Loopholes and “Merchants of Fake Change”

Today’s Thought:  Anand Giriharadas, author of  the forthcoming Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, has received recent coverage in The New Yorker and The New York Times.  Here is a quote from Giriharadas’ book which brings forward a nuance to remember when we think that philanthropy alone is an answer to a social problem:  “Fake change isn’t evil; it’s milquetoast.  It is change the powerful can tolerate. It’s the shoes or socks or tote bag you brought which promised to change the world.  It’s that one awesome charter school — not equally funded public schools for all.  It is Lean In Circles to empower women — not universal pre-school.  It is impact investing — not the closing of the carried-interest loophole.”   My belief about this quote from the opinion page of The New York Times on August 26th is that we need both strategic and compassionate private sector philanthropy, and we need holistic public policy that isn’t a reaction to what has already happened, but anticipation of what’s going to happen in the next five and ten years and beyond.  This is quite a battle, requiring that we the people speak up again and again.

Background about The Postcard Storm: People participating in The Postcard Storm with Friends for Civil Action have a variety of religious and secular viewpoints and political outlooks, but share a common desire for an inclusive, kind world.  As a political moderate, I personally am interested in political policies that focus on outcomes.  The Friends for Civil Action movement looks at ten outcomes we should all want: a habitable planet, good healthcare, quality public education, public safety, economic well-being, freedom, enrichment of experience, problem-solving capacity, hospitality, and kind behavior.  Because these outcomes are largely interdependent, reducing tactical options to either/or actions will rarely effectively address the complicated matters at hand; yet, that seems to be how options continually get framed.  The likelihood of the political arena beginning to function at a high enough level to meet all the facilitation needs government faces in these highly chaotic times seems slim to me.  A partial promise lies in speaking up for what we believe is right. Governing is complicated, and the voices of we, the people, are needed.

For people and groups interested in learning more about The Postcard Storm, ten outcomes we should all want, copies of a short book describing the collective actions of Friends for Civil Action is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Onward we go in pursuit of kindness, purpose, and hope.  Molly Sharpe

Faithful Action

Today’s Thought: People participating in The Postcard Storm with Friends for Civil Action have a variety of religious and secular viewpoints and political outlooks, but share a common desire for an inclusive, kind world.  Today’s thought comes from a story in The New York Times headlined A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front:  Pollution.  In the article, a Baptist minister in North Carolina the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, is quoted as saying, “Jesus said love your neighbor. I don’t care how many times you tell me you love me, if you put coal ash in my water, you don’t love me.  Because if there was nothing wrong with the coal ash, then put it in the wealthy communities.”

Background about The Postcard Storm:  As a political moderate, I personally am interested in political policies that focus on outcomes.  The Friends for Civil Action movement looks at ten outcomes we should all want: a habitable planet, good healthcare, quality public education, public safety, economic well-being, freedom, enrichment of experience, problem-solving capacity, hospitality, and kind behavior.  Because these outcomes are largely interdependent, reducing tactical options to either/or actions will rarely effectively address the complicated matters at hand; yet, that seems to be how options continually get framed.  The likelihood of the political arena beginning to function at a high enough level to meet all the facilitation needs government faces in these highly chaotic times seems slim to me.  A partial promise lies in speaking up for what we believe is right. Governing is complicated, and the voices of we, the people, are needed.

For people and groups interested in learning more about The Postcard Storm, ten outcomes we should all want, copies of a short book describing the collective actions of Friends for Civil Action is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Onward we go in pursuit of kindness, purpose, and hope.  Molly Sharpe

 

Let’s Ask the Right Questions

This past Sunday at St. David’s Episcopal Church in downtown Austin during adult class, I heard J. Douglas Harrison, an ethicist and technology expert, talk about Artificial Intelligence.  He raised questions about the impact the coming switch-over to automated transportation will have on the economic future of many people:  over the next fifteen years people who drive for a living will lose their jobs. I thought for the first time about how the President is addressing the wrong question as he works to roll back emission standards.  Certainly, why he would do that or why Congress or a State Legislature would abdicate the facilitating role they should be undertaking with industry, scientific experts and economic experts is a question for our time, impacting all time on our planet.  Around us record wild fires rage.  However, in putting the focus on car emissions, we root ourselves in the past.  We’ve got new and bigger problems.  Going back to previous standards doesn’t help.  To arrive at useful answers, we have to begin with the right questions.  Then we need to get informed people, from many sectors, at the table to discuss and implement workable transitions.  If we just jerk from left to right political postures and back again, we aren’t problem solving or dilemma managing.

Remembering, these are not normal times…! Here’s what’s happening as the General Convention of the Episcopal Church comes to Austin. Some of you will know the Presiding Bishop as the preacher at the recent Royal Wedding.

The message below was sent today from Chuck Treadwell, rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church, to his congregation as the parish prepares on the occasion of Austin hosting the General Convention. Westboro Baptist Church is sadly known as a hate group that has staged demonstrations different places around the U.S.

As you all know, we have the great joy of hosting General Convention this week and next. We anticipate having a lot of visitors at St. David’s, particularly at our worship services on Sunday, July 8. We have recently learned that we are attracting some other visitors who take exception to who we are and what we do.

Westboro Baptist Church has invited people to protest at St. David’s on Sunday morning. Their website says they will be here from 8:30-9 a.m., but we don’t know for sure. In preparation for this, we are asking you to do a few things:

1. Please avoid the surface lot. Please park in the parking garage. We will have attendants here to help you get in and out, and there are handicap spots on every floor.
2. Please do not engage the protesters. They are professionals at this twisted work and are known for trying to illicit angry and violent responses and then suing people. So please simply ignore them.
3. Come to church and bear witness to the God of love, in whom there is no darkness or hatred, and pray for a change of heart for those who spread hate in God’s name.

We will have extra security and two off-duty Sheriff’s Deputies on campus to make sure everyone plays well with others. I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Peace,

The Cultural Vacuum

Author and co-founder of The International Congress of Youth Voices Dave Eggers writes in today’s New York Times of the present void of culture at the White House. He concludes his observations with these words: “with art comes empathy. It allows us to look through someone else’s eyes and know their strivings and struggles. It expands the moral imagination and makes it impossible to accept the dehumanization of others.  When we are without art, we are a diminished people–myopic, unlearned and cruel.”

We DO Care.

On June 22, the day she traveled to view a shelter for immigrant children in Texas, Melania Trump was photographed in a jacket that read in capital letters “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?”

Those of us who are bewildered or angered by the message on Mrs. Trump’s jacket have some options.

For those of us who try and live by a “love our neighbor” or golden rule guideline of “doing unto others as we would have them do to us,” this means channeling our concern and outrage in a constructive and civil manner.

We need to focus on building compassionate community.

Here’s how:

1. Find out the facts and discern the implications those facts hold for the outcomes we seek.
2. Speak out on behalf of those outcomes with our voices and our votes.

Here are worthy outcomes that should matter to us all:

1. A habitable planet
2. Health care access
3. Quality education
4. Public safety
5. Economic well-being
6. Freedom
7. Enrichment of experience
8. Problem-solving capacity
9. Hospitality
10. Kindness

Here are a few current amplifications about a few of the outcomes we should be seeking.

1. Public safety: requires realistic laws that are humane, consistent administration of those laws, and practices that promote community caring, versus driving people into the shadows where bad things happen.
2. Economic well-being: too many people can’t afford decent, much less desirable, shelter or other basics and most don’t have enough money for a $500 emergency.
3. Freedom: when we have a President who regularly scapegoats an entire race, a religious practice, a political party, a nation, or a group within his own party that disagrees with him, our freedom is being threatened.

We need to speak out against wasting resources. Wasting energy on trying to bring back coal, failing to use the power of collaboration when working with world leaders, undermining the healthcare network to take aim at the other political party while ignoring the need to make accessible healthcare for all people a reality, failing to fund the education of our young, disregarding the plight of our aging poor, calling all regulation bad when facts prove that some regulation is vital to our future  — all  of these actions are harmful and expensive.

People in positions of influence have the opportunity to bring people into positive political action.  The Postcard Storm provides bipartisan guidelines for political action to people in  that seek healthy, caring community life.  If you would like for me to help with a plan for your group, let’s talk.

Dear People in Political Power,

I believe we need a better way of treating people seeking asylum from dangers in their homeland.  Imprisoning men and women seeking safety because they have crossed our border without permission is bad enough in itself. Compounding that meanness by separating those traveling as families  from their children is awful behavior unbecoming to any country, much less the United States of America. We forget our original greatness was founded by immigrants pursuing a better life in the face of life-straining obstacles.  This awful behavior of imprisonment and separation on the part of the party in power must change; we are losing our soul as a country unless we improve our treatment of people, regardless of what their documented status may be. We should have zero tolerance for unkindness.  There are better ways to solve problems and manage dilemmas than throwing people in prison because they are seeking safety and taking away their children in the process.

In Response to the Presidential Administration’s “Gag Rule”

I don’t know if Congress with its largely male composition can imagine what it would be like to be a young single teenage girl who is pregnant or a mature married woman who is pregnant and for whatever reason didn’t want to go forward with that pregnancy. Perhaps the young girl is terrified and traumatized by the prospect of carrying a baby to term.  Perhaps the mature woman has a husband newly dying of cancer and three children already on the ground who need her help.  There are many possibilities.

Regardless of one’s opinion about abortion, women and girls need access to reproductive healthcare, whatever their circumstances.  One half of babies are born with their deliveries paid for by Medicaid.  We need to do a better job for our people, and that means making reproductive healthcare a priority. Punishing people by making it hard to access reproductive healthcare not only is cruel to the people in need of it, it hurts all of us.

Friends for Civil Action, not an endorser in primaries, sends out a salute to all who campaigned on the inclusive values we support. Below is communication between me and Chris Perri, as he prepares to back Julie Oliver.

Dear Chris,

Thanks to you and your family for the remarkable energy and focus you gave to your campaign.  I know the misstep of the last couple of weeks must be very painful; I thought the email from your wife that followed that was full of humanity. I had given my small contribution to both yours and Julie’s campaigns.  I had been, as a friend said, dithering back and forth between voting for you or Julie Oliver, looking for who was most likely to have a bit of a chance in the race against Roger Williams.  I think Julie probably does, just because if there is a wave that will bring out non-traditional voters, in most cases, it’s likely to be the wave of women.  That said, in the end, I cast my vote for you – because the email sent under your wife’s signature after the dodgy business of taking on Julie’s campaign the way your campaign did– spoke to me of the hard, hard work you two undertook (appearing in many living rooms and at many doorsteps to talk with people, including my doorstep where you spoke with my adult son and in a neighbor’s living room where I heard you speak things I believe).  The reality is when we are working fiercely hard we all sometimes make mistakes.  Most, however, don’t apologize, even if  it is through a woman; and sometimes it just takes a woman in our society to offer the human face.  Thanks to you and your wife for your courage and stamina, and I plan to join you in campaigning for Julie.

All best,

Mary (Molly) Sharpe

 

Friends for Civil Action website: https://mollysharpe.wordpress.com

 

From: Chris Perri <info@chrisperrifortexas.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2018 9:34 AM
To: molly@mollysharpe.com
Subject: With Gratitude

 

Dear mary, Obviously, we’re disappointed in last night’s close results. It’s hard to take in the loss after all we’ve poured into this. That said, I’m deeply thankful to everyone who’s given their time, money, and support. Together, we helped shape the conversations in this race, and that positive impact will continue on. Shannon sent me this Teddy Roosevelt quote, and I agree he says it best: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Together, we all dared greatly, and for that we should be proud. The best news is that two strong campaigns gave it their all, and if we come together, the people have a real chance of flipping this district. I encourage everyone to get behind our nominee, Julie Oliver. She’s smart, dedicated, and hard working, and she now needs our support against Roger Williams. You can visit her website here: www.oliver2018.com. Runoffs are incredibly hard as candidates work to differentiate, but in the end, she’s got a great progressive platform, and we must all unite to help her win the real fight in November. Once again, to our staff, our volunteers, our friends who cooked us dinner and walked our dog – thank you. I don’t think I can ever fully express my gratitude. To my family for their encouragement, I’m so grateful. I’m especially thankful to Shannon, who poured her heart and soul into this campaign, giving every fiber of her being to spreading our message of hope. She was out knocking on doors until the very last minute yesterday. She has supported me in every way throughout this crazy challenge I took on. For us, it’s time for a little break with our furry and feathery pets, but we’ll be back fighting the good fight soon. In solidarity, Chris www.chrisperrifortexas.com     Paid for by Chris Perri for Congress Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Chris Perri for Texas , please click here.

 

A Bipartisan Postcard About Gun Safety

Senator John Cornyn| Senate Majority Whip| 517 Hart Senate Office Building| Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Cornyn, as a person of considerable power, please enact universal gun checks now for the safety of our school children. Some people are just not equipped to handle guns.

Sign your name and provide your address and zip code to have your opinion counted.