During our nation’s current crisis about pervasive, persistent racism, it’s good for white folks to look at the problems and solutions from fresh perspectives. A few years ago I produced a TV interview titled, “Racial Justice Insights for White Folks.” You can read a short introduction to it — and watch the interview — and read a summary of what we said — at this link: http://parallaxperspectives.org/tv-racial-justice-insights-for-white-folks
I have been reading articles lately saying that — even before the Coronavirus pandemic caused even more stress — suicide rates in the U.S. have been increasing. Working class people and small farmers are under extreme financial stresses. Many other systemic problems have been worsening. Now with the Coronavirus pandemic, suicides are increasing even more. But EVEN BEFORE that, I was also reading articles saying people are dying from DESPAIR. This article linked below came from January 2020. The article includes this paragraph: U.S. life expectancy dropped three years in a row, America’s suicide rate is at a record high, […]
Trump is destroying conservative Christianity. Many conservative (“evangelical”) Christians are rejecting Jesus’ actual teachings (the Gospel) and have replaced Jesus’ message of love, compassion and social justice with Trump’s lies and public policies promoting egomania, hatred, greed, violence, and violations of human rights. In the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament book of Exodus), Moses led people out of slavery in Egypt into the “Promised Land,” but along the way his people lost their faith and – after Moses returned from a mountain where he had received the Ten Commandments – he discovered that his people had built a golden calf […]
Do NOT let anyone tell you that Republicans are “pro-life.” Their actual decisions are the OPPOSITE! Republicans define “life” so narrowly that it pertains only to fetuses. But once the child is born, Republicans are TAKING AWAY HEALTH CARE and TAKING AWAY FOOD from children who need them. Also, Republicans keep TAKING AWAY HEALTH CARE and keep TAKING AWAY FOOD from pregnant women, so Republicans are KNOWINGLY HURTING FETUSES too. Jesus fed hungry people and healed sick people. Republicans do the opposite, but they pretend to be Christians. On many, many occasions Jesus strongly criticized the HYPOCRITES who pretend to […]
Americans — especially politicians — brag that the U.S. is the best nation in the world. They brag that our democracy is a shining beacon of liberty for the rest of the world to emulate. The truth is VERY DIFFERENT from that propaganda. This article documents the facts that the U.S. ranks low in worldwide assessments in democracy – and high in corruption: https://thefulcrum.us/big-picture/american-democracy-corruption Social Justice Index ranks U.S. 36th out of 41 developed nations: The five Nordic countries (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland) ranked ahead of all other nations. The U.S. ranked 36th out of 41 […]
Four months after the November 2016 election, it was clear what Trump and Congress’s Republicans would do. Here is what I had written in March 2017 to expose the “Make America Great” baloney: The new administration and Congress want to weaken or abolish many laws and regulations that have been protecting the environment. This would cause more pollution. A polluted nation is not “great.” A polluted nation is dirty, and it makes people sick. If we want our nation to be “great,” we must demand that governments at all levels – federal, state and local – take strong actions to […]
This elected member of Congress was a refugee from Somalia. She understands first-hand the need for PEACE. Her progressive political values also led her to propose this TRULY EXCELLENT plan to revolutionize U.S. foreign policy. See this: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/ilhan-omar-has-a-plan-to-revolutionize-u-s-foreign-policy/
On May 13, 2020, a smart, savvy non-profit organization that works for peace — World BEYOND War (www.worldbeyondwar.org) — urges us to persuade Congress to pass the Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act. HERE IS WHAT THEY SAID (edited here for brevity): The U.S. government, according to its own reporting, accounts for 66% of all the weapons exported to the least democratic quintile of nations on earth. Of the 50 most oppressive governments identified by a U.S.-government-funded study, the U.S. arms 82% of them. The Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act (H.R. 5880) would prevent U.S. weapons sales to nations […]
Recently a man sent this anti-Muslim tweet: You think COVID-19 is bad? Give me a break. Wait until Mislims hit critical mass in America. You’ll look back on these times fondly. A Muslim woman replied with this tweet: Sweetie everyone’s already washing their hands five+ times a day, covering their face, not shaking hands + avoiding bars. Not only are we already here, you’re all Muslim. Salam brother.
Everybody knows the old story about putting a frog in water and warming it slowly enough that the frog won’t notice the change from one moment to the next, so it won’t jump out of the water, but after a while the frog has been cooked to death. That familiar story seems to pertain to the U.S. under Trump and his loyal supporters in the Executive Branch and Congress. Here are some alarming stories about what Trump and Trumpism are doing to our nation: How Trump is turning the American presidency into a dictatorship: https://thefulcrum.us/balance-of-power/donald-trump-dictator The U.S. is […]
Amnesty International has about 60 years of experience working worldwide for human rights. Among their many concerns, they have a long history of opposing the death penalty. In 2020 they produced this report on death sentences and executions WORLDWIDE: https://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/Amnesty%20Death%20Sentences%20and%20Executions%202019%20WEB%20-%20EMBARGO%2021%20April.pdf
TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE IN PRISON! A sensible approach would be to REDUCE THE NUMBER of people in prison. Instead, a plan is underway to BUILD A BIGGER PRISON for women, to be located in the southern part of Thurston County. The attached information summarizes reasons for opposing a NEW PRISON for women in southern Thurston County WA. The meeting this attachment announces has passed, but we still need public opposition. See information in this attachment: New prison in Thurston County for women
In January 2020 — and previously — I had reported that the U.S. government was seriously studying what to do about the military draft. Here is my blog post from January 2020: http://parallaxperspectives.org/tell-congress-to-abolish-the-agency-that-runs-the-military-draft You can see my blog’s category for posts about military service to see the previous posts. On March 25, 2020, the National Commission on the Military, National and Public Service has ended its three years of effort and produce an official report that recommends REQUIRING WOMEN TO REGISTER FOR THE MILITARY DRAFT. Draft inductions ended in 1973. Draft registration ended in 1975, but President Jimmy Carter brought […]
The December 2018 episode of “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV program is PART 2 (following up on the November episode) of the topic, “Choose a Better Worldview to Build a Better World.” The November program focused especially on problems with worldview that has been dominating the U.S., and the December program focuses more on solutions and how to achieve them. Cable TV subscribers in Thurston County WA can watch the December program on TCTV channel 22 three times a week all month long: every Monday at 1:30 pm, every Wednesday at 5:00 pm, and every Thursday at 9:00 pm. Links for […]
The world is facing extremely serious dangers, including — but not limited to — the climate crisis and the danger of nuclear war. These are very scary topics. Most people try to avoid thinking about nuclear weapons and the climate crisis. But if we are to solve these problems, we MUST think about them — and we MUST get past the debilitating emotions and actually EMPOWER OURSELVES to solve the problems. When we reach out to the general public to inform them and engage them, we must recognize people’s feelings of fear, overwhelm, despair and disempowerment. If we recognize those […]
Copyright © 2024 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes