Each of us makes decisions about our own physical and psychological health and wellness. Much of our personal illness and injury is created by lifestyle choices related to destructive habits in eating, exercise, cleanliness, drinking, smoking, drug use, and reckless driving.
President Obama, in his discussion on health care reform policies, emphasized preventive health care, urging all of us to take more responsibility for our own health.
Chruches are also adding health and wellness dimensions to their ministry, a practice that is consistent with the concerns of Jesus for healing and wholeness.
Restoring the health of our family relationships and sexual behaviors should be a priority concern in our move toward health care reform. Both religious and secular education needs to include rigorous preparation for healthy sexual, marriage and family relationships, beginning with children and increasing for teens and older.
"The devastating impact of marital and family breakdown on individuals and on our society as a whole has been well documented, yet too often we stand by helplessly while families fall apart. We often fail to provide the relationship education and support needed to build strong families whose members enjoy each other and cope effectively with life's challenges...
We can learn the skills to build healthy relationships;
we can unravel the emotional tangles that sabotage our families;
we can build on family strengths to establish the deep friendship and mutual commitment that undergirds lasting marriages and healthy families." 1.
Many organizations and resources provide help in the development of family relationship growth. (marriagelovepower.net)
Classes on marriage enrichment and parenting skills should be offered on a continuing basis, with classes focusing on premarital counseling, different stages of marriage, and childhood development.
HEALTHY SEXUALITY
Modern social influences are bombarding us with enticement into dangerous and destructive sexual behaviors that too often result in debilitating disease, broken trust, broken relationships, and broken lives.
Healthy sexuality focuses on ultimate concern for the individual lives involved and ultimate concern for the lives of children who develop from sexual togetherness.
PORNOGRAPHY DISTORTS HEALTHY SEXUALITY
Speaking out against the dangers of pornography and educating people, especially young people, about lustful addictions and sexual distortions that grow from pornographic images is an essential and valuable concern for health and wellness.
PREMARITAL ABSTINENCE AND FAITHFUL MONOGAMY WITHIN MARRIAGE
Our contemporary society is presenting sex as a toy for personal pleasure, even to the young. Tragic consequences related to sexually transmitted diseases, loss of self esteem, broken trust, children born out-of-wedlock, and abortion become the reality for too many people. Young people need to be given the understanding and commitment to resist the temptations of careless sexuality.
An understanding of the importance of sexual abstinence before marriage and faithful monogamy after marriage is a foundation for healthy sexual behaviors.
THE DANGERS OF 'SAFE SEX'
The careless double talk of 'safe sex' and the handing out of condoms, even to middle school students, puts sexual health in jeopardy. Condoms are not safe. They have a 14% actual use failure rate, a failure rate of 1 out of 6 or 7 time. This amounts to Russian roulette sex. The common use of the phrase 'safe sex' in regard to condom use is cruel, dangerous and careless.
THE SANCTITY OF LIFE IS THREATENED
Healthy living is a call to respect the value of each life, and a call to order our lives in ways that we support and cherish our own life and the lives of others.
Since 1973, abortion has taken the lives of over 50 million infants. About 80%
of abortions are performed on unmarried women, as young women are told that a fetus is 'merely a mass of tissue' rather than a developing child.
The development of the ultrasound machine is allowing women to respect and watch the growth of their child. Pregnancy centers are protecting and educating women in the development of their child.
Women who feel that they are unable to raise a child can be supported in their pregnancy and encouraged to offer their children to loving couples seeking a child to adopt.
PROTECTING TRADITIONAL FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Heterosexual marriage is primarily a social issue. It becomes a religious concern and a political concern because it is a foundation for social integration, freedom, reproduction and health.
The normalization of homosexuality in society would create profound changes in social organization that warrant caution and serious consideration rather than the heated arguments that are being generated.
Social Integration -
The traditional family is the building block for the integration of society as members grow in understanding of various perspectives within the family. In spite of immense variation within the sexes, there remain fundamental differences in biological and psychological make up. Heterosexual marriage seeks to integrate these elements into a caring unit.
As men relate intimately to men and women to women, social disintegration will occur.
Social Freedom -
The family preserves and passes down its unique cultural values to the next generation, providing checks and balances in society which guard against destructive extremism. Homosexuality will jeopardize the intergenerational transfer of cultural patterns within society.
Social Reproduction -
Homosexuality will jeopardize social reproduction and the intergenerational transfer of genetic patterns. Reproduction will necessitate contrivance and manipulation, buying and selling.
Social Health -
Personal health risks associated with homosexual behavior are deeply troubling. According to the American Medical Association, homosexual youth are 23 times more apt to contact a sexually transmitted disease than their heterosexual counterparts. In the U.S., men who have sex with men account for 60-70% of estimated HIV infections, although they represent only 5-7% of the population.
CAUTION IS WISDOM -
Countless research studies confirm that the greatest sources of nurture, support and meaning for the majority of Americans are found within the family unit. Legal constraints maintain a sense of appropriateness. Extending the range of permissible behavior will put in jeopardy social integration, freedom, social reproduction, and social health.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS BEGINS WITH US AND OUR PERSONAL CHOICES.
1.United Methodist Marriage Ministries (Overview). www.marriagelovepower.net.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Obama, Socialism, and the Threatened Family
Words express our joys, they also express our fears and observed concerns.
Pastor Jeremiah Wright, when asked whether he had spoken to his former church member, President Obama, since moving into the White House, replied, "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me."
Ironically, the white supremacist, James von Brunn, who killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC made almost an identical statement, "Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do."
San Antonio Express News Columnist, Jonathan Gurwitz, dismisses these concerns,finding it "almost too much to comprehend" that "nutjobs on the left and right have the same unhinged preoccupation with all things Zionist."(June 17,2009,
pg. 7B)
However, from my experience and observation it is very possible that President Obama's move toward socialism has been guided and influenced by Jewish professionals.
In 1976 I completed my master's thesis in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. A large portion of the professors, perhaps even 40%, were Jewish and socialism was accepted by most professionals as the direction in which our country was heading.
During this same time period, Dr. Urie Bronfenbrenner, a Jewish professor in the School of Human Ecology at Cornell, had returned from doing research in China. Bronfenbrenner was impressed by the child care patterns he observed in China, and concluded that this was the direction in which we need to move. He made a number of public speeches to this regard.
* * *
I wrote a letter to the local newspaper, the Ithaca Journal. The letter was printed verbatim as a guest opinion column on Tuesday, December 7, 1976.
The remaining portion of this entry will be a reprint of this article.
The Ithaca Journal titled the article:
THE NUCLEAR FAMILY: IS IT THREATENED BY SCIENCE?
by Marjorie Coppock
I am increasingly upset by the continued proliferation of Professor Urie Bronfenbrenner's interpretation of the American family. His basic concerns for family, caring relationships and concerned societies are certainly areas with which I identify; however, his conclusions and solutions indicate a bias in data collection that I have come to believe is not only misleading but deliberately so.
In a front page article in the Land Grant Gazette, Dr. Bronfenbrenner deplores the existence of problems such as "family disintegration, high divorce rates, children growing up in families with a single working parent, plunging achievement scores in basic communicaton skills among high school students, drug abuse, delinquency, high rates of child abuse." He contends that the American family is dis-integrating, becoming increasingly disconnected from the rest of society.
He states: "We've carried our individualism, the 'do your own thing' mania to ends that are not constructive. We have a paranoia about helping one another, excusing it with axioms about how you'll wreck the moral fiber of people by giving them a helping hand. This may be true when you are strong and know how to help yourself, but it's not so fine for the sick, the elderly, those who are small and alone, for children who can only be victims. We are not a caring society. We are unwilling to make irrational loving commitments to children, to families, grandparents, relatives, even our wives and husbands. And beyond to friends, neighbors, community, indeed even to our country."
He continues in the article to commend the socialist countries such as Sweden and China for their exemplary patterns of 'people caring'. His lecture on this topic follows the same pattern - Our families and communities have fallen apart: therefore, we need to adopt socialism because socialism 'serves the people'.
Dr. Bronfenbrenner decries the loss of the extended family: the grandparent, aunt-uncle, brother-sister support system which in the past has cared for the individual. He decries the breakup of the nuclear family; the high divorce rate and the large number of working mothers. He decries the mania of 'do your own thing'. However several situations have converged to cause me to believe that his concerns are more political than compassionate. (Although I am not questioning the depths of his compassion.)
Last summer, I was discussing Dr. Bronfenbrenner's concerns with a woman who now lives in Rochester. She commented, "I'm interested in what you're saying because I was a student in that department 20 years ago. The situations that he claims have now occurred are the very things we were taught to teach. We were to encourage students not to return to their home town and to their extended families but rather to move to a new town in order to be independent and 'do your own thing'. Perhaps he has helped to create the situation that he is now exploiting."
The second situation concerns the brand of feminism that is supported by the professional educators. If the extended family has been threatened in the past by professional counsel, the nuclear family is presently under intense attack by those women whom the professionals choose to support.
As a student at Cornell I actively tried to bring to consciousness the important contributions made to our society by homemakers believing that these contributions should be recognized by more than the Ladies Home Journal. Much to my dismay I discovered that many professional women also are unappreciative of these contributions. Women are being encouraged to remain single or accept divorce as a viable alternative. Women are being encouraged to leave their families and to leave their children in day care centers, to develop careers and enter paying jobs.
One woman professor stated, "We should not just stay at home and have children who only cry and vomit." Another woman in a lecture advised the men in the audience to "kick your wives out of the house. Make them become economically independent so they will not be a burden upon you."
I am not necessarily opposed to all of these trends; however, my concern is deepened by the realization that one of the main advisors for the women's studies program is a male professor who works closely with Dr. Bronfenbrenner. The question becomes, "Are these men working against each other or with each other?"
The third situation which causes me to question the statements of Dr. Bronfenbrenner is the treatment accorded by the professional community to data recently collected for my Master's thesis in another department at Cornell. These data contradict almost all of the statements he makes. The thesis was a survey of the woman volunteer. A 10 page questionnaire was mailed to 900 women volunteers in Tompkins County. Five hundred and thirteen women thoughtfully completed and returned these questionnaires.
The predominate impression from this overwhelming response was that of a deep concern for family, community, the sick, the elderly and the children. These women were not motivated by a mania to 'do their own thing' but rather a desire to 'serve the people' because of a love for their fellow man. They expressed no paranoia of helping one another. Their responses and comments (written along the edges, between questions and on the backs of the pages) indicate irrational loving commitments to family, neighbor and community.
Their deep concerns were perhaps developed by the altruistic and intrinsic rewards instilled by religion as 85 percent of the women identified with a religious affiliation. These 513 women gave 3,205 hours each week to community service organizations. Because the sample was randomly drawn these data can legitimately be extended to thousands of women. In observing the volunteers in our community I suspect the data could be equaled by the men who contribute generously of their time to run church activities, service organizations, scouts and sports activities.
* * *
I was not prepared for the treatment which I received from the professional community. Although data had been collected on background characteristics, volunteer job involvements, attitudes toward job satisfaction and attitudes toward six currently debated policy orientations it was dismissed as 'predictable and merely data'. After receiving the returned questionnaires I received essentially no more help from the professors in the analysis of the data.
The only assistance was the following advice: "Tell the women they are being exploited, they are taking paying jobs from other women, they should form a union so the National Labor Board can speak for them and then go on strike." I was stunned. Although the data does not support this advice it was repeated on two other occasions.
I cannot condone or condemn socialism. I would need more information to do so. Perhaps we could benefit by adopting some of the 'people caring' patterns of socialist countries. I do, however, deplore the manipulation, distortion and suppression of data for political reasons. I have both personal experience and observation to support the contention that this is occurring. We cannot deliver a caring society from the bowels of deception.
When Dr. Bronfenbrenner speaks with concern for the American family and in the same breath praises the Chinese and Swedish families he overlooks the government infringment and control which exists in socialist countries over the cultural training of the children. The beauty, freedom and strength of America and of existence itself lies in a multiplicity of ideas and in variations of cultural interpretations. The authority and autonomy of the family unit is the cornerstone upon which these variations are built.
Pastor Jeremiah Wright, when asked whether he had spoken to his former church member, President Obama, since moving into the White House, replied, "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me."
Ironically, the white supremacist, James von Brunn, who killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC made almost an identical statement, "Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do."
San Antonio Express News Columnist, Jonathan Gurwitz, dismisses these concerns,finding it "almost too much to comprehend" that "nutjobs on the left and right have the same unhinged preoccupation with all things Zionist."(June 17,2009,
pg. 7B)
However, from my experience and observation it is very possible that President Obama's move toward socialism has been guided and influenced by Jewish professionals.
In 1976 I completed my master's thesis in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. A large portion of the professors, perhaps even 40%, were Jewish and socialism was accepted by most professionals as the direction in which our country was heading.
During this same time period, Dr. Urie Bronfenbrenner, a Jewish professor in the School of Human Ecology at Cornell, had returned from doing research in China. Bronfenbrenner was impressed by the child care patterns he observed in China, and concluded that this was the direction in which we need to move. He made a number of public speeches to this regard.
* * *
I wrote a letter to the local newspaper, the Ithaca Journal. The letter was printed verbatim as a guest opinion column on Tuesday, December 7, 1976.
The remaining portion of this entry will be a reprint of this article.
The Ithaca Journal titled the article:
THE NUCLEAR FAMILY: IS IT THREATENED BY SCIENCE?
by Marjorie Coppock
I am increasingly upset by the continued proliferation of Professor Urie Bronfenbrenner's interpretation of the American family. His basic concerns for family, caring relationships and concerned societies are certainly areas with which I identify; however, his conclusions and solutions indicate a bias in data collection that I have come to believe is not only misleading but deliberately so.
In a front page article in the Land Grant Gazette, Dr. Bronfenbrenner deplores the existence of problems such as "family disintegration, high divorce rates, children growing up in families with a single working parent, plunging achievement scores in basic communicaton skills among high school students, drug abuse, delinquency, high rates of child abuse." He contends that the American family is dis-integrating, becoming increasingly disconnected from the rest of society.
He states: "We've carried our individualism, the 'do your own thing' mania to ends that are not constructive. We have a paranoia about helping one another, excusing it with axioms about how you'll wreck the moral fiber of people by giving them a helping hand. This may be true when you are strong and know how to help yourself, but it's not so fine for the sick, the elderly, those who are small and alone, for children who can only be victims. We are not a caring society. We are unwilling to make irrational loving commitments to children, to families, grandparents, relatives, even our wives and husbands. And beyond to friends, neighbors, community, indeed even to our country."
He continues in the article to commend the socialist countries such as Sweden and China for their exemplary patterns of 'people caring'. His lecture on this topic follows the same pattern - Our families and communities have fallen apart: therefore, we need to adopt socialism because socialism 'serves the people'.
Dr. Bronfenbrenner decries the loss of the extended family: the grandparent, aunt-uncle, brother-sister support system which in the past has cared for the individual. He decries the breakup of the nuclear family; the high divorce rate and the large number of working mothers. He decries the mania of 'do your own thing'. However several situations have converged to cause me to believe that his concerns are more political than compassionate. (Although I am not questioning the depths of his compassion.)
Last summer, I was discussing Dr. Bronfenbrenner's concerns with a woman who now lives in Rochester. She commented, "I'm interested in what you're saying because I was a student in that department 20 years ago. The situations that he claims have now occurred are the very things we were taught to teach. We were to encourage students not to return to their home town and to their extended families but rather to move to a new town in order to be independent and 'do your own thing'. Perhaps he has helped to create the situation that he is now exploiting."
The second situation concerns the brand of feminism that is supported by the professional educators. If the extended family has been threatened in the past by professional counsel, the nuclear family is presently under intense attack by those women whom the professionals choose to support.
As a student at Cornell I actively tried to bring to consciousness the important contributions made to our society by homemakers believing that these contributions should be recognized by more than the Ladies Home Journal. Much to my dismay I discovered that many professional women also are unappreciative of these contributions. Women are being encouraged to remain single or accept divorce as a viable alternative. Women are being encouraged to leave their families and to leave their children in day care centers, to develop careers and enter paying jobs.
One woman professor stated, "We should not just stay at home and have children who only cry and vomit." Another woman in a lecture advised the men in the audience to "kick your wives out of the house. Make them become economically independent so they will not be a burden upon you."
I am not necessarily opposed to all of these trends; however, my concern is deepened by the realization that one of the main advisors for the women's studies program is a male professor who works closely with Dr. Bronfenbrenner. The question becomes, "Are these men working against each other or with each other?"
The third situation which causes me to question the statements of Dr. Bronfenbrenner is the treatment accorded by the professional community to data recently collected for my Master's thesis in another department at Cornell. These data contradict almost all of the statements he makes. The thesis was a survey of the woman volunteer. A 10 page questionnaire was mailed to 900 women volunteers in Tompkins County. Five hundred and thirteen women thoughtfully completed and returned these questionnaires.
The predominate impression from this overwhelming response was that of a deep concern for family, community, the sick, the elderly and the children. These women were not motivated by a mania to 'do their own thing' but rather a desire to 'serve the people' because of a love for their fellow man. They expressed no paranoia of helping one another. Their responses and comments (written along the edges, between questions and on the backs of the pages) indicate irrational loving commitments to family, neighbor and community.
Their deep concerns were perhaps developed by the altruistic and intrinsic rewards instilled by religion as 85 percent of the women identified with a religious affiliation. These 513 women gave 3,205 hours each week to community service organizations. Because the sample was randomly drawn these data can legitimately be extended to thousands of women. In observing the volunteers in our community I suspect the data could be equaled by the men who contribute generously of their time to run church activities, service organizations, scouts and sports activities.
* * *
I was not prepared for the treatment which I received from the professional community. Although data had been collected on background characteristics, volunteer job involvements, attitudes toward job satisfaction and attitudes toward six currently debated policy orientations it was dismissed as 'predictable and merely data'. After receiving the returned questionnaires I received essentially no more help from the professors in the analysis of the data.
The only assistance was the following advice: "Tell the women they are being exploited, they are taking paying jobs from other women, they should form a union so the National Labor Board can speak for them and then go on strike." I was stunned. Although the data does not support this advice it was repeated on two other occasions.
I cannot condone or condemn socialism. I would need more information to do so. Perhaps we could benefit by adopting some of the 'people caring' patterns of socialist countries. I do, however, deplore the manipulation, distortion and suppression of data for political reasons. I have both personal experience and observation to support the contention that this is occurring. We cannot deliver a caring society from the bowels of deception.
When Dr. Bronfenbrenner speaks with concern for the American family and in the same breath praises the Chinese and Swedish families he overlooks the government infringment and control which exists in socialist countries over the cultural training of the children. The beauty, freedom and strength of America and of existence itself lies in a multiplicity of ideas and in variations of cultural interpretations. The authority and autonomy of the family unit is the cornerstone upon which these variations are built.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
A Mother's Day Tribute
This Sunday in America we'll pause in our hectic pace to remember our mothers and the importance of their love and guidance in shaping our lives.
It is with a grateful heart that I remember my mother, Elizabeth Hare, who passed on to her reward 10 years ago.
Although Mom was primarily a wife and a mother, she was a strong, wise and independent woman long before woman's lib became popular in the '70's.
She had been trained as a Baptist missionary, but after marriage her family and her local church became her mission field. She worked several years as the Director of Religious Education for our church and also several years as a social worker.
When we four children left home, Mom invited us back with our families every two years to gather for a reunion. We have rich memories from these gatherings.
Both Mom and Dad took time to write their observations and feelings about the importance of life and the beauty in their lives. They would have enjoyed blogging.
Last Father's Day (June 11, 2008) I shared some of Dad's insightful and humorous observations about nature on my blogsite.
This blog will pass on some of Mom's poetic reflections in which she shares her joy and love for living.
TIC-TAC-TOE
God opened up this day for me,
And said, Now make it good.
Explore your world and work with love
As every Christian should.
Let not the routine patterns,
Thwart pictures in the mind.
Play tic-tac-toe with problems.
Joy wins the game you'll find.
AT THE ORGAN
I never will be famous
For musical array,
But in my heart a melody
I sing and write today.
I talk to my Creator,
I play Him songs most dear,
I know that He will listen,
Without a critic's ear.
I pour my soul's vibrations
Into the ivory keys,
Not man, but God will hear them,
'Tis Him I seek to please.
The world is rushing madly
Trying to find life's way
While joy and peace engulf me,
As holy tunes I play.
I LIKE POPCORN
Each person has a weakness,
We must admit with shame,
I too confess I'm guilty
In this lack-of-will power game.
At evening when we're resting
Perhaps with friends who've come,
I argue that the children,
Would like some food for fun.
Popcorn - that will please them,
If they don't play too rough,
I'll pop a great big bowlful
But I won't touch the stuff.
The children call out to me,
Hurry up, we can't resist.
Their nostrils smell corn popping,
From play they all desist.
I tell myself, now this time,
Your will must not give way,
But when the bowl is empty,
I've eaten more than they.
Some day I know I'll conquer,
My figure will grow slim,
But as long as there is popcorn,
I'm afraid I'll never win.
MOTHER, MAKE HIM STOP IT!
Mother, make him stop it.
He's hitting me in the back.
Why must I have a brother
That I always want to smack?
Can you tell me why he trips me,
Every time that I must pass?
Make him go outside, Mom,
Weed the garden, mow the grass.
And so it goes - these children,
They bicker, fuss and fume.
They like it. I don't mind it.
I suppose it chases gloom.
THE CRICKET IS SINGING A SONG TO ME
The cricket is singing a song to me,
Ta-ree, ta-ree, ta-ree.
In the darkness of night when all is at rest,
I think he must be free.
Free from the worry of human noise,
Free to explore alone,
To walk around in the silent earth,
And then to mount his throne -
To sing the song that's inside of him,
And tell me to have no fear,
'Mid rush and work and family tasks,
There is always time to cheer.
Says he at night when all is asleep,
Relax and my song I'll sing.
It will quiet your mind and clear your thought,
As my message, ta-ree, I bring.
Yes, the cricket is singing a song to me,
Ta-ree, ta-ree, ta-ree.
In the darkness of night when all is at rest,
And the hour from care is free.
NIGHT
Listen, my soul,
To the silence of peace,
Enveloping night
In its lazy release.
Dream on, weary mind,
Of lofty new aims,
To fire the morn
At dawn's glowing change.
Arise, heart anew,
And gird thyself well,
Awake to new light,
Love's passion to tell.
Guard zealously yet
The hours of the day.
Fill each open moment
With laughter, still pray -
That the evening approaching
From labor is meant -
To offer reward
For each second well spent.
Listen, my soul,
To the silence of peace,
Enveloping night
In its lazy release.
Mom lived to be 89. She passed on a rich heritage of love to her children and grandchildren. Thank you, Mom.
It is with a grateful heart that I remember my mother, Elizabeth Hare, who passed on to her reward 10 years ago.
Although Mom was primarily a wife and a mother, she was a strong, wise and independent woman long before woman's lib became popular in the '70's.
She had been trained as a Baptist missionary, but after marriage her family and her local church became her mission field. She worked several years as the Director of Religious Education for our church and also several years as a social worker.
When we four children left home, Mom invited us back with our families every two years to gather for a reunion. We have rich memories from these gatherings.
Both Mom and Dad took time to write their observations and feelings about the importance of life and the beauty in their lives. They would have enjoyed blogging.
Last Father's Day (June 11, 2008) I shared some of Dad's insightful and humorous observations about nature on my blogsite.
This blog will pass on some of Mom's poetic reflections in which she shares her joy and love for living.
TIC-TAC-TOE
God opened up this day for me,
And said, Now make it good.
Explore your world and work with love
As every Christian should.
Let not the routine patterns,
Thwart pictures in the mind.
Play tic-tac-toe with problems.
Joy wins the game you'll find.
AT THE ORGAN
I never will be famous
For musical array,
But in my heart a melody
I sing and write today.
I talk to my Creator,
I play Him songs most dear,
I know that He will listen,
Without a critic's ear.
I pour my soul's vibrations
Into the ivory keys,
Not man, but God will hear them,
'Tis Him I seek to please.
The world is rushing madly
Trying to find life's way
While joy and peace engulf me,
As holy tunes I play.
I LIKE POPCORN
Each person has a weakness,
We must admit with shame,
I too confess I'm guilty
In this lack-of-will power game.
At evening when we're resting
Perhaps with friends who've come,
I argue that the children,
Would like some food for fun.
Popcorn - that will please them,
If they don't play too rough,
I'll pop a great big bowlful
But I won't touch the stuff.
The children call out to me,
Hurry up, we can't resist.
Their nostrils smell corn popping,
From play they all desist.
I tell myself, now this time,
Your will must not give way,
But when the bowl is empty,
I've eaten more than they.
Some day I know I'll conquer,
My figure will grow slim,
But as long as there is popcorn,
I'm afraid I'll never win.
MOTHER, MAKE HIM STOP IT!
Mother, make him stop it.
He's hitting me in the back.
Why must I have a brother
That I always want to smack?
Can you tell me why he trips me,
Every time that I must pass?
Make him go outside, Mom,
Weed the garden, mow the grass.
And so it goes - these children,
They bicker, fuss and fume.
They like it. I don't mind it.
I suppose it chases gloom.
THE CRICKET IS SINGING A SONG TO ME
The cricket is singing a song to me,
Ta-ree, ta-ree, ta-ree.
In the darkness of night when all is at rest,
I think he must be free.
Free from the worry of human noise,
Free to explore alone,
To walk around in the silent earth,
And then to mount his throne -
To sing the song that's inside of him,
And tell me to have no fear,
'Mid rush and work and family tasks,
There is always time to cheer.
Says he at night when all is asleep,
Relax and my song I'll sing.
It will quiet your mind and clear your thought,
As my message, ta-ree, I bring.
Yes, the cricket is singing a song to me,
Ta-ree, ta-ree, ta-ree.
In the darkness of night when all is at rest,
And the hour from care is free.
NIGHT
Listen, my soul,
To the silence of peace,
Enveloping night
In its lazy release.
Dream on, weary mind,
Of lofty new aims,
To fire the morn
At dawn's glowing change.
Arise, heart anew,
And gird thyself well,
Awake to new light,
Love's passion to tell.
Guard zealously yet
The hours of the day.
Fill each open moment
With laughter, still pray -
That the evening approaching
From labor is meant -
To offer reward
For each second well spent.
Listen, my soul,
To the silence of peace,
Enveloping night
In its lazy release.
Mom lived to be 89. She passed on a rich heritage of love to her children and grandchildren. Thank you, Mom.
Friday, March 27, 2009
A Year of Concerns
Concerning This, began on March 28th, 2008. Incentive for it's formation came from the Center for Disease Control after it announced the STD rate of teenage girls in the United States. Deeply concerned about many destructive patterns developing in our country, I began to share my thoughts, in hope that conditions may improve. Readers are invited to make comments. I thank the precious few who have taken time to share their thoughts.
This blog entry will list the discussions from March 28th of last year to the present, with a capsule summary of the concerns discussed.
TRAGIC STATISTICS! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!- March 28, 2008
One in four teen girls has at least one sexually transmitted disease. More than 45 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. since 1973, 81% to unmarried women. By 2005, 35% of babies born in the U.S. were born out of wedlock and 40% of children are being raised without a father in the home.
WHAT NEXT? PROCREATION OR PRODUCTION? - April 1, 2008
Advances in reproductive technologies challenge our sexual and family relationships, raising many ethical questions.
* How far should commerce and reproduction mix?
* Are the rights of children of the new biology being ignored?
* What is it doing to the way we think about ourselves, each other, and our children?
THE DECEITFUL WEB OF PORNOGRAPHY - April 4, 2008
Pornography and sexual temptation are ripping the soul out of our American culture. We rationalize our destructive behaviors by weaving a web of deception around us: "I can handle it." "I'm not hurting anyone." "It's just entertainment."
Pornography is BIG BUSINESS.
HOMOSEXUALITY? CAUTION IS WISDOM - April 8, 2008
The profound changes that would occur in social organization warrant caution and serious consideration, particularly in regard to social integration, social freedom, social reproduction, and social health.
THE CON IN CONDOM: SAFE SEX! - May 13, 2008
Typical condom use has a failure rate of 14%. Would you get into a car with that probability and feel safe? If 20 million people trusted condoms for safe sex, two million, eight hundred thousand people will be 'unpleasantly surprised'. They are being passed out to junior high students.
THE ENDANGERED BLACK FAMILY AND OUR ENDANGERED CULTURE. - May 27, 2008
In their book, Come On People: From Victims to Victors,Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint courageously document a social tragedy that has concerned social scientists for decades. In 1950, 5 out of 6 black children were born into a two-parent home. Now 70% are born outside of marriage.
Black male rappers have churned out a profane style with antisocial, angry, women-hating messages.
A FATHER'S DAY TRIBUTE - June 11, 2008
My Dad would have enjoyed blogging. He liked to write down his observations of nature and share them. Here are a few.
* If you see a bunch of leaves bouncing like they had cricket legs, look carefully and you'll see a fox sparrow in the middle "kicking it up" as fox sparrows do.
* A tree full of blackbirds sounds a lot like water dropping into a hundred buckets.
* Tonight it is raining...a frog...hopped into the kitchen. I picked him up and told Elizabeth if she would kiss him, he might turn into a Prince. But she would not. So we let him out.
THE HIGH COST OF MARRIAGE BREAKDOWN IN AMERICA. - June 17, 2008
Increases in divorce, single-parent families and children born out-of-wedlock are creating expensive personal and social tragedies as commitment to family is replaced by self-orientation. A study released in April of 2008 reported $112 billion annual taxpayer cost due to increased expenditures for anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs from high rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing.
IT PAYS TO ENRICH YOUR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY! - June 24, 2008
Marriage enrichment, different from marriage counseling or therapy, is an educational learning process of making marriage better, happier, and more satisfying. Marriage enrichment activities develop skills in affirming each other, conflict resolution and caring communication. It is the best investment you can make for yourself, your future, your children, and your family!
HOW'S THE WEATHER INSIDE? A WORKSHOP FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT. - July 11, 2008
Plan a workshop for marriage enrichment. There are many resources available for help. Every marriage has many storms to weather as life progresses and changes. Marriage enrichment activities develop skills in affirming each other, conflict resolution and communication. Conflict is something to be resolved, not avoided. It is an opportunity to recognize each other's needs and uniqueness. Creative communication is a chance to grow closer together.
TEXAS LEADS IN MARRIAGE STRENGTHENING PROGRAMS - July 28, 2008
On June 15th of 2007, the Governor of Texas signed into law 2 bills designed to support the development of healthy marriages and families: House Bill 2683 - Strengthening Families, and House Bill 2685 - Marriage Preparation Courses. By promoting these bills, Texas took the lead at the state level in promoting programs to give families tools to succeed in marriage and family relationship skills.
WHEN ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES COLLIDE August 10, 2008
We are spending an increasing amount of time in organizations, away from our families. Our social education programs are failing to educate citizens in skills necessary for healthy family relationships. In their report, Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation, the Council on Families contend that making marriage stronger will require a shift in cultural values and public policy. They conclude that educational, religious, civic, business, political, and health organizations must all work together to regain the social value of marriage and family.
HOLY HUMANISM! IT'S POLITICALLY CORRECT! September 20, 2008
In 1933, contending that the universe is self-existing and that worship and prayer must be replaced by a sense of personal life and social well being, the Humanist Manifesto outlined the establishment of a new religion based on modern science.
In 1973, a second manifesto announced that ethics must be considered autonomous and situational, and that civil liberties must be extended to the right to die, euthanasia, suicide, birth control, abortion, divorce and the right to engage in varieties of sexual behaviors between consenting adults. These proposals are being taught in our universities and schools as what is now politically correct.
ECONOMIC SOCIALISM ENDANGERS OUR FREEDOMS! October 1, 2008
Our freedoms are at stake in the horrendous request that asks taxpayers to give the government SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS of their hard earned money to bail out fiascos on wall street. Giving government bureaucrats at the treasury department centralized control over the money available for making business loans and more importantly, giving them the authority to decide the eligibility rules as to who will receive these loans moves us into the realm of economic socialism.
IT'S NOT OUR ECONOMY, S____, IT'S OUR CHARACTER! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DREAM? October 13, 2008
What is needed at this junction in history are leaders who have the WISDOM, WILL, AND COURAGE to help us restore a greater loss than money. Who can lead us back to citizenship and social, personal, and moral responsibility so the foundation of our country can be protected and restored?
BE WARY OF SOCIALISM, VERY WARY! October 24, 2008
Socialism is a vast bureaucracy dictated by the few for the good of the few and the control of the many. In times of crises 'benevolent dictatorship' is often held out as the obvious solution. However, benevolent dictatorship is a contradiction in terms.
It is the faith of the free system of government that open and honest debate provides a foundation where the general population can choose the form of laws and regulations that will best serve the greatest good. The government is then held accountable to the people for its continuing existence.
THE NEW MORALITY THREATENS US ALL. November 30, 2008
In 1884, Freidrich Engels, co-author of the Communist Manifesto, outlined a new social organization. Women would be drawn into industry, men and women would be equal in rights and responsibilities, the means of production would pass into common property, the family would be abolished as the economic unit of society, housekeeping would become a social industry, and all children would be taken care of by the state whether they are born in wedlock or not.
From these changes will spring the new morality that Engels calls Sex Love.
This new society will give rise to more unrestrained sexual intercourse. Sex love replaces committed family love. When affection is "displaced by a new passionate love", separation becomes a blessing.
IMAGINE NO RELIGION. IMPOSSIBLE! December 26,2008
All persons and groups develop meaning systems that guide their decisions and behaviors which they then pursue with religious fervor. It is impossible to 'imagine no religion'.
When the Freedom From Religion Foundation asks us to imagine no religion they are in reality asking us to imagine no God, no higher power to which we are accountable. The attempt to remove the concept of God from our society raises deep and legitimate fears related to individual integrity, freedom and survival.
VAST CONCLUSIONS FROM HALF VAST DATA. January 11, 2009
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systematically collected. Unfortunately, however, science can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR'S STRENGTH TO LOVE. January 19, 2009
Dr. King, black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights acts of 1964 and 1965.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE DIVIDES THE NATION. February 4, 2009
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, it became one of the most explosive, bitter, and divisive conflicts in America. State and federal laws were passed following Roe v. Wade limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion. The Freedom of Choice Act, introduced but not passed in 2007, would prohibit federal, state or local governmental entities from interfering with a woman's right to choose abortion. Senator Obama, now President, spoke to Planned Parenthood saying, "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act".
BIAS AND ERROR IN THE COSTLY DEATH PENALTY SYSTEM. February 14, 2009
There is much bias in the death penalty in America. Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. The finality of the death penalty also raises concern about errors in sentencing. A study found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners convicted of murder and rape had been exonerated. DNA evidence and false witness identification were involved in many exonerations. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
EUTHANASIA COMES TO THE UNITED STATES. February 24, 2009
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Michigan became the second state to enact into law the Death With Dignity Act. Opponents contend that Assisted Suicide is a more accurate name for the act. Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides, and treatment for depression should be given before suicide is considered. Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care, pain is almost always manageable.
SPEAK OUT TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE. March 21, 2009
As budget and bailout concerns capture the news and the public attention, the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) is quietly making plans to throw out the conscience rules that protect medical workers who refuse to perform medical procedures contrary to their moral convictions. President Obama, furthering his support for abortion rights, announced plans to roll back the conscience rules, stoking battles between abortion and right-to-life supporters. HHS is receiving comments from medical personnel and the public through April 9, 2009 in regard to this issue.
This blog entry will list the discussions from March 28th of last year to the present, with a capsule summary of the concerns discussed.
TRAGIC STATISTICS! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!- March 28, 2008
One in four teen girls has at least one sexually transmitted disease. More than 45 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. since 1973, 81% to unmarried women. By 2005, 35% of babies born in the U.S. were born out of wedlock and 40% of children are being raised without a father in the home.
WHAT NEXT? PROCREATION OR PRODUCTION? - April 1, 2008
Advances in reproductive technologies challenge our sexual and family relationships, raising many ethical questions.
* How far should commerce and reproduction mix?
* Are the rights of children of the new biology being ignored?
* What is it doing to the way we think about ourselves, each other, and our children?
THE DECEITFUL WEB OF PORNOGRAPHY - April 4, 2008
Pornography and sexual temptation are ripping the soul out of our American culture. We rationalize our destructive behaviors by weaving a web of deception around us: "I can handle it." "I'm not hurting anyone." "It's just entertainment."
Pornography is BIG BUSINESS.
HOMOSEXUALITY? CAUTION IS WISDOM - April 8, 2008
The profound changes that would occur in social organization warrant caution and serious consideration, particularly in regard to social integration, social freedom, social reproduction, and social health.
THE CON IN CONDOM: SAFE SEX! - May 13, 2008
Typical condom use has a failure rate of 14%. Would you get into a car with that probability and feel safe? If 20 million people trusted condoms for safe sex, two million, eight hundred thousand people will be 'unpleasantly surprised'. They are being passed out to junior high students.
THE ENDANGERED BLACK FAMILY AND OUR ENDANGERED CULTURE. - May 27, 2008
In their book, Come On People: From Victims to Victors,Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint courageously document a social tragedy that has concerned social scientists for decades. In 1950, 5 out of 6 black children were born into a two-parent home. Now 70% are born outside of marriage.
Black male rappers have churned out a profane style with antisocial, angry, women-hating messages.
A FATHER'S DAY TRIBUTE - June 11, 2008
My Dad would have enjoyed blogging. He liked to write down his observations of nature and share them. Here are a few.
* If you see a bunch of leaves bouncing like they had cricket legs, look carefully and you'll see a fox sparrow in the middle "kicking it up" as fox sparrows do.
* A tree full of blackbirds sounds a lot like water dropping into a hundred buckets.
* Tonight it is raining...a frog...hopped into the kitchen. I picked him up and told Elizabeth if she would kiss him, he might turn into a Prince. But she would not. So we let him out.
THE HIGH COST OF MARRIAGE BREAKDOWN IN AMERICA. - June 17, 2008
Increases in divorce, single-parent families and children born out-of-wedlock are creating expensive personal and social tragedies as commitment to family is replaced by self-orientation. A study released in April of 2008 reported $112 billion annual taxpayer cost due to increased expenditures for anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs from high rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing.
IT PAYS TO ENRICH YOUR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY! - June 24, 2008
Marriage enrichment, different from marriage counseling or therapy, is an educational learning process of making marriage better, happier, and more satisfying. Marriage enrichment activities develop skills in affirming each other, conflict resolution and caring communication. It is the best investment you can make for yourself, your future, your children, and your family!
HOW'S THE WEATHER INSIDE? A WORKSHOP FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT. - July 11, 2008
Plan a workshop for marriage enrichment. There are many resources available for help. Every marriage has many storms to weather as life progresses and changes. Marriage enrichment activities develop skills in affirming each other, conflict resolution and communication. Conflict is something to be resolved, not avoided. It is an opportunity to recognize each other's needs and uniqueness. Creative communication is a chance to grow closer together.
TEXAS LEADS IN MARRIAGE STRENGTHENING PROGRAMS - July 28, 2008
On June 15th of 2007, the Governor of Texas signed into law 2 bills designed to support the development of healthy marriages and families: House Bill 2683 - Strengthening Families, and House Bill 2685 - Marriage Preparation Courses. By promoting these bills, Texas took the lead at the state level in promoting programs to give families tools to succeed in marriage and family relationship skills.
WHEN ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES COLLIDE August 10, 2008
We are spending an increasing amount of time in organizations, away from our families. Our social education programs are failing to educate citizens in skills necessary for healthy family relationships. In their report, Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation, the Council on Families contend that making marriage stronger will require a shift in cultural values and public policy. They conclude that educational, religious, civic, business, political, and health organizations must all work together to regain the social value of marriage and family.
HOLY HUMANISM! IT'S POLITICALLY CORRECT! September 20, 2008
In 1933, contending that the universe is self-existing and that worship and prayer must be replaced by a sense of personal life and social well being, the Humanist Manifesto outlined the establishment of a new religion based on modern science.
In 1973, a second manifesto announced that ethics must be considered autonomous and situational, and that civil liberties must be extended to the right to die, euthanasia, suicide, birth control, abortion, divorce and the right to engage in varieties of sexual behaviors between consenting adults. These proposals are being taught in our universities and schools as what is now politically correct.
ECONOMIC SOCIALISM ENDANGERS OUR FREEDOMS! October 1, 2008
Our freedoms are at stake in the horrendous request that asks taxpayers to give the government SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS of their hard earned money to bail out fiascos on wall street. Giving government bureaucrats at the treasury department centralized control over the money available for making business loans and more importantly, giving them the authority to decide the eligibility rules as to who will receive these loans moves us into the realm of economic socialism.
IT'S NOT OUR ECONOMY, S____, IT'S OUR CHARACTER! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DREAM? October 13, 2008
What is needed at this junction in history are leaders who have the WISDOM, WILL, AND COURAGE to help us restore a greater loss than money. Who can lead us back to citizenship and social, personal, and moral responsibility so the foundation of our country can be protected and restored?
BE WARY OF SOCIALISM, VERY WARY! October 24, 2008
Socialism is a vast bureaucracy dictated by the few for the good of the few and the control of the many. In times of crises 'benevolent dictatorship' is often held out as the obvious solution. However, benevolent dictatorship is a contradiction in terms.
It is the faith of the free system of government that open and honest debate provides a foundation where the general population can choose the form of laws and regulations that will best serve the greatest good. The government is then held accountable to the people for its continuing existence.
THE NEW MORALITY THREATENS US ALL. November 30, 2008
In 1884, Freidrich Engels, co-author of the Communist Manifesto, outlined a new social organization. Women would be drawn into industry, men and women would be equal in rights and responsibilities, the means of production would pass into common property, the family would be abolished as the economic unit of society, housekeeping would become a social industry, and all children would be taken care of by the state whether they are born in wedlock or not.
From these changes will spring the new morality that Engels calls Sex Love.
This new society will give rise to more unrestrained sexual intercourse. Sex love replaces committed family love. When affection is "displaced by a new passionate love", separation becomes a blessing.
IMAGINE NO RELIGION. IMPOSSIBLE! December 26,2008
All persons and groups develop meaning systems that guide their decisions and behaviors which they then pursue with religious fervor. It is impossible to 'imagine no religion'.
When the Freedom From Religion Foundation asks us to imagine no religion they are in reality asking us to imagine no God, no higher power to which we are accountable. The attempt to remove the concept of God from our society raises deep and legitimate fears related to individual integrity, freedom and survival.
VAST CONCLUSIONS FROM HALF VAST DATA. January 11, 2009
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systematically collected. Unfortunately, however, science can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR'S STRENGTH TO LOVE. January 19, 2009
Dr. King, black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights acts of 1964 and 1965.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE DIVIDES THE NATION. February 4, 2009
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, it became one of the most explosive, bitter, and divisive conflicts in America. State and federal laws were passed following Roe v. Wade limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion. The Freedom of Choice Act, introduced but not passed in 2007, would prohibit federal, state or local governmental entities from interfering with a woman's right to choose abortion. Senator Obama, now President, spoke to Planned Parenthood saying, "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act".
BIAS AND ERROR IN THE COSTLY DEATH PENALTY SYSTEM. February 14, 2009
There is much bias in the death penalty in America. Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. The finality of the death penalty also raises concern about errors in sentencing. A study found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners convicted of murder and rape had been exonerated. DNA evidence and false witness identification were involved in many exonerations. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
EUTHANASIA COMES TO THE UNITED STATES. February 24, 2009
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Michigan became the second state to enact into law the Death With Dignity Act. Opponents contend that Assisted Suicide is a more accurate name for the act. Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides, and treatment for depression should be given before suicide is considered. Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care, pain is almost always manageable.
SPEAK OUT TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE. March 21, 2009
As budget and bailout concerns capture the news and the public attention, the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) is quietly making plans to throw out the conscience rules that protect medical workers who refuse to perform medical procedures contrary to their moral convictions. President Obama, furthering his support for abortion rights, announced plans to roll back the conscience rules, stoking battles between abortion and right-to-life supporters. HHS is receiving comments from medical personnel and the public through April 9, 2009 in regard to this issue.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Speak Out To Protect Freedom of Conscience!
As budget and bailout concerns capture the news and the public attention, the Department of Health and Human Services is quietly making plans to throw out the conscience rules that protect medical workers who refuse to perform medical procedures contrary to their moral convictions. 1.
Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, state and federal conscience clauses were enacted to protect health care workers who didn't want to perform abortions. Subsequent protections developed to protect reluctant health care workers from participation in euthansia and assisted suicide.
THE PROVIDER REFUSAL RULE
In August of 2008, the Bush administration proposed legislation that was enacted into law on inauguration day of 2009. The Provider Refusal Rule strengthened protections for doctors, nurses and workers in health care settings who refuse to provide a medical service because of moral convictions.
This legislation also protects healthcare providers from being involved in additional procedures, like sex change operations and assisted suicide, as well as vaccinations and family planning, if they are morally opposed to the procedures.2.
Pharmacists would also be protected from refusing to prescribe medicine, including the morning-after pill, if they opposed the prescription on moral grounds.
This bill does not violate the ability of a person seeking services to receive them from another source, but protects the conscientious medical decisions of professionals who object to particular services.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO RESCIND THE 'CONSCIENCE RULE'.
At the end of February 2009, President Obama, furthering his support for abortion rights, announced plans to roll back the conscience rules, stoking battles between abortion and right-to-life supporters.
Dr. Suzanne T. Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, praised Obama "for placing good health care above ideological demands."
However, Toni Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said "Protecting the right of all health-care professional's judgments based on moral convictions and ethical standards...is necessary to ensure that access to health care is not diminished, which will occur if health-care workers are forced out of their jobs because of their ethical stances. President Obama's intention to change the language of these protections would result in the government becoming the conscience and not the individual." 3.
COMMENTS ARE INVITED AND ENCOURAGED THROUGH APRIL 9, 2009.
Advocates on both sides, medical groups and the public are invited to contact the Department of Health and Human Services to make comments on this proposal through the first week of April to express their opinions about changes in the conscience clauses.
HISTORY OF MEDICAL CONSCIENCE
The Hippocratic Oath, which pertains to the ethical practice of medicine, has traditionally been taken by physicians and continues to be a sacred document among health care professionals.
"I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give a woman a pessary to produce abortion"... (from the Hippocratic Oath)
Hippocrates was a celebrated Greek physician in the 4th century BCE. Even then physicians were organized into a guild with regulations for training and a professional ideal of practice.
"CHURCH AMENDMENTS"
In the 1970's, conscience provisions contained in the Department of Health and Human Services directives collectively known as the 'Church Amendments' (42 U.S.C.&300a-7) were enacted in response to whether or not the receipt of federal funds required recipients to perform sterilizations or abortions.
Conscience provisions provide that:
* the receipt of government funds does not require that individuals or entities be involved in sterilization or abortion procedures if it would be contrary to religious beliefs or moral convictions.
* Entities receiving funds (grants, contracts, loans), including biomedical research entities, are prohibited from discriminating against any physician or health care personnel who refused to perform a lawful sterilization or abortion procedure based on religious beliefs.
* Entities receiving funds are prohibited from discriminating against any applicant for training or study because of the applicant's reluctance to participate in counseling or assistance in abortions or sterilizations based on the applicant's religious beliefs or moral convictions.
CONCERNS ABOUT GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF MEDICINE
When freedom of conscience is overruled by directives from govenment or a governing board, totalitarian regimes may command citizens to engage in atrocious behaviors in opposition to their own feelings of appropriate behavior.
THE NAZIFICATION OF MEDICINE
A tragic example was seen in Nazi Germany, where doctors were used to commit unspeakable horrors under the direction of the state.
Physicians were identified as 'servants of the state'. Personal responsibility for decisions was taken away from individual doctors and nurses. 4.
The overarching Nazi biomedical vision involved medicalized killing, killing in the name of healing for the good of the 'Volk'. Sterilization, mercy killing, euthanasia and destroying 'life unworthy of life' were seen as responsible medical practices.
In a period of 7 years, the Nazi holocaust eradicated an estimated 21 million people, many of whom were killed by medical doctors who had no voice or choice but to obey the directives of the state or lose their license. Those killed included the handicapped, children, aged, sick, ethnic groups, conscientious objectors, and any critics who opposed the Nazi agenda. 5.
MEDICAL KILLING IN AMERICA
Since the enactment of Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 49,500,000 legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Since the legalization of abortion, the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion. Increasingly, accounts of research studies related to abortion and stress report that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her by husbands, parents, doctors, counselors, or friends. 6.
In 1994, Oregon voters approved a bill permitting terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request and self-administer lethal doses of medicine. On March 5,2009, Washington State became the second state to approve this initiative, called the Death With Dignity Act.
Opponents of the bill contend that 'assisted suicide' is a more accurate description of this legislation. Kenneth Stevens, a Portland, Oregon radiation oncolgist said assisted suicide "is a reversal of the historic role of physicians as healers, as comforters, as counselors." 7.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE IS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
The ability to act on personal and moral conscience is the foundation of our liberty and freedom. The right of individuals to speak up and act on the basis of their individual sense of moral rightness provides the checks and balances that protect us from the tyranny of totalitarian dictatorship.
The Obama administration is concerned that the Bush regulations could put in jeopardy family planning services and counseling for vaccines. The administration will review comments from the public before making a final decision.
Responsible citizenship requires that we speak out to make our concerns heard.
REFERENCES
1. Lewey, Noam. N. February 27, 2009."Obama administration may rescind 'conscience rule'.Washington Bureau. Chicagotribune.com.March 21, 2009.
2.Berger, Matthew. March 3, 2009. "Obama Plans to Rescind Healthcare 'Conscience Clause'. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11600261. 3/21/2009.
3. Young, Saundra. March, 19, 2009. "White House set to reverse health care conscience clause'". CNN.com. Campbell Brown: No Bias. No Bull.
4.Lifton, Robert Jay. 2000. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Basic Books
5. Rummel, R. J. 1992. Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. New Brunswick,NJ: Transaction Pub. http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NAZIS.CHAP1.HTM.
6. Basu, Alaka Malwade(ed.) 2003. The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion:Global Perspective.Chapter 14.The Social Pressure to Abort. Praeger Pub.
7. Allen, Marshall. August, 2004. "Death Wishes". Christianity Today. Vol.48, No.8,page 24.
Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, state and federal conscience clauses were enacted to protect health care workers who didn't want to perform abortions. Subsequent protections developed to protect reluctant health care workers from participation in euthansia and assisted suicide.
THE PROVIDER REFUSAL RULE
In August of 2008, the Bush administration proposed legislation that was enacted into law on inauguration day of 2009. The Provider Refusal Rule strengthened protections for doctors, nurses and workers in health care settings who refuse to provide a medical service because of moral convictions.
This legislation also protects healthcare providers from being involved in additional procedures, like sex change operations and assisted suicide, as well as vaccinations and family planning, if they are morally opposed to the procedures.2.
Pharmacists would also be protected from refusing to prescribe medicine, including the morning-after pill, if they opposed the prescription on moral grounds.
This bill does not violate the ability of a person seeking services to receive them from another source, but protects the conscientious medical decisions of professionals who object to particular services.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO RESCIND THE 'CONSCIENCE RULE'.
At the end of February 2009, President Obama, furthering his support for abortion rights, announced plans to roll back the conscience rules, stoking battles between abortion and right-to-life supporters.
Dr. Suzanne T. Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, praised Obama "for placing good health care above ideological demands."
However, Toni Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said "Protecting the right of all health-care professional's judgments based on moral convictions and ethical standards...is necessary to ensure that access to health care is not diminished, which will occur if health-care workers are forced out of their jobs because of their ethical stances. President Obama's intention to change the language of these protections would result in the government becoming the conscience and not the individual." 3.
COMMENTS ARE INVITED AND ENCOURAGED THROUGH APRIL 9, 2009.
Advocates on both sides, medical groups and the public are invited to contact the Department of Health and Human Services to make comments on this proposal through the first week of April to express their opinions about changes in the conscience clauses.
HISTORY OF MEDICAL CONSCIENCE
The Hippocratic Oath, which pertains to the ethical practice of medicine, has traditionally been taken by physicians and continues to be a sacred document among health care professionals.
"I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give a woman a pessary to produce abortion"... (from the Hippocratic Oath)
Hippocrates was a celebrated Greek physician in the 4th century BCE. Even then physicians were organized into a guild with regulations for training and a professional ideal of practice.
"CHURCH AMENDMENTS"
In the 1970's, conscience provisions contained in the Department of Health and Human Services directives collectively known as the 'Church Amendments' (42 U.S.C.&300a-7) were enacted in response to whether or not the receipt of federal funds required recipients to perform sterilizations or abortions.
Conscience provisions provide that:
* the receipt of government funds does not require that individuals or entities be involved in sterilization or abortion procedures if it would be contrary to religious beliefs or moral convictions.
* Entities receiving funds (grants, contracts, loans), including biomedical research entities, are prohibited from discriminating against any physician or health care personnel who refused to perform a lawful sterilization or abortion procedure based on religious beliefs.
* Entities receiving funds are prohibited from discriminating against any applicant for training or study because of the applicant's reluctance to participate in counseling or assistance in abortions or sterilizations based on the applicant's religious beliefs or moral convictions.
CONCERNS ABOUT GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF MEDICINE
When freedom of conscience is overruled by directives from govenment or a governing board, totalitarian regimes may command citizens to engage in atrocious behaviors in opposition to their own feelings of appropriate behavior.
THE NAZIFICATION OF MEDICINE
A tragic example was seen in Nazi Germany, where doctors were used to commit unspeakable horrors under the direction of the state.
Physicians were identified as 'servants of the state'. Personal responsibility for decisions was taken away from individual doctors and nurses. 4.
The overarching Nazi biomedical vision involved medicalized killing, killing in the name of healing for the good of the 'Volk'. Sterilization, mercy killing, euthanasia and destroying 'life unworthy of life' were seen as responsible medical practices.
In a period of 7 years, the Nazi holocaust eradicated an estimated 21 million people, many of whom were killed by medical doctors who had no voice or choice but to obey the directives of the state or lose their license. Those killed included the handicapped, children, aged, sick, ethnic groups, conscientious objectors, and any critics who opposed the Nazi agenda. 5.
MEDICAL KILLING IN AMERICA
Since the enactment of Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 49,500,000 legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Since the legalization of abortion, the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion. Increasingly, accounts of research studies related to abortion and stress report that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her by husbands, parents, doctors, counselors, or friends. 6.
In 1994, Oregon voters approved a bill permitting terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request and self-administer lethal doses of medicine. On March 5,2009, Washington State became the second state to approve this initiative, called the Death With Dignity Act.
Opponents of the bill contend that 'assisted suicide' is a more accurate description of this legislation. Kenneth Stevens, a Portland, Oregon radiation oncolgist said assisted suicide "is a reversal of the historic role of physicians as healers, as comforters, as counselors." 7.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE IS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
The ability to act on personal and moral conscience is the foundation of our liberty and freedom. The right of individuals to speak up and act on the basis of their individual sense of moral rightness provides the checks and balances that protect us from the tyranny of totalitarian dictatorship.
The Obama administration is concerned that the Bush regulations could put in jeopardy family planning services and counseling for vaccines. The administration will review comments from the public before making a final decision.
Responsible citizenship requires that we speak out to make our concerns heard.
REFERENCES
1. Lewey, Noam. N. February 27, 2009."Obama administration may rescind 'conscience rule'.Washington Bureau. Chicagotribune.com.March 21, 2009.
2.Berger, Matthew. March 3, 2009. "Obama Plans to Rescind Healthcare 'Conscience Clause'. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11600261. 3/21/2009.
3. Young, Saundra. March, 19, 2009. "White House set to reverse health care conscience clause'". CNN.com. Campbell Brown: No Bias. No Bull.
4.Lifton, Robert Jay. 2000. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Basic Books
5. Rummel, R. J. 1992. Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. New Brunswick,NJ: Transaction Pub. http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NAZIS.CHAP1.HTM.
6. Basu, Alaka Malwade(ed.) 2003. The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion:Global Perspective.Chapter 14.The Social Pressure to Abort. Praeger Pub.
7. Allen, Marshall. August, 2004. "Death Wishes". Christianity Today. Vol.48, No.8,page 24.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Euthanasia Comes to the United States
In 1994, the debate about end-of-life care changed drastically in the U.S. when Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act. This bill permits terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request and self-administer lethal doses of medicine. The ruling does not legalize euthanasia on demand. Only the terminally ill are covered. By 2006, 200 people had used this bill to take their own lives. 1.
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Washington will become the second state to enact into law the Death with Dignity Act, called initiative 1-1000. This law, labeled by opponents as the Assisted Suicide bill, was passed by 58% of the voters in Washington.
CONCERN ABOUT ABUSE
The Michigan Law Review analyzed ramifications of Oregon's law. In a legal paper, Dr. Herbert Hendin, psychiatrist and CEO/Medical Director of Suicide Prevention International, and Dr. Kathleen Foley, neurologist and professor at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "cited specific examples where opinions of patients' long-time attending physicians are ignored and doctors with only a smattering of familiarity with the patient write the prescription for the lethal dose of barbiturates." 3.
Another study by researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University showed that one-fourth of the people killed in Oregon by this procedure were depressed but received lethal drugs anyway.
DEPRESSION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT 4.
Respect for the dignity of life requires that we remove the reasons that people want to die.
Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides. Depression is a condition that should be diagnosed and treated before suicide is considered. Many doctors, however, are often unable to diagnose the symptoms.
Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care pain is almost always manageable. When pain is relieved, patients almost always regain their will to live.
LESSONS FROM HOLLAND'S MOVE TO EUTHANASIA
Before 1990, euthanasia and assisted suicide, although not officially legal, were well recognized as medical practices in the Netherlands.
A report(by van der Maas et. al) in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that for the years of 1990-1995, Dutch deaths that included medical intervention with the intent to end life involved 76% that did not involve an explicit patient request for death. Data for 1995 reported 13,919 deaths with clear patient request and 42,874 deaths with no clear patient request.
A bill was passed in 1999 to change the Criminal Code in order to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, thus normalizing actions that were already in practice. 5.
In 1994, Herminia Dykxhoorn accompanied her father to Holland to visit his elderly siblings. She noted in surprise that in 30 years, Holland had moved from:
- assisted suicide
- to euthanasia of people who are terminally ill,
- to euthanasia of people chronically ill,
- to euthanasia for mental illness,
- to euthanasia for psychological distress or mental suffering;
and from voluntary euthanasia to involuntary euthanasia. 6.
BRINGING EUTHANASIA HOME
After visiting the Netherlands, pathologist, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was inspired to offer assisted suicide in the United States. In 1990, Dr. Kevorkian started his campaign claiming, "It's your life, it's your death; it should be your choice."
Kevorkian participated in at least 130 assisted suicides before being sentenced to a 10-25 year term in prison. Kevorkian left prison after serving eight years, promising not to help anyone commit suicide but also vowing to continue working for legalized assisted suicide. 7.
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF ASSISTED DEATH
Assisted suicide and euthanasia involves much more than a sense of compassion and relief from pain. It carries great potential for abuse. Voluntary suicide may insidiously become involuntary suicide.
Relatives may pressure elderly, terminally ill or disabled family members to end their lives if long-term care becomes burdensome. States may decree that life support is optional and health-care providers may cap or refuse benefits.
A chilling reason for choosing euthanasia is that it is cheaper than treatment. Insurance companies may conclude that funding assisted suicide is cheaper than funding a cure or supporting the disabled.
Advances in medical technology raise questions about how far we should go in preserving and protecting life. Emotionally charged debates between supporters of Death with Dignity and the Right to Life continue unabated as technology creates challenges to the meaning of preserving life or allowing, even hastening, death.
ARE THE RECENT ABUSES WITNESSED IN THE NETHERLANDS BEING REPEATED IN THE UNITED STATES?
REFERENCES
1. Veith, Gene Edward. Feb. 2006. "Life-changing decisions." World:26.
2. Ertelt, Steven. Feb.23, 2009.http://www.lifenews.com/bio2762.html.
3. Ertelt, Steven. Nov.5, 2008. http://www.lifenews.com/bio2617.html.
4. Gordon, Carrie. 1997. Prescribing Death. Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs,CO.
5. Imbody, Jonathan. Jan/Feb 2001. "deadly Diagnosis in the Netherlands." Family Voice:6-12.
6. Dykxhoorn, Herminia. 1999. "Euthanasia in the Netherlands." http:www.euthanasia.com/Netherlands.html. 2.4.2009.
7. Msnbc.com news services. June 1, 2007. "Kevorkian released from prison after 8 years." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18974940. 2.4.2009.
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Washington will become the second state to enact into law the Death with Dignity Act, called initiative 1-1000. This law, labeled by opponents as the Assisted Suicide bill, was passed by 58% of the voters in Washington.
CONCERN ABOUT ABUSE
The Michigan Law Review analyzed ramifications of Oregon's law. In a legal paper, Dr. Herbert Hendin, psychiatrist and CEO/Medical Director of Suicide Prevention International, and Dr. Kathleen Foley, neurologist and professor at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "cited specific examples where opinions of patients' long-time attending physicians are ignored and doctors with only a smattering of familiarity with the patient write the prescription for the lethal dose of barbiturates." 3.
Another study by researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University showed that one-fourth of the people killed in Oregon by this procedure were depressed but received lethal drugs anyway.
DEPRESSION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT 4.
Respect for the dignity of life requires that we remove the reasons that people want to die.
Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides. Depression is a condition that should be diagnosed and treated before suicide is considered. Many doctors, however, are often unable to diagnose the symptoms.
Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care pain is almost always manageable. When pain is relieved, patients almost always regain their will to live.
LESSONS FROM HOLLAND'S MOVE TO EUTHANASIA
Before 1990, euthanasia and assisted suicide, although not officially legal, were well recognized as medical practices in the Netherlands.
A report(by van der Maas et. al) in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that for the years of 1990-1995, Dutch deaths that included medical intervention with the intent to end life involved 76% that did not involve an explicit patient request for death. Data for 1995 reported 13,919 deaths with clear patient request and 42,874 deaths with no clear patient request.
A bill was passed in 1999 to change the Criminal Code in order to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, thus normalizing actions that were already in practice. 5.
In 1994, Herminia Dykxhoorn accompanied her father to Holland to visit his elderly siblings. She noted in surprise that in 30 years, Holland had moved from:
- assisted suicide
- to euthanasia of people who are terminally ill,
- to euthanasia of people chronically ill,
- to euthanasia for mental illness,
- to euthanasia for psychological distress or mental suffering;
and from voluntary euthanasia to involuntary euthanasia. 6.
BRINGING EUTHANASIA HOME
After visiting the Netherlands, pathologist, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was inspired to offer assisted suicide in the United States. In 1990, Dr. Kevorkian started his campaign claiming, "It's your life, it's your death; it should be your choice."
Kevorkian participated in at least 130 assisted suicides before being sentenced to a 10-25 year term in prison. Kevorkian left prison after serving eight years, promising not to help anyone commit suicide but also vowing to continue working for legalized assisted suicide. 7.
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF ASSISTED DEATH
Assisted suicide and euthanasia involves much more than a sense of compassion and relief from pain. It carries great potential for abuse. Voluntary suicide may insidiously become involuntary suicide.
Relatives may pressure elderly, terminally ill or disabled family members to end their lives if long-term care becomes burdensome. States may decree that life support is optional and health-care providers may cap or refuse benefits.
A chilling reason for choosing euthanasia is that it is cheaper than treatment. Insurance companies may conclude that funding assisted suicide is cheaper than funding a cure or supporting the disabled.
Advances in medical technology raise questions about how far we should go in preserving and protecting life. Emotionally charged debates between supporters of Death with Dignity and the Right to Life continue unabated as technology creates challenges to the meaning of preserving life or allowing, even hastening, death.
ARE THE RECENT ABUSES WITNESSED IN THE NETHERLANDS BEING REPEATED IN THE UNITED STATES?
REFERENCES
1. Veith, Gene Edward. Feb. 2006. "Life-changing decisions." World:26.
2. Ertelt, Steven. Feb.23, 2009.http://www.lifenews.com/bio2762.html.
3. Ertelt, Steven. Nov.5, 2008. http://www.lifenews.com/bio2617.html.
4. Gordon, Carrie. 1997. Prescribing Death. Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs,CO.
5. Imbody, Jonathan. Jan/Feb 2001. "deadly Diagnosis in the Netherlands." Family Voice:6-12.
6. Dykxhoorn, Herminia. 1999. "Euthanasia in the Netherlands." http:www.euthanasia.com/Netherlands.html. 2.4.2009.
7. Msnbc.com news services. June 1, 2007. "Kevorkian released from prison after 8 years." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18974940. 2.4.2009.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Bias and Error in the Costly Death Penalty System
BIAS IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
It is clear that there is much bias in the administration of the death penalty in America.1.
Poor minorities make up a large percentage of the death penalty cases. It is rare that a rich person will be sentenced to death.
Blacks are disproportionately represented on death row. This historical bias was demonstrated in 1965 by Donald Partington, a Virginia lawyer. He documented that between 1908 and 1963 2,798 men had been convicted for rape or attempted rape in Virginia. All of the 54 executed were black. The bias continues into the present.
Gender bias is also evident. Although women commit 11.6% of the murders, only 1.4% of death row inmates are women. This may be related to the severity and circumstances of the crime.
Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. Extreme disparity is seen in execution data listed in Statistical Abstracts between 1977 and 2005. During this time period, 871 executions are listed as occuring in the United States. Six states were responsible for executing 72% of the total number. Southern states predominate in death penalty sentencing.
While:
- 23 states carried out no executions, and
- 7 states carried out no more than 1-3 executions,
- Texas carried out 313 executions,
- Virginia carried out 89,
- Oklahoma carried out 69,
- Florida carried out 57,
- Missouri carried out 61,and
- Georgia carried out 34.
ERROR IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
The finality of the death penalty raises concern about errors in sentencing.
This concern became severe following exonerations based on DNA evidence of more than 200 prisoners, including prisoners on death row.
Jurisdictions across the country are enacting policy reforms to protect against wrongful convictions. Inmates in all but eight states are now given access to DNA evidence that may not have been available at the time of trial.
In a 2005 study, Professor Samuel R. Gross found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners, 95% convicted of murder and rape, had been exonerated. DNA evidence was used to exonerate 144 of these inmates.
False witness identificaton was involved in half of the murder convictions and 88% of the rape convictions.
Peter J. Neufeld, a co-director of the New York City-based Innocence Project said that the legislation resulting from DNA exonerations is "probably the single greatest criminal justice reform in the last 40 years." 2.
Troy Anthony Davis has become synonymous with error in the death penalty system. Davis was sentenced to die in 1991 after being convicted of killing a policeman, despite lack of physical evidence. Since the trial seven of the nine witnesses came forward to say that they were coerced by police into identifying Davis as the gunman.
Amnesty International, death penalty abolition groups and thousands of concerned individuals, including President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Bishop Tutu, have challenged the perceived injustice.
Davis was granted a stay on his scheduled execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered his petition. The court declined to hear the case. Another execution date was set that was stayed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Davis continues to wait and still faces execution. 3.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS COSTLY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Concerns about the death penalty go beyond moral and emotional injustices. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
The Dallas Morning News, in 1992, reported that "a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years." 4.
Other states report similar extreme costs for the death penalty system. In 2007, California reported that it costs an additional $90,000 a year per inmate to confine an inmate on death row as opposed to those sentenced to life without parole. With California's death row population of 670, that accounted for $63.3 million annually. 5.
Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center,testified that death penalty cases require more time to prepare, more pre-trial motions filed, more experts hired, twice as many attorneys for the defense, more quizzing in jury selection, two trials conducted (for guilt and sentencing), and a series of appeals that come after conviction.6.
In 2000, the U.S. prison population reached 2 million prisoners, up from 1 million in 1995. The U.S. Justice Department reported that 461 of every 100,000 Americans were serving a prison sentence of at least one year.
C. M."Marty" Lensign, warden at Louisiana's Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, noted that cost effective alternatives were not sought because the incarceration business had a financial interest in perpetuating itself. He said, "We've used prison beds to stimulate the economy...In other words, it's an industry." 7.
RETHINKING THE DEATH PENALTY
Considering the bias, error and cost involved in administering the death penalty, there are many questions to be pondered.
The death penalty is viewed by some as a deterrent to future crime, but this is not generally supported by data. Conclusions from many studies show that the opposite is true. States that carry out higher numbers of executions actually have higher murder rates.
Supporters argue that "therapeutic vengeance" brings peace of mind and closure to victims or relatives of the crime. Others contend that laws and objectivity, not emotion, should control the process of justice. 8.
Texas is responsible for over 30% of the executions in the U.S.
A former district attorney of Bexar County, Texas, Sam Millsap, recognizes the fallibility of the death penalty system, saying that an honest assessment of the problems is overdue.
Millsap concludes,"When it comes to human life, a system that gets it right most of the time should not exist at all." 9.
REFERENCES:
1. Henslin, James M.2007. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston:Allyn and Bacon:175-177.
2. New York Times. October 1, 2007. "DNA exonerations lead to key policy changes throughout the US". DPIC.http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-executions-19270-2993.2/11/2009.
3. Lajoie, Ron. Winter, 2007. "Troy Davis' Day in Court". Amnesty International:6.
AIUSA. Winter 2008. "Letter from Death Row." Amnesty International:7.
4. Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center. Feb. 13, 2009. "Costs".
http://texasdeathpenalty.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39<em=62.
5. DPIC. February 13,2009. "Financial Facts About the Death Penalty".
http://wwwdeathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.
6. Ibid.
7. Katz, Jesse. Feb. 19,2000. "U.S. prison population reaches 2 million mark." San Antonio Express News:16A.
8. Parrillo, Vincent N. 1999. Contemporary Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:133-134.
Sullivan, Thomas J. 2000. Introduction to Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:324
9. Millsap, Sam. Dec. 13, 2008. "Death penalty system fatally flawed." San Antonio Express News:8B.
It is clear that there is much bias in the administration of the death penalty in America.1.
Poor minorities make up a large percentage of the death penalty cases. It is rare that a rich person will be sentenced to death.
Blacks are disproportionately represented on death row. This historical bias was demonstrated in 1965 by Donald Partington, a Virginia lawyer. He documented that between 1908 and 1963 2,798 men had been convicted for rape or attempted rape in Virginia. All of the 54 executed were black. The bias continues into the present.
Gender bias is also evident. Although women commit 11.6% of the murders, only 1.4% of death row inmates are women. This may be related to the severity and circumstances of the crime.
Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. Extreme disparity is seen in execution data listed in Statistical Abstracts between 1977 and 2005. During this time period, 871 executions are listed as occuring in the United States. Six states were responsible for executing 72% of the total number. Southern states predominate in death penalty sentencing.
While:
- 23 states carried out no executions, and
- 7 states carried out no more than 1-3 executions,
- Texas carried out 313 executions,
- Virginia carried out 89,
- Oklahoma carried out 69,
- Florida carried out 57,
- Missouri carried out 61,and
- Georgia carried out 34.
ERROR IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
The finality of the death penalty raises concern about errors in sentencing.
This concern became severe following exonerations based on DNA evidence of more than 200 prisoners, including prisoners on death row.
Jurisdictions across the country are enacting policy reforms to protect against wrongful convictions. Inmates in all but eight states are now given access to DNA evidence that may not have been available at the time of trial.
In a 2005 study, Professor Samuel R. Gross found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners, 95% convicted of murder and rape, had been exonerated. DNA evidence was used to exonerate 144 of these inmates.
False witness identificaton was involved in half of the murder convictions and 88% of the rape convictions.
Peter J. Neufeld, a co-director of the New York City-based Innocence Project said that the legislation resulting from DNA exonerations is "probably the single greatest criminal justice reform in the last 40 years." 2.
Troy Anthony Davis has become synonymous with error in the death penalty system. Davis was sentenced to die in 1991 after being convicted of killing a policeman, despite lack of physical evidence. Since the trial seven of the nine witnesses came forward to say that they were coerced by police into identifying Davis as the gunman.
Amnesty International, death penalty abolition groups and thousands of concerned individuals, including President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Bishop Tutu, have challenged the perceived injustice.
Davis was granted a stay on his scheduled execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered his petition. The court declined to hear the case. Another execution date was set that was stayed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Davis continues to wait and still faces execution. 3.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS COSTLY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Concerns about the death penalty go beyond moral and emotional injustices. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
The Dallas Morning News, in 1992, reported that "a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years." 4.
Other states report similar extreme costs for the death penalty system. In 2007, California reported that it costs an additional $90,000 a year per inmate to confine an inmate on death row as opposed to those sentenced to life without parole. With California's death row population of 670, that accounted for $63.3 million annually. 5.
Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center,testified that death penalty cases require more time to prepare, more pre-trial motions filed, more experts hired, twice as many attorneys for the defense, more quizzing in jury selection, two trials conducted (for guilt and sentencing), and a series of appeals that come after conviction.6.
In 2000, the U.S. prison population reached 2 million prisoners, up from 1 million in 1995. The U.S. Justice Department reported that 461 of every 100,000 Americans were serving a prison sentence of at least one year.
C. M."Marty" Lensign, warden at Louisiana's Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, noted that cost effective alternatives were not sought because the incarceration business had a financial interest in perpetuating itself. He said, "We've used prison beds to stimulate the economy...In other words, it's an industry." 7.
RETHINKING THE DEATH PENALTY
Considering the bias, error and cost involved in administering the death penalty, there are many questions to be pondered.
The death penalty is viewed by some as a deterrent to future crime, but this is not generally supported by data. Conclusions from many studies show that the opposite is true. States that carry out higher numbers of executions actually have higher murder rates.
Supporters argue that "therapeutic vengeance" brings peace of mind and closure to victims or relatives of the crime. Others contend that laws and objectivity, not emotion, should control the process of justice. 8.
Texas is responsible for over 30% of the executions in the U.S.
A former district attorney of Bexar County, Texas, Sam Millsap, recognizes the fallibility of the death penalty system, saying that an honest assessment of the problems is overdue.
Millsap concludes,"When it comes to human life, a system that gets it right most of the time should not exist at all." 9.
REFERENCES:
1. Henslin, James M.2007. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston:Allyn and Bacon:175-177.
2. New York Times. October 1, 2007. "DNA exonerations lead to key policy changes throughout the US". DPIC.http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-executions-19270-2993.2/11/2009.
3. Lajoie, Ron. Winter, 2007. "Troy Davis' Day in Court". Amnesty International:6.
AIUSA. Winter 2008. "Letter from Death Row." Amnesty International:7.
4. Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center. Feb. 13, 2009. "Costs".
http://texasdeathpenalty.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39<em=62.
5. DPIC. February 13,2009. "Financial Facts About the Death Penalty".
http://wwwdeathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.
6. Ibid.
7. Katz, Jesse. Feb. 19,2000. "U.S. prison population reaches 2 million mark." San Antonio Express News:16A.
8. Parrillo, Vincent N. 1999. Contemporary Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:133-134.
Sullivan, Thomas J. 2000. Introduction to Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:324
9. Millsap, Sam. Dec. 13, 2008. "Death penalty system fatally flawed." San Antonio Express News:8B.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Freedom of Choice Divides the Nation
When Roe v. Wade was enacted in 1973 the U.S. engaged in a massive social experiment that the country was not ready for. Abortion became one of the most explosive, bitter and divisive conflicts on the American landscape.
The terminology used to discuss the issue has been crucial. Initially the terms pro-abortion and anti-abortion were used by the media to discuss the positions of the opposing sides. However, each side sought to use more positive images to package their viewpoints. Those supporting abortion rights favored the term pro-choice in support of a woman's right to control her body. Those opposed to abortion favored the term pro-life in support of the rights of the unborn child. 1.
The positions are emotional extremes with little room for compromise. The nation became torn and continues to be divided. In a 2003 Gallup survey, 47 percent of adults claimed to be pro-choice, while 46 percent claimed pro-life. 2.
SOCIAL PRESSURES TO ABORT
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion.
Industrialized countries now favor lower fertility. A woman may be discouraged from bearing a child by family or friends. Increasing data document that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her.
The Elliott Institute catalogs and examines the after effects of abortion, focusing on stress experienced by women. They report, "Pressures to abort can come from husbands, parents, doctors, partners, counselors or close friends and family. They may threaten or blackmail a woman into abortion...Coercion can escalate into violence." 3.
An abortion security guard testified that women "were routinely threatened and abused by the boyfriends or husbands who took them to the clinics to make sure they underwent their scheduled abortions. 4.
Research by Rue et. al. studied the relationship between induced aborton and traumatic stress. In a study of 548 women (331 Russian and 217 American) they noted that 64% of women who aborted felt pressured by others; 54% were unsure of their decisions; 67% received no counseling beforehand; 87% received inadequate counseling; 79% were not told about alternatives; 31% had health complication afterwards; and 65% of the American woman suffered multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders with 14% meeting all of the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder. 5.
THE POLITICAL PROCESS UNFOLDS
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, the disputes became acrimonious. A struggle ensured for political control over circumstances under which an abortion could be obtained. States became active in seeking to manage and control the circumstances surrounding abortion.
States Limit Abortion Practices
In January of 2009, the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute summarized the laws that had been passed by states "limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion". 6.
*38 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.
*36 states prohibit abortion after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal viability, except to protect a woman's life or health.
* 14 states prohibit 'partial-birth' abortion.
* 32 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds for abortion.
* 4 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans.
* 46 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in abortion.
* 43 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions.
* 17 states mandate that women be counseled in regard to the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (6 states), the ability of the fetus to feel pain (8 states), mental health consequences (7 states) or the availability of ultrasound (6 states)
* 24 states require that a woman wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between counseling and procedure.
* 34 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to abort. 22 states require one or both parents to consent, while 10 require that one or both be notified.
Federal Protection for the Unborn/Born Alive Child
* The Born Alive Infant Protection Act, enacted into law in 2002, states that any baby born alive is legally a person and entitled to medical care. Failure to provide it is a crime.
* The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, enacted into law in 2003, prohibits a late-term abortion called partial-birth abortion.
* The Unborn Victims of Violence Act ,enacted into law in 2004, was the first recognition of federal legal rights for an embryo or fetus as a person separate from the woman. This Act made it a separate federal crime to harm a fetus during and assault on the mother.
THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT (FOCA)
This Bill was introduced in April of 2007 but failed to be reported to a committee.
The Freedom of Choice Act "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices..."
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored by 19 co-sponsors, including then Senator Barack Obama.
On July 17, 2007, Senator Obama spoke to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He said, "The first thing I'd do as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." 7.
In discussing the Freedom of Choice Act, Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, FOCA "is a dangerous bill that President Barack Obama has promised to sign...FOCA... would kick to the curb every protective law that has been passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local communities." 8.
MORAL AND LEGAL AMBIGUITY
When does life begin and who should decide? Legal and moral ramifications lie at the core of decisions about abortion. Women, especially young women, are left in a state of ambiguous concern as to the value of the life of their developing child.
Although abortion became legal in the United States in 1973, Time magazine reported in January of 2003 that "53% of women between ages of 18 through 39 say they consider abortion an act of murder." Results of a TIME/CNN poll reported that 60% of 1,010 adult Americans agreed that it is "too easy for women today to get an abortion." 9.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research affiliate, reported that since 1973 the total abortions in the U.S.through 2007 exceeded 49 million, 550 thousand.10.
The Freedom of Choice Act would create extreme and divisive moral confusion in our country.
A "NO" vote to FOCA is the wisest choice.
REFERENCES:1.
Craig, Barbara Hinkson and David M. O'Brien. 1993. Abortion and American Politics. Chatham House:Chatham, New Jersey.
2. Pisano, Marina. "Roe v. Wade at 30". San Antonio Express News. Jan. 20, 2003:1A.
3. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing: The unChoice.com. 2/3/2009.
4. McQuarrie, Brian. "Guard, clinic at odds at abortion hearing." Boston Globe, April16, 1999.
5. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing:The UnChoice.com.
Rue, V.M., P.K. Coleman, J.J. Rue, and D. C. Reardon. "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: a preliminary comparison of American and Russian Women." Medical Science Monitor. Sept. 23, 2004. Oc:10(10):SR5-16. E-pub.
6. Guttmacher Institute. "State Policies in Brief:An Overview of Abortion Laws".
www.guttmacher.org. January 1, 2009.
7. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jan. 30, 2009. "Freedom of Choice Act."
http://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Choice_Act.
8.Butts, Charlie. Jan. 28, 2009. "The fight against FOCA begins."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Printer.aspx?id-399060.
9. Tumulty, Karen and Viveca Novak. January 27, 2003. "Under the Radar-Thirty years after Roe v. Wade." Time. Vol. 161. No. 3:38-41.
10. National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/ABORTION/facts/abortionstats.html.
2/2/2009.
The terminology used to discuss the issue has been crucial. Initially the terms pro-abortion and anti-abortion were used by the media to discuss the positions of the opposing sides. However, each side sought to use more positive images to package their viewpoints. Those supporting abortion rights favored the term pro-choice in support of a woman's right to control her body. Those opposed to abortion favored the term pro-life in support of the rights of the unborn child. 1.
The positions are emotional extremes with little room for compromise. The nation became torn and continues to be divided. In a 2003 Gallup survey, 47 percent of adults claimed to be pro-choice, while 46 percent claimed pro-life. 2.
SOCIAL PRESSURES TO ABORT
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion.
Industrialized countries now favor lower fertility. A woman may be discouraged from bearing a child by family or friends. Increasing data document that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her.
The Elliott Institute catalogs and examines the after effects of abortion, focusing on stress experienced by women. They report, "Pressures to abort can come from husbands, parents, doctors, partners, counselors or close friends and family. They may threaten or blackmail a woman into abortion...Coercion can escalate into violence." 3.
An abortion security guard testified that women "were routinely threatened and abused by the boyfriends or husbands who took them to the clinics to make sure they underwent their scheduled abortions. 4.
Research by Rue et. al. studied the relationship between induced aborton and traumatic stress. In a study of 548 women (331 Russian and 217 American) they noted that 64% of women who aborted felt pressured by others; 54% were unsure of their decisions; 67% received no counseling beforehand; 87% received inadequate counseling; 79% were not told about alternatives; 31% had health complication afterwards; and 65% of the American woman suffered multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders with 14% meeting all of the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder. 5.
THE POLITICAL PROCESS UNFOLDS
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, the disputes became acrimonious. A struggle ensured for political control over circumstances under which an abortion could be obtained. States became active in seeking to manage and control the circumstances surrounding abortion.
States Limit Abortion Practices
In January of 2009, the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute summarized the laws that had been passed by states "limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion". 6.
*38 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.
*36 states prohibit abortion after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal viability, except to protect a woman's life or health.
* 14 states prohibit 'partial-birth' abortion.
* 32 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds for abortion.
* 4 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans.
* 46 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in abortion.
* 43 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions.
* 17 states mandate that women be counseled in regard to the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (6 states), the ability of the fetus to feel pain (8 states), mental health consequences (7 states) or the availability of ultrasound (6 states)
* 24 states require that a woman wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between counseling and procedure.
* 34 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to abort. 22 states require one or both parents to consent, while 10 require that one or both be notified.
Federal Protection for the Unborn/Born Alive Child
* The Born Alive Infant Protection Act, enacted into law in 2002, states that any baby born alive is legally a person and entitled to medical care. Failure to provide it is a crime.
* The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, enacted into law in 2003, prohibits a late-term abortion called partial-birth abortion.
* The Unborn Victims of Violence Act ,enacted into law in 2004, was the first recognition of federal legal rights for an embryo or fetus as a person separate from the woman. This Act made it a separate federal crime to harm a fetus during and assault on the mother.
THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT (FOCA)
This Bill was introduced in April of 2007 but failed to be reported to a committee.
The Freedom of Choice Act "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices..."
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored by 19 co-sponsors, including then Senator Barack Obama.
On July 17, 2007, Senator Obama spoke to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He said, "The first thing I'd do as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." 7.
In discussing the Freedom of Choice Act, Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, FOCA "is a dangerous bill that President Barack Obama has promised to sign...FOCA... would kick to the curb every protective law that has been passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local communities." 8.
MORAL AND LEGAL AMBIGUITY
When does life begin and who should decide? Legal and moral ramifications lie at the core of decisions about abortion. Women, especially young women, are left in a state of ambiguous concern as to the value of the life of their developing child.
Although abortion became legal in the United States in 1973, Time magazine reported in January of 2003 that "53% of women between ages of 18 through 39 say they consider abortion an act of murder." Results of a TIME/CNN poll reported that 60% of 1,010 adult Americans agreed that it is "too easy for women today to get an abortion." 9.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research affiliate, reported that since 1973 the total abortions in the U.S.through 2007 exceeded 49 million, 550 thousand.10.
The Freedom of Choice Act would create extreme and divisive moral confusion in our country.
A "NO" vote to FOCA is the wisest choice.
REFERENCES:1.
Craig, Barbara Hinkson and David M. O'Brien. 1993. Abortion and American Politics. Chatham House:Chatham, New Jersey.
2. Pisano, Marina. "Roe v. Wade at 30". San Antonio Express News. Jan. 20, 2003:1A.
3. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing: The unChoice.com. 2/3/2009.
4. McQuarrie, Brian. "Guard, clinic at odds at abortion hearing." Boston Globe, April16, 1999.
5. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing:The UnChoice.com.
Rue, V.M., P.K. Coleman, J.J. Rue, and D. C. Reardon. "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: a preliminary comparison of American and Russian Women." Medical Science Monitor. Sept. 23, 2004. Oc:10(10):SR5-16. E-pub.
6. Guttmacher Institute. "State Policies in Brief:An Overview of Abortion Laws".
www.guttmacher.org. January 1, 2009.
7. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jan. 30, 2009. "Freedom of Choice Act."
http://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Choice_Act.
8.Butts, Charlie. Jan. 28, 2009. "The fight against FOCA begins."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Printer.aspx?id-399060.
9. Tumulty, Karen and Viveca Novak. January 27, 2003. "Under the Radar-Thirty years after Roe v. Wade." Time. Vol. 161. No. 3:38-41.
10. National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/ABORTION/facts/abortionstats.html.
2/2/2009.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Strength To Love
Today, Martin Luther King Day of 2009, is a momentous occasion as we look forward to tomorrow when Barack Obama, the first African American president, will take the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States. Obama will be using the same Bible used by the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, at his inauguration in 1861.
The American promise of equality and freedom rings true as people of all races gather on the Washington Mall from all over the country and the world to prepare for the inauguration of President Obama.
The gathering is reminiscent of and a consequence of the orderly demonstration of 250,000 people who gathered on the Washington Mall over 45 years ago on August 28th of 1963 for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here that the historic, I Have a Dream speech, was delivered by Dr. King as he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
His speech, replayed in full over CNN news today, spoke of the future struggle for justice. He warned that the struggle would be hard and many would be imprisoned for their efforts. However, Dr. King said, "We must not be guilty of wrongful deeds, not drink from the cup of bitterness and hatred"...but rather move in the "high plain of dignity and discipline...meeting physical force with soul force.".
DIGNIFIED AND NON-VIOLENT
Dr King, other black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. People who could not accept this condition were asked to leave. The strength, discipline and determination of these demonstrators spoke to the hearts of many Americans as they watched with horror on television the attacking dogs, water hosings and imprisonment of the demonstrators.
This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them, was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965.
The determination and ability of black leadership to speak truth to love laid the foundation of a a just society for all people.
As a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Dr. King held firm to the teachings of Jesus. In 1963, he published a book of his sermons entitled Strength to Love.
The remaining portion of this entry will honor Dr. King's wisdom by presenting excerpts from one of his sermons entitled "Loving Your Enemies".
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
from: Strength to Love. by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. pgs. 49-57.
Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to "love your enemies". Some have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible...Others, like the philosopher Nietzsche, contend that Jesus' exhortation to love one's enemies is testimony to the fact that the Christian ethic is designed for the weak and cowardly, and not for the strong and courageous. Jesus, they say was an impractical idealist...
Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.
I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one's enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talked glibly about the moral life...
HOW DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive... Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.
Second, we must recognise that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy...
Third, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding...
Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hatred...
LOVE IS AGAPE
Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh... An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, Agape, is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love not because we like them... we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path?...
When Jesus bids us to love our enemies he is speaking of Agape - understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all.
WHY SHOULD WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars...
Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes that personality and eats away its vital unity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
...Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up.
Love transforms with redemptive power.
The American promise of equality and freedom rings true as people of all races gather on the Washington Mall from all over the country and the world to prepare for the inauguration of President Obama.
The gathering is reminiscent of and a consequence of the orderly demonstration of 250,000 people who gathered on the Washington Mall over 45 years ago on August 28th of 1963 for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here that the historic, I Have a Dream speech, was delivered by Dr. King as he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
His speech, replayed in full over CNN news today, spoke of the future struggle for justice. He warned that the struggle would be hard and many would be imprisoned for their efforts. However, Dr. King said, "We must not be guilty of wrongful deeds, not drink from the cup of bitterness and hatred"...but rather move in the "high plain of dignity and discipline...meeting physical force with soul force.".
DIGNIFIED AND NON-VIOLENT
Dr King, other black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. People who could not accept this condition were asked to leave. The strength, discipline and determination of these demonstrators spoke to the hearts of many Americans as they watched with horror on television the attacking dogs, water hosings and imprisonment of the demonstrators.
This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them, was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965.
The determination and ability of black leadership to speak truth to love laid the foundation of a a just society for all people.
As a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Dr. King held firm to the teachings of Jesus. In 1963, he published a book of his sermons entitled Strength to Love.
The remaining portion of this entry will honor Dr. King's wisdom by presenting excerpts from one of his sermons entitled "Loving Your Enemies".
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
from: Strength to Love. by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. pgs. 49-57.
Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to "love your enemies". Some have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible...Others, like the philosopher Nietzsche, contend that Jesus' exhortation to love one's enemies is testimony to the fact that the Christian ethic is designed for the weak and cowardly, and not for the strong and courageous. Jesus, they say was an impractical idealist...
Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.
I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one's enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talked glibly about the moral life...
HOW DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive... Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.
Second, we must recognise that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy...
Third, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding...
Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hatred...
LOVE IS AGAPE
Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh... An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, Agape, is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love not because we like them... we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path?...
When Jesus bids us to love our enemies he is speaking of Agape - understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all.
WHY SHOULD WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars...
Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes that personality and eats away its vital unity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
...Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up.
Love transforms with redemptive power.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Vast Conclusions from Half Vast Data
Recently a group of scientists, science teachers, and interested Texans went before the Texas State Board of Education and "pleaded with the 15 member board not to confuse public school children with a watered-down teaching of evolution by requiring teachers to teach its weaknesses or limitations".
This month the State Board of Education will take a preliminary vote on "new science curriculum standards that will dictate new science textbooks for the state's 4.5 million students".
Steven Schafersman, president of 'Texas Citizens for Science' told the board, "Scientists want to get rid of this weaknesses wording...Scientific theories don't have weaknesses."
Paul Kramer, a Texas engineer, countered this argument. He presented names of 700 scientists from around the world who doubt the claims for random mutation and natural selection. Kramer said that restricting debate is out of place in a free society. He said, "It smacks of oppression and tyranny and reminds us of another darker time in Germany where brown shirted, black-booted thought police burned books and crushed any free debate."
Educators around the United States watch closely to see the direction Texas moves because their decisions on controversial issues influence the content of books. 1.
SCIENTIST PRIESTS?
In the late 1960's Spencer Klaw examined the organization of the scientific community and scientific research in the United States. He concluded that "Science has become a form of established religion and scientists its priests and ministers." 2.
This conclusion was prophecied in the early 1800's when Auguste Comte, a French social thinker who was greatly concerned by growing social problems, contended that social relationships and society operate by laws that could be discovered through the application of scientific principles. He believed that 'scientist priests' could use the methods employed by the natural sciences to discover the natural laws of social relationships. These discovered laws would be used to develop a planned socialist society for the benefit of mankind that would replace the religious view of society based on the revelation of God's will. 3.
WAYS OF KNOWING
The world we live in is largely an unknown entity. We give meaning and understanding to the world around us through subjective experience, traditional authority, mystical understanding, and reasoned logic.
Increasingly, however, these personal ways of knowing are being supplanted by science, a systematic method that bases knowledge on observation of information that can be verified with our senses,
In the 1700's, the Age of Enlightenment ushered in an era of progress through science with an emphasis on human reason and scientific discovery. Only that which could be observed and verified scientifically was considered meaningful. Supernaturalism was viewed as outdated by the intellectuals of the time.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is one mode of obtaining understanding about the world around us. Science is a way of generating and testing the truth of statements.
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systmatically collected.
The scientific method consists of two processes: theorizing and research based on observable (empirical) information.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS 4.
* The process begins by defining the problem to be examined.
* Literature is reviewed which describes previous studies that have been done on the problem.
* A theory, which is a framework suggesting how two or more variable factors are related to each other, is developed.
* Through a process of logical deduction, an hypothesis is developed that predicts how one variable will affect or change another. An hypothesis is an If-Then statement. If (this) occurs then (that) will occur.
* A research method is developed to determine what data are to be collected and how they will be sampled and analyzed.
* The observations of the data are collected.
* The sample measurements are summarized.
* Generalizations are drawn from the conclusions as to whether the hypothesis was confirmed.
* The theory is confirmed or revised, depending on the results of the research.
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF RESEARCH
The value of research depends on accurate measurement of variables, a well drawn sample, and objective analysis of data.
Before the results of a scientific study are accepted as valuable, questions should be considered.
* What definitions were used to define the variables that were measured?
* How were the variables measured?
* Why was the research carried out?
* What were the motivations of the researchers?
* Who sponsored the research?
* What were the qualifications of the researchers?
* How large was the sample of observations and how was the sample drawn?
* Where was the sample drawn?
* When was the study done?
* Were all of the results considered in the conclusions?
CONCERNS WITH ADVOCACY RESEARCH
When a researcher studies a problem with an 'ideological imperative', politically acceptable findings may become more important than the quality of the research.
Research studies are often used to raise public consciousness toward acceptance for
a political agenda or to develop scientific legitimacy for social programs.
The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
SCIENTISM
Science, unfortunately, can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. Merriam Webster defines scientism as "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". 5.
Pbs.org. discusses scientism in this way. "Unlike the use of the scientific method as only one mode of reaching knowledge, scientism claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality... Scientism sees it necessary to do away with most, if not all, metaphysical, philosophical, and religious claims, as the truths they proclaim cannot be apprehended by the scientific method. In essence, scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth. 6.
AGAINST METHOD
Paul Feyerabend, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book, Against Method, contends that progress in science has not been made by following the scientific method. He notes that the gathering of facts are biased and distorted by theories and that the observation of facts are distorted by selective perception and prejudice.
Feyerabend observes that the scientific process is full of sordid personal controversy that comes closer to mob psychology than methodology.
He concludes that theories in science prevail not because they convince their opponents, but because they overpower them.
He believes that the search for truth must encompass a pluralistic methodology, including that of art, philosophy, religion and politics, because only a method that encourages variety is humanitarian. 7.
SEPARATION OF STATE AND SCIENCE
Feyerabend states, "As the accepting and rejecting of ideologies should be left to the individual, it follows that the separation of state and church must be supplemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution. Such a separation may be our only chance to achieve a humanity we are capable of, but have never fully realized". (pg. 295).
REFERENCES
1. Scharrer, Gary. "Scientists Speak up for Evolution". San Antonio Express News. November 20, 2008:B1.
2. Klaw, Spencer. The New Brahmins, Scientific Life in America. NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1968:12.
3. Macionis, John J. Sociology: The Basics. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. 1997: Chapters 1 and 4.
4. Wallace, Walter. The Logic of Science in Sociology. Chicago: Aldine Press:1971.
5. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam Webster, Inc. Springfield, Mass. 1988:1051.
6. http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/scism-body.html. 1/11/2009.
7. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. Thetford, Norfolk, Great Britain: The Thetford Press Ltd. 1975.
This month the State Board of Education will take a preliminary vote on "new science curriculum standards that will dictate new science textbooks for the state's 4.5 million students".
Steven Schafersman, president of 'Texas Citizens for Science' told the board, "Scientists want to get rid of this weaknesses wording...Scientific theories don't have weaknesses."
Paul Kramer, a Texas engineer, countered this argument. He presented names of 700 scientists from around the world who doubt the claims for random mutation and natural selection. Kramer said that restricting debate is out of place in a free society. He said, "It smacks of oppression and tyranny and reminds us of another darker time in Germany where brown shirted, black-booted thought police burned books and crushed any free debate."
Educators around the United States watch closely to see the direction Texas moves because their decisions on controversial issues influence the content of books. 1.
SCIENTIST PRIESTS?
In the late 1960's Spencer Klaw examined the organization of the scientific community and scientific research in the United States. He concluded that "Science has become a form of established religion and scientists its priests and ministers." 2.
This conclusion was prophecied in the early 1800's when Auguste Comte, a French social thinker who was greatly concerned by growing social problems, contended that social relationships and society operate by laws that could be discovered through the application of scientific principles. He believed that 'scientist priests' could use the methods employed by the natural sciences to discover the natural laws of social relationships. These discovered laws would be used to develop a planned socialist society for the benefit of mankind that would replace the religious view of society based on the revelation of God's will. 3.
WAYS OF KNOWING
The world we live in is largely an unknown entity. We give meaning and understanding to the world around us through subjective experience, traditional authority, mystical understanding, and reasoned logic.
Increasingly, however, these personal ways of knowing are being supplanted by science, a systematic method that bases knowledge on observation of information that can be verified with our senses,
In the 1700's, the Age of Enlightenment ushered in an era of progress through science with an emphasis on human reason and scientific discovery. Only that which could be observed and verified scientifically was considered meaningful. Supernaturalism was viewed as outdated by the intellectuals of the time.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is one mode of obtaining understanding about the world around us. Science is a way of generating and testing the truth of statements.
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systmatically collected.
The scientific method consists of two processes: theorizing and research based on observable (empirical) information.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS 4.
* The process begins by defining the problem to be examined.
* Literature is reviewed which describes previous studies that have been done on the problem.
* A theory, which is a framework suggesting how two or more variable factors are related to each other, is developed.
* Through a process of logical deduction, an hypothesis is developed that predicts how one variable will affect or change another. An hypothesis is an If-Then statement. If (this) occurs then (that) will occur.
* A research method is developed to determine what data are to be collected and how they will be sampled and analyzed.
* The observations of the data are collected.
* The sample measurements are summarized.
* Generalizations are drawn from the conclusions as to whether the hypothesis was confirmed.
* The theory is confirmed or revised, depending on the results of the research.
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF RESEARCH
The value of research depends on accurate measurement of variables, a well drawn sample, and objective analysis of data.
Before the results of a scientific study are accepted as valuable, questions should be considered.
* What definitions were used to define the variables that were measured?
* How were the variables measured?
* Why was the research carried out?
* What were the motivations of the researchers?
* Who sponsored the research?
* What were the qualifications of the researchers?
* How large was the sample of observations and how was the sample drawn?
* Where was the sample drawn?
* When was the study done?
* Were all of the results considered in the conclusions?
CONCERNS WITH ADVOCACY RESEARCH
When a researcher studies a problem with an 'ideological imperative', politically acceptable findings may become more important than the quality of the research.
Research studies are often used to raise public consciousness toward acceptance for
a political agenda or to develop scientific legitimacy for social programs.
The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
SCIENTISM
Science, unfortunately, can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. Merriam Webster defines scientism as "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". 5.
Pbs.org. discusses scientism in this way. "Unlike the use of the scientific method as only one mode of reaching knowledge, scientism claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality... Scientism sees it necessary to do away with most, if not all, metaphysical, philosophical, and religious claims, as the truths they proclaim cannot be apprehended by the scientific method. In essence, scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth. 6.
AGAINST METHOD
Paul Feyerabend, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book, Against Method, contends that progress in science has not been made by following the scientific method. He notes that the gathering of facts are biased and distorted by theories and that the observation of facts are distorted by selective perception and prejudice.
Feyerabend observes that the scientific process is full of sordid personal controversy that comes closer to mob psychology than methodology.
He concludes that theories in science prevail not because they convince their opponents, but because they overpower them.
He believes that the search for truth must encompass a pluralistic methodology, including that of art, philosophy, religion and politics, because only a method that encourages variety is humanitarian. 7.
SEPARATION OF STATE AND SCIENCE
Feyerabend states, "As the accepting and rejecting of ideologies should be left to the individual, it follows that the separation of state and church must be supplemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution. Such a separation may be our only chance to achieve a humanity we are capable of, but have never fully realized". (pg. 295).
REFERENCES
1. Scharrer, Gary. "Scientists Speak up for Evolution". San Antonio Express News. November 20, 2008:B1.
2. Klaw, Spencer. The New Brahmins, Scientific Life in America. NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1968:12.
3. Macionis, John J. Sociology: The Basics. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. 1997: Chapters 1 and 4.
4. Wallace, Walter. The Logic of Science in Sociology. Chicago: Aldine Press:1971.
5. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam Webster, Inc. Springfield, Mass. 1988:1051.
6. http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/scism-body.html. 1/11/2009.
7. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. Thetford, Norfolk, Great Britain: The Thetford Press Ltd. 1975.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
