Preparing for the next four years, Friends for Civil Action will focus on Health: Planet Health, Personal Health, and Income Health. Achieving a sustainable and just economy requires tending to the health of the planet, our people and all of our incomes, while leaving space and incentive for human ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We will identify simple actions that encourage influencers and decision makers to advocate for and set policy that builds on the points of convergence where businesses’ and people’s mutual interests lie. Our mission is to heal and help, not divide and destroy. By staying hopeful and looking for the good, we can provide encouragement to ourselves and to others as we persist in seeking ways to solve the pressing problems of our time.
Speak up when our government officials turn profane.
Friends for Civil Action, some of whom once upon a time, at least on occasion, voted Republican, as our name indicates, value civility. That doesn’t mean we stay quiet when deep violations of proper behavior occur. No person, whatever gender, should direct profanities towards another in what is supposed to be professional capacity. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apparently behaved disgracefully to veteran NPR news reporter Mary Louise Kelly first abruptly truncating his interview with her Friday, and then calling her in privately to yell and curse at her. Then, today, he kicked another senior NPR reporter off the press corps group scheduled to travel with him to Europe this coming week. We cannot allow government officials, either party, to shut down media outlets they don’t like. We cannot ignore reprehensible behavior on the part of someone responsible for maintaining important diplomatic ties around the world. We cannot sit by idly as the President of the United States, speaking of Mary Louise Kelly, says to Mike Pompeo in front of media outlets, “I think you did a good job on her.” This behavior is not acceptable, and if we don’t relay this message to our Senators and Congressional Representative, even if they seem incapable of hearing our message, we are not doing our job as citizens.
We are not helpless.
If we oppose putting people in cages,
If we oppose angry people having dangerous guns,
If we oppose ignoring climate change,
If we oppose tax policies that further enrich the already very rich, while increasing our nation’s debt,
If we oppose making fact-based media the enemy,
If we oppose stripping people of human dignity,
If we oppose limiting access to health care based on ability to pay,
If we oppose ignoring expert information when making critical decisions,
If we oppose a President and a party in power who choose to go their own way in the world rather than collaborating for a better world,
If we reject present corruption in government,
If we understand that a little bit of generosity here and a little bit of generosity there is not enough to lead us out this chaos we are in, change the system: VOTE DEMOCRATIC 2020.
Friends for Civil Action
Spread the Word…
“The Postcard Storm, Ten Outcomes We Should All Want” at Amazon.com. provides more information about Friends for Civil Action, along with political action tools.
After a hiatus from posting, I return to the Friends for Civil Action website, ready to share thoughts about positive political action that we can spread and sustain leading into the 2020 elections. Today’s thought is to remember that economic opportunity concerns us all and has to be part of ongoing political decision-making, no matter what the issue. Here’s a message that speaks to the many that’s easy to state: Economic Opportunity for All, Not Just for the Rich.
What was The Postcard Storm becomes The Postcard Practice
Collectively, new and experienced political activists made inroads of hope and progress during 2017 and 2018. This year becomes a time to build on that foundation of engagement, as we develop personal practices that help us remain focused, engaged and useful. Look for posts here in the new year to help with that practice. For those who have an interest in learning more about Friends for Civil Action, see The Postcard Storm by Molly Sharpe at Amazon.com.
Message of Daily Intent
May we be kind to each other and avoid spreading shame, while fighting shameful acts.
A Matter of Temperament
Ginia Bellafante in today’s New York Times reports: “A few months ago, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation produced a report on adolescent wellness that listed the “extreme pressure to succeed or outdo everyone else” prevalent in places where the fortunate congregate – the kind of pressure it said that can lead to overwhelming stress and alcohol addiction – as one of the six greatest threats to healthy adolescent development alongside poverty, homophobia and racism.”
My father’s experience bears this out, as I mention in my message below to the two senators from Texas. The point of my message is to state that Brett Kavanaugh is temperamentally unfit to serve in a lifetime appointment as Supreme Court Judge.
Email to: Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz
From constituent Mary (Molly) H. Sharpe
Re: Brett Kavanaugh
The lifetime appointment of a supreme court justice by its nature must require focus on the person being considered. Brett Kavanaugh proved himself temperamentally unfit with his attacking, partisan testimony at the hearing held September 27th. No matter that he was under great pressure; the role he is striving for requires personal greatness. For those of us who do not believe his testimony, his lack of proper temperament is one part of the big problem; his willingness to lie under oath in the name of ambition to judge others is another; and the act itself, as was reported to have occurred, is yet another part.
Then there is the sorrow, if it should come to that, of all the men and some women who will potentially vote to affirm his nomination to show that they are still right in their stand. This is the human condition, for we are all flawed and many, if not most, can get swept into “group think” and complicity. Still as people, we can be better than this. Of all the years I have lived, this is the most vivid tipping point I’ve experienced. May we move out from the shadow and do the right thing by turning back Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
As an important piece of personal testimony, my story includes a father Charles Francis Hawkins who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law where he served on the Law Review. He was an alcoholic already at the time of my birth which occurred while he was in law school. He managed to acquire top grades and establish a family even as he was drinking heavily — a life course that resulted in death by pancreatic cancer at age 57. Thankfully, he had approaching a decade of sobriety at the end of his life. I don’t know how much Brett Kavanaugh drinks, but I do know that people who drink heavily and who have occasional blackouts (which they are not necessarily going to remember) can make top grades and undertake impressive extra-curricular activities.
I am a political moderate who in the past has supported both Republican and Democratic candidates for office, balancing issues of platform, personal effectiveness, and track record for integrity. Sometimes in the past, I have been casual about my responsibilities as a citizen, but that has all changed in recent years; it is one of the most serious aspects of my life, and not because I’m mad, but because I’m worried.
Many of us move onward today, holding a candle for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s bravery: may her bravery and composure inspire us to raise our own levels of kindness, purpose and hope.
I am the author of a political engagement tool, The Postcard Storm, Ten Outcomes We Should All Want. I have not written this with the expectation of turning a profit (several handfuls of the book sold to date). I self-published it to give away to those who might find it useful, including faith organizations. Kindly a woman who is affiliated with Friends for Civil Action, a group I lead, offered me this review of the work: “Wisdom and politics seldom go hand in hand but in this engaging book Molly Sharpe succeeds. Amiably convincing readers that democracy can’t work unless we inform ourselves and engage in civic action, with her account of the women engaged in a post card storm in Texas, Sharpe provides an interesting example. Just as important, though opposed to the Trump administration, Sharpe is even-minded, also opposes the current tribalism that is causing so much damage to our country. I found this very helpful because, as heated as the conflict is now, in the back of our minds both sides know—hopefully sooner rather than later—that Democrats and what is left of the Republican party, have to work together if our country is to survive.”
Because I believe multiple perspectives are critical to problem solving and because I believe civility helps us hear each other, I’m taking time in my life to communicate with public servants in elected office and encouraging others to do the same. The group I communicate with, about three hundred people, operates like a raindrop, connecting with other raindrops.
Sincerely
Mary (Molly) H. Sharpe
As we move onward today, many of us will be holding a candle for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s bravery: may her incredible bravery and composure inspire us to raise our own levels of kindness, purpose and hope.
The lifetime appointment of a supreme court justice by its nature must focus on the person being considered. Brett Kavanaugh proved himself temperamentally unfit with his attacking, partisan testimony at yesterday’s hearing. No matter that he was under great pressure; the role he is striving for requires personal greatness. For those of us who do not believe his testimony, his lack of proper temperament is a small part of the problem; his willingness to lie under oath in the name of ambition to judge others is a horror. Worse than that are all the men and some women who will potentially vote to affirm his nomination. As people, we can be better than this. Of all the years I have lived, never has there been such a shadow on our land that I have witnessed. May we move out from the shadow and do the right thing by turning back Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Hospitality
Many religions and many sets of ethical behavior hold up the value of being welcoming to the stranger. For those who pursue kindness in life, turning back immigrants without regard for their human dignity and needs is at odds with this pursuit. To ignore the tensions immigration places on a government overlooks realities, but as people we are called to deal with those tensions in a humane manner. To boil down immigration policy to a this or that choice between people who are qualified for high-skill jobs versus service jobs or to people who are from one area of the world versus another or to a restriction built around keeping out extended family overlooks who we are as people. We need help from people up and down the skill ladder. We all do better when we are in community with people we love and who love us. Yet, we need diversity, too, not just known people of our particular “tribe,” so that we are learning to open our minds and hearts to new expressions of experience. Public safety is one matter: it involves vetting and security measures, so that dangerous criminals aren’t invited in, putting their new neighbors at risk. Immigration standards and invitations to live here or stay here for those who already are living here successfully are another matter. I continue to hope for a United States that welcomes people from around the world. We will be a better place for it.
Respect people by backing up words with policy
George W. Bush said in his eulogy of John McCain, “He was honorable, always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings. He loved freedom, with the passion of a man who knew its absence. He respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators. Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots.” These are fine words, and now, what we need are fine policies. In his final statement to the nation delivered posthumously through family spokesman Rick Davis, John McCain had written, “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.” David Leonardt concluded in his Op-ed piece in today’s New York Times, “the congressional Republicans inside the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday would surely say they came to honor John McCain. But they were there for show. Faced with a choice, they have rejected McCain’s America for Trump’s.” Whether one prefers on political party’s strategies over another, there are common outcomes we should all want, outcomes that aren’t achieved by simple either/or approaches. Taking the border wall as an example, early on in its debut as a campaign platform piece for Donald Trump, experts with knowledge of security and logistics pointed to concerns about the efficiency of a solid wall strategy, even before getting to the bad symbolic messaging that comes from trying to wall ourselves off from others. Yes, people in both parties, regardless of their stances on immigration, want safety that comes from barring as we can cartel action from spreading across the border and from barring other proven violence that puts people at risk. Yet misspending our economic resources on an extended wall when we could be improving our overall vetting and processing system as well as investing in up-to-date surveillance technology creates not only waste, but also lost opportunity to improve all people’s safety, while respecting all people’s human dignity.
Molly Sharpe welcomes you to Friends For Civil Action 