People from the United States as oppressors, occupiers, torturers, perpetrators of human rights abuses- not an image easy to stomach, yet it is one of the ways we are increasingly being regarded around the world as Abu Graib pictures surface,Red Cross investigations reveal 70-90% of people held in Afghani and Iraqi prisons are innocent, as civilian casualties mount in the war and occupation of both Iraq and Afghanistan,and as debates continue in Congress, the Bush administration, the Supreme Court as to whether people suspected of being terrorists, deemed “unlawful combatants”, can be exempted from basic rights and protections accorded prisoners under the Geneva Conventions.
Nietzche says, “Be careful when fighting monsters not to become monsters yourselves”. In this simple statement he articulates one of the most difficult challenges before us-how to resist evil without becoming the evil we deplore. Our history is speckled with times when we have imitated that which we were fighting– times when we have helped unseat governments, times when we have spied on our own citizens, restricted civil rights, tortured, killed civilians.
Our history is also speckled with times when we have appealed to our highest selves and not responded in kind, but have responded nonviolently to defeat injustice, not people, times when we have chosen love and not hate. The Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the AntiNuclear Movement, Sanctuary Movement, Labor movement, the Underground Railroad, the Farm Worker movement, to name a few. Many U.S. citizens participate in organizations like Peace Brigades International, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Voices in the Wilderness, where individuals place themselves in the direct line of conflict, observing, accompanying, and recording human rights abuses.
Notably, these nonviolent efforts are not generally initiated and driven by the elected officials, the wealthiest folks, the corporations, the apparent powerholders of our time, but by the grassroots, by ordinary citizens organizing, claiming their collective power to build awareness, and create the conditions for change. Politicans respond when it becomes politically expedient to do so. As theologian and Marquette Univeristy professor M. Shawn Copeland says, “We must chase our leaders until they begin to lead.”
We are living in a historical era of unlimited possibility. Another United States, another world is possible - one in which there is a more equitable distribution of wealth, where the tactics of nonviolence are studied, explored, developed so that it can more effectively be utilized in conflicts (a Manhattan project for nonviolence?), where there is energy independence and a greener economy (see apolloalliance.org,) a world where all folks participate, a greener economy, a world where food, healthcare, education, housing available to all.
Such a vision requires hope, energy, and commitment. We must remain active, and organize, organize, organize, even when we can’t see the fruits of our efforts the very next day or the very next month.
We are planting the seeds of a just world daily. We must continue to tend to them. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “In April, we cannot see sunflowers in France, so we might say the sunflowers do not exist. But the local farmers have already planted thousands of seeds, and when they look at the bare hills, they may be able to see the sunflowers already. The sunflowers are there. They lack only the conditions of sun, heat, rain and July. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist.”
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In the United States, 44 million Americans lack health insurance, 8.5 million of whom are children, and 200,000 of whom live in Greater Cincinnati. 80% of the uninsured are in working families. The result of lack of insurance is catastrophic. 18,000 people die avoidable deaths simply because they are uninsured and unable to get treatment. Many other problems arise as well from lack of insurance coverage. Uninsured Americans are less likely to have a regular source of care, lesslikely to have had a recent physician visit, more likely to delay seeking care, more likely to report they have not received needed care, and less likely to use preventive services. Lack of health insurance has also been linked to substantial medical debt that contributes to personal bankruptcy. Uninsured Americans are also shown to have higher mortality rates than the insured population.
What Are the Risks That Come From Being Uninsured?
If you are uninsured, as compared to someone who is insured, you are….
*Up to 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes
*Up to 2.4 times more likely to be hospitalized for hypertension
*Up to 1.6 times more likely to be hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer or pneumonia
*Up to 3.2 times more likely to die in-hospital (in-hospital mortality)
*1.25 times more likely to die (general mortality)
*1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer
*2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage melanoma
If you are an uninsured woman, as compared to an insured woman, you
*At a 49% higher adjusted risk of death if you have breast cancer
If you are an uninsured man, as compared to an insured man, you are…
*1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer
If you are an uninsured child, as compared to an insured child, you are…
*Up to 6 times more likely to lack necessary medical, dental and other
health care
*2 times more likely to have gone without a physician visit in the past year
*Up to 4 times more likely to be delayed when seeking care
*Up to 10 times LESS likely to have a regular source of care
*Up to 30% LESS likely to receive medical attention for any injury, and
*40% LESS likely to have received attention for a serious injury
Source of information: www.healthfoundation.org
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Death Penalty Updates |
Billy Wickline was executed by the State of Ohio on March 30, 2004.
There were NO bodies found in this case.
Here’s how his friends at ManCI remember him. . .
• Wickline – “a friend to us all”
• “Now that is one hell of a nice dude! …..he is a great guy, quiet, respectful, and just all around nice
dude.”
• “Wickline is a friend of mine.”
• “You could hear a feather drop when he left” [Wickline taken to DR 5 on 12/29/03]
• “Wickline is a good guy and I would hate to see the state kill him. And I doubt that there are many if any people here that could speak ill of Wickline, he is just an all around good guy.”
• “He is a good friend of mine … I pray everyday for strength.”
• “Anyone that was present [1997] and knew Bill, knows what a valuable service he rendered to us all, myself included! I don’t care what the “official” story released by the administrators of this institution,
and the dept of corrections was, it was he [Wickline] that kept the incident from growing intosomething truly tragic, and they should have been thankful to him for the services he rendered, instead, they beat him along with the rest of us, as if he were part of the problem instead of being the solution.”
• “I’ve known him 16 years, he has never changed, and has always been an up front type person with no hidden agendas. He is very intelligent.”
Ohioans to Stop Execution sponsored a witness outside the death house in Lucasville. Two busloads of area high school students from St Ursula Academy, St Xavier, Mt Notre Dame and Seton attended. Buses of high school students from Cleveland also attended, including students from St. Ignatius HS, Magnificat, Padua Franciscan, St Peter Chanel, St Edwards and St Joseph Academy. Over 230 people were present. We thank the students and their teachers for demonstrating such support, and being a voice for justice in our state.
In one of our last correspondence Billy sent this, one of his favorite quotes:
“Each smallest act of kindness – even just words of hope when they are needed, the remembrance of a birthday, a compliment that engenders a smile – reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of this
echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed, until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away……Likewise, each small meanness, each thoughtless expression of hatred, each envious and bitter act, regardless of how petty, can inspire others, and is therefore the seed that ultimately produces evil fruit, poisoning people whom you have never met and never will. All human lives are so profound and intricately entwined – those dead, those living, those generations yet to come – that the fate of all is the fate of each, and the hope of humanity rests in every heart and in every pair of hands.”
Dean Koontz; From the Corner of His Eye
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Who will I vote for? I’m not talking about the names of the candidates.
My vote isn’t so much for an individual or political party but the many people, myself and those I love included, who will benefit from or be harmed by the economic, social and political policies the individuals stand for. As I pray and study about my choices this November a world of people, from the unborn to the very old, depend on me.
Already I know that the perfect person, by my value standards, isn’t running for office this year. Neither political party ascribes completely to my values. I also see that the present world situation is very complex and human life and livelihood are in danger in many places. So how do I decide whom to vote for, who’s life and well being to hold most valuable. Here’s my plan. I am making a list all the people I care about; the poor here and in other countries, those in war torn countries, in battle, withoutmedical help, without jobs, hungry, without educational opportunities,
with no voice in economic negotiations, immigrants, refugees, those living and dying with AIDS, their orphaned or soon to be orphaned children, farmers and farm workers, families, children, elderly people, inmates …
Then I’m listing the issues really dear to my heart; peace, racial equality, abolition of the death penalty, fair trade policies, just wages, good education, affordable and accessible health care, safe, affordable housing, food security for all, beginning and end life issues, care for the Earth, humanized globalization, reversal of the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, creation of global systems that respect the needs and rights of poorer countries, collaboration among nations, jobs … Eventually, I’ll organize my list according what the candidate will likely need to address in the next four years and can address from the position
he/she seeks.
Now the hard part! I continue to search out the positions of each candidate. From that information, I’ll try to determine which one will make the care of the people I’m most concerned about a priority. I’ll try to analyze proposed policies to determine how they will affect my issues.
Lastly, comes the rating. 2 means mostly closely agrees. 1 means agrees somewhat. 0 is no agreement. I may add a 3 for close agreement on my top one or two priorities. I add the numbers and I have my answer. Of course, the “scientific method” may yet be over ruled by my heart as I pray for wisdom and guidance. As I approach November I cannot be a single issue person. I have a single vote that must be for many people whose lives are controlled by the policies of the most powerful nation on theearth. They count on having my vote count. IJPC is happy to meet with groups around voter information or to facilitate a group discussion on the issues
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For Rachel Corrie
What if the American girl
who knelt in protest
in front of the house of a Palestinian doctor
in the West Bank
(and was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer)
what if she didn’t lose her life
in the awful moment,
but win it?
What if all of us,
living on the edge of war,
came out of our comfortable foxholes,
spread our arms wide
and lived as if we really believed
in the power of the cross?
What if suffering
really is
the fastest horse to God?
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