Tag: justice

Peace On Earth

September 21 is the International Day of Peace

“As long as we have humanity, we have hope!” Amanda Gorman

Peace for Ukraine

Peace

Last night I had the strangest dream, I dreamed the world had put an end to war!

2022 Peace Day Theme:
End Racism. Build Peace. 

We all have a role to play in fostering peace. Tackling racism is a crucial way to contribute to this effort.

#PeaceDay

I’m calling on Valdimir Putin to end this awful war in Ukraine. This is an unjust attack on innocent people. I traveled to Ukraine about ten years ago. The people were charming and worked so hard to help and communicate with us. We loved the beautiful country and people. This is an unjust war and Putin needs to be held accountable.

In the past month I have read three books about immigrants. The dangerous journeys they take to escape violence are incredible. It is amazing they survive and they should be treated with kindness and understanding by all of us that have been lucky to live a life of freedom and safety.

Kindness makes a difference!

Reading list:

  • Ukrainian troops took the city of Izium in the country’s east from Russian forces, and made more gains in other regions, the military said.
  • The seizure was the latest triumph in a Ukrainian advance that has reshaped the war in just days.
  • Here’s where Russian forces are retreating in northeastern Ukraine.
  • Once-vocal supporters of Russia’s invasion criticized President Vladimir Putin over the retreat.
  • Bridge building has become a crucial, if low-tech, tool for both sides in the war.

June Justice

Do something kind!

We live in an unjust world. Children are shot for being at school, shoppers are shot buying groceries, and whole countries are under siege because leaders are full of lies and visions of power. Poor countries are suffering from climate change created by wealthy countries. We live in an unjust world

Justice and Truth!

We must work for justice and truth. As a civilization we will not survive if we don’t work harder for justice and electing leaders who speak the truth and do not spew hate.

We must do more to keep our children safe, and gun violence should be an issue Americans vote on, only then things will change!

Gun violence in America kills more children than any other cause. This is not a civilized society! All countries have mental health issues, but the United States needs the gun restrictions that other countries have managed to pass. See information from John’s Hopkins below.

Be kind

Make an effort to spread kindness every day! Kindness creates a ripple for more kindness!

From John’s Hopkins University:

“Ten people shopping for groceries in Buffalo were killed in a racist act of gun violence. The next day, worshippers at a California church were shot in another racist incident. Last week, tragedy struck again, but this time in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people, including 19 students and 2 teachers were killed in a mass shooting.

All are tragic reminders of why we need lawmakers to implement gun violence prevention policies that can prevent this needless loss of life.

As the new Center for Gun Violence Solutions – formed from the recent merger of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence and the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy – we are continuing to fight for evidence-based policies to reduce mass shootings including firearm purchaser licensing, firearm removal laws such as extreme risk protection orders, and bans on large capacity magazines.” John’s Hopkins University

https://www.everytown.org/

This is an excellent speech: https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/watch-president-biden-s-full-speech-addressing-gun-control-after-recent-mass-shootings-141353029701

Good suggestions for working for community health and a kinder world:

March for Ukraine

Buy less, waste less and use less energy!

Two bad things are happening in the world. Europe is at war in Ukraine, and a new UN report says climate change is going to cause many future problems. UN climate report: ‘Atlas of human suffering’ worse, bigger – StarTribune.com 

Support for the Ukrainian People

We know the drill to help ward off climate problems, drive less, use less plastic, eat less meat, and reduce food waste. Buy less, waste less, and use less energy!

Every day I take three breaths for peace to help Ukraine. Here is a list of organizations to support and help Ukraine: See below and Donate to the fund of the National Bank of Ukraine – Official website of Ukraine 

I was in Ukraine in 2013. The people were very kind, helping us get around, take public transportation, and order food. My husband and I loved the beautiful country and kind people!

Yes, we are under stress worrying about Ukraine and climate change. Below is the mindful calendar for March to help maintain our mental health.

Medical supplies from the United States and Europe because Ukrainian suppliers ran out of gear and medical supplies. For more information go to razomforukraine.org.

United Help Ukraine is providing lifesaving first-aid kits to the front lines. The organization also helps the families of those wounded or killed in war and gives support to displaced people from Crimea and eastern Ukraine. For more information go to unitedhelpukraine.org.

Sunflower of Peace is raising funds for first-aid medical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. Each backpack has the ability to save up to 10 lives, according to the organization. For more information go to facebook.com/sunflowerofpeace.

Ukrainian Red Cross Society: Volunteers and staff provide first aid in areas where medical access is limited. Funds will be used to support those in need, blood collection, mobilization of volunteers and resources and emergency activities. For more information go to redcross.org.ua/en.

Help for children: UNICEF is ensuring Ukrainian children have access to safe water, nutrition, health care, education and protection during the invasion. For more information go to www.unicef.org/ukraine/en.

Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support for children caught in the middle of the armed conflict. For more information go to voices.org.ua/en/.

Journalism: The Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian-English news site, provides up-to-date information of Russia’s invasion. Its fundraising site can be found on GoFundMe.

Take A Breath For George

george floyd
Take a breath for George, for peace, and a breath for justice.

This Juneteenth is a rare moment for all of us to proclaim in one voice that Black Lives Matter and that we won’t tolerate anything less than justice for all Black lives.

“I implore all of us to take a breath for justice, to take a breath for peace, to take a breath for our country and to take a breath for George.” Benjamin Crump


I hope we are all indeed breathing deeply, always, but especially now. Breath clears the body of toxins; breath renews. The Israelites under Pharaoh could not hear the words of hope offered by Moses because of “kotzer ruah” — shortness of breath (Exodus 6:9). They could not breathe, so they could not hear, so they could not hope. We have a choice. I hope we are appreciating the miracle of breath — how it sustains life, how it brings calm, how it creates spaciousness of spirit, so that each of us can act with compassion and wisdom, with intention and focus.
For all those suffering in this pandemic, and for George Floyd of blessed memory, let us all indeed take a breath for justice, for peace, for our country and for life itself.
Rabbi Shosh Dworsky, St. Paul in a letter to the editor, https://www.startribune.com/

Justice

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere 

In memory of George Floyd:

This is my progressive city, and we are heartbroken. As I write this, it is noisy,  military helicopters are flying around my neighborhood.

Why?? George Floyd was killed just a few miles from my home. Sadly, a broken law enforcement system has been allowed fester. and like the coronavirus it should have been faced head on instead of taking innocent lives. The injustices faced by our black and brown people should not exist in 2020. We need to start with educational injustice, healthcare injustice, air quality injustice, and living wage injustice. As we give tax breaks to the wealthy, we can invest in the future of an important segment of our community.


From an op-ed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is what needs to be said:

“Tears flowed from my eyes this morning, though I am — or was — the type of man who prided himself on not crying.
What brought tears? I read that with his last conscious breath, George Floyd cried out in anguish for his mother.
Floyd was a large, strong, proud, vibrant and healthy man and yet as death rushed in upon him, he craved only the love of his mother.
His cry pierced my heart. In an instant, I knew that if I were in his place, pushed to the ground and choked by another man’s knee, I too would have called out for my mother.
Does that make me weak? No. It makes me human, and so was Floyd.
As I struggled with his death, I found my heart cracking open and I did the only thing I could think of at the time — I placed Floyd, his family, and his loved ones in my ailing heart and bore witness to his and their pain and suffering.
With my next breath, though, I surprised myself — by placing Derek Chauvin in my heart.
Does this make me weak? No. It makes me human, and so is Chauvin.
I remain outraged that a grown man — an officer of the law no less — could have such a hard and uncaring heart that for seven full minutes he was capable of slowly squeezing the life out of a fellow human being.
But the reality is that my heart, as well, has been hard and uncaring for too long. Thousands of similar deaths have occurred over the span of my five-and-a-half decades and I have looked the other way and barely raised a finger on behalf of justice.
I don’t have all the answers, but until we all soften our hearts and see both Floyd and Chauvin in ourselves — and as ourselves — little meaningful progress will be made.
I can’t bring George Floyd back. And I won’t protect Derek Chauvin from the hard justice that awaits him. I can only begin by changing myself.
I intend to do this by taking the pain, anger, fear, hate and contempt I feel, channeling it through my softening heart and working to transform it into love — the kind of love a mother has for her son, be he saint or sinner — and then strive of behalf of real and lasting justice for the disenfranchised and the downtrodden.” Jack Uldrich, Minneapolis.

“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Justice for All

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Does this give some the right to treat others without justice?

The United States was founded on rebellion. Rebellion is what created the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. This week I have been to Washington D. C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore visiting historical sites. The United States Capitol was in Philadelphia the first ten years, the 1790s, of its existence while the Washington, D. C. Capitol was being built.  According to the park ranger, protests were a constant thing.  Protesting for the right of women to vote, and protests to end slavery were often at Independence Hall, where at that time the capital was located. The protesters felt the new government was unjust to exclude women and allow slavery.

Independence Hall had many protests at the beginning of the U.S. government.

Now in 2017 we have athletes protesting police violence towards black men. Many feel the behavior of law enforcement toward black people is not acceptable. This is a way athletes can express their opinions to many people.  Unfortunately, in denial of this injustice some have changed the meaning of these protests to be about protesting against the flag and military.

We can’t tell others how they should feel, or what they should think, and we don’t all think and feel alike. In the 1790 some felt the new United States government was unjust. The same is true today, not everyone feels they are treated equally and with justice! Are their complaints justified?  Is there equal treatment for all?  Do we all have the same liberties and rights? What do you think?