavior and our country¹s president being respected, at least by people in the ³free world²
10. Never sending women and men into war without proper equipment and
without enough soldiers to match the need and never cutting money for
military personnel and their families for health care, medical care for
those wounded in war, housing, schools for soldiers¹ children
11. Working with our allies in a co-operative and partnership-type way and not an arrogant, dismissive way
12, Never keeping people as prisoners without charging them and giving them the right to be represented in a civil court
> 13, Protection of our civil liberties as citizens, including things like not having the books we check out of a library checked by the government at will and not having our basic freedoms curtailed by an administration that attempts to equate disagreement with lack of patriotism.
14. Not using fear and terror threats as a means of furthering a political party's agenda
15. Having our flag stand for our wonderful country, not the Republican
party. Having 9/11 be a sad, shared moment for all of us, not a political ace in the hole for the Republicans
16. Not having tax cuts that create a deficit nor tax cuts that benefit
primarily the wealthy
17. Having a viable Medicare system that cares for the elderly and is not controlled by insurance companies
18. Having leaders‹and especially a president‹who will admit mistakes and grow and learn from them
>
Listenting to post election discussions is particularly interesting for me because both my son and daughter in law, whom I respect and love deeply are both staunch Bush supporters and evangelical Christians. They are thoughtful and non dogmatic. We have many interesting discussions. The book Streams of Devotion which I read each morning was a gift from my daughter in law. I have attended their church services in both Kentucky and Salt Lake City. So when I hear steriotypic characterizations of 'evangelicial Christians' it gives me pause. They are no more justified than steriotypic characterizations of gay marriage.
Here is a moving reaction to the election, in the form of eighteen principles, written by my friend (and collaborator on the book Ending Hunger, author Elizabeth Neeld.
I am so sad this morning. The election seems to have gone Bush¹s way.
When I honor my sadness and grief and get to the other side of that, I will continue to stand for and work for and honor those principles and values I hold so deeply which led me to work so hard for John Kerry.
I will continue to stand for and work for and learn more about and speak about and honor things like:
1. Protecting the environment, including not allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and the beautiful forests of northern New Mexico, as an example
2. A Supreme Court whose vacancies are not filled with judges who will use the courts to further the right-wing positions of the people Bush calls his ³base²
3. Never going to war unless you have to and always telling the truth about why you are going to war
4. Openness and transparency in the White House and the Administration,
rather than secrecy and a stonewall against disclosure
5. Open and free science, not science manipulated to support a political agenda
6. Social security for elders that is honored and protected by not spending the surplus to offset a deficit and by keeping the system intact
7. A surplus not a deficit in the federal government
8. Health care for people who cannot afford it, including all children
9. Our country's being respected in the world for our principles and our behavior and our country¹s president being respected, at least by people in the ³free world²
10. Never sending women and men into war without proper equipment and
without enough soldiers to match the need and never cutting money for
military personnel and their families for health care, medical care for
those wounded in war, housing, schools for soldiers¹ children
11. Working with our allies in a co-operative and partnership-type way and not an arrogant, dismissive way
12, Never keeping people as prisoners without charging them and giving them the right to be represented in a civil court
> 13, Protection of our civil liberties as citizens, including things like not having the books we check out of a library checked by the government at will and not having our basic freedoms curtailed by an administration that attempts to equate disagreement with lack of patriotism.
14. Not using fear and terror threats as a means of furthering a political party's agenda
15. Having our flag stand for our wonderful country, not the Republican
party. Having 9/11 be a sad, shared moment for all of us, not a political ace in the hole for the Republicans
16. Not having tax cuts that create a deficit nor tax cuts that benefit
primarily the wealthy
17. Having a viable Medicare system that cares for the elderly and is not controlled by insurance companies
18. Having leaders‹and especially a president‹who will admit mistakes and grow and learn from them
>
posted by dormgrandpop at 5:53 PM
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