Organizing & Activism (Also see Nonviolence, Outreach)

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TV: “Stop the Dangerous Oil Trains. Protect Our Communities and Climate”

November 20, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s May 2015 TV program examines the escalating epidemic of oil trains that have been exploding across the U.S. and Canada. Besides explaining why this is happening, we also explain what people can do about it. Explosive oil trains roll through our local communities in Washington State – Spokane, the Columbia River Gorge, Vancouver, Longview, Chehalis, Centralia, Grays Harbor, Everett, Skagit County, and Bellingham. In fact, all five of us in this TV interview – and all of the volunteers serving on our TV crew – live in communities that are endangered by these explosive oil […]

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TV: “Racial Justice Insights for White Folks”

November 17, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Within any very large group of people – such as an entire nation – power is not distributed evenly. Some kinds of people have more political, economic and social power than other kinds of people. In the United States, a big factor affecting the unequal distribution of power is a person’s race. The historical roots go back 400 years to the early 1600s when white European people came here and stole the land from Na-tive Americans and – also in the early 1600s – started bringing African people here to work as slaves. Injustices still continue 400 years later. Also, […]

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TV: “How to Talk Politics with People Different from You”

November 17, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s September 2015 TV program deals constructively with our na-tion’s political polarization. We explore practical ways to communicate across the political divide, so we can all move forward. When Americans have such sharply different values and worldviews, we lack a common starting point about what is real and true. This makes it hard to have rational conversations about controversial issues – and hard to solve public policy problems. Are we stuck with escalating polarization? Or can we find better ways to respect the basic humanity even of people with whom we disagree? Of course, when we […]

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TV: “100 Years of FOR’s Bold Nonviolent Work for Peace and Justice”

November 17, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s October 2015 TV program celebrates highlights about the FOR’s 100 years of accomplishments in the United States. The national FOR has accomplished much, but usually has been too modest about promoting itself. The FOR works well with other organizations and wants to accomplish good work, regardless of who gets the credit for doing it. As a result, although the FOR is not very well known, it has actually accomplished quite a lot during the past 100 years. This TV program highlights only a few of the fascinating pieces of the past 100 years, but we […]

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TV: “Bold, Friendly Action to Help LGBTQ Ugandans Flee to Safety”

November 17, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s January 2016 TV program lifts up a bold, compassionate, nonvi-olent way to help people who are in danger because of the homophobic political culture in the African nation of Uganda. The action began with courageous, compassionate people within Uganda and is supported by Quakers and other people in Olympia WA USA and elsewhere. This month’s TV program explores a bold and courageous way that people in Uganda and elsewhere are protecting the lives and safety of people in Uganda who are endangered because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. People in Olympia and elsewhere […]

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TV: “Stories of Successful Work for Peace, Nonviolence, Social Justice”

November 16, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Usually the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s TV program focuses on one specific issue, but for April 2016 we share some stories of people who have acted boldly and nonviolently for peace, social justice, and the well-being of the human community. These stories come from many parts of the world. Some happened long ago, and some only recently. Too often we hear news of violence and oppression, but not often enough do we hear about people who have acted boldly and positively to correct the problems. When all we hear is bad news, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to become […]

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TV: “How to Reduce Gun Violence”

November 16, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Watch a 1-hour interview about “How to Reduce Gun Violence” and/or read a thorough summary of what we said during the interview.  See the links below. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s TV program for September 2016 examines a persistent problem that more and more Americans want to solve: the epidemic of gun violence. A huge majority of the public wants Congress and state legislators to take strong action, but politicians keep failing to act.  During this hour we will learn more about the problems and consider some solutions. Although many people feel stymied, this TV interview takes a “can-do” attitude […]

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TV: “Nonviolent Grassroots Remedies for Our Current Crisis”

November 16, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

People who support human rights, civil liberties, environmental quality, the climate, and other humane values were stunned by the November 2016 election and fear radical damage to these aspects of our civilization and ecosystems. While the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s December 2016 TV program (see www.olympiafor.org/tv_programs.htm) does an excellent job of helping people understand people’s feelings and other realities related to the election, our January 2017 TV program helps us figure out where to go from here. Many people fear radical damage to human rights, civil liberties, the environment, and other necessities, and so forth. Some people feel overwhelmed and […]

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TV: “Political Despair or Empowerment: It’s Your Choice!”

November 15, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Watch a 1-hour interview about how to cope with the political despair so many people are feeling after the November 2016 election. This month we’ll discuss the anxiety, fear and despair that many Americans are feeling about our nation’s current political crisis – and what we can do about that.  Many people have been alarmed by the cruel attacks coming from the federal government and other right-wing sources. As a result, some people feel overwhelmed with anxiety, fear and despair. Besides doing things to take care of ourselves, many Americans also are choosing to empower ourselves, work together, and use […]

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Do Your Friends Know You Oppose the Death Penalty? “Coming Out” Against It Can Help Turn the Tide!

November 10, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Social science has tipped us off on some powerful possibilities. It turns out that a modest number of individuals can create powerful social movements by energetically spreading the word.  Epidemiologists know that epidemics of diseases can spread through a few virulent carriers, and sociologists know that the same is true of ambitious and well connected activists. For many years the death penalty has been the status quo – a given – the accepted norm. Most people assume that other people accept the death penalty. If more people who quietly oppose it would come out of the closet and tell their […]

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Our Current Political Crisis

September 23, 2017 GlenAnderson 0

Our Nation’s Political Crisis: How We Got Into It – And How to Get Out by Glen Anderson Thoughtful people know that the U.S. is facing one of the most serious political crises in our nation’s history. A narcissistic, grossly ignorant, and psychologically unstable huckster has gained enormous political power. People worldwide are worrying how to get out of this mess. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation posted a much more thorough version of this article onto the “Nonviolence” part of www.olympiafor.org. That article answers three questions: (1) How did we get into this mess? (2) What’s going on? (3) How […]