A Wondrous Quartet

Women’s International League, May 1, 1922. In the public domain.*

I have often preached on the indispensability of empathy in cooperative human relationships—e.g., here and here and here. But to “make the world a better place,” as so many of us want to do, empathy is not enough. It is also essential to sympathize with individuals and groups treated inhumanely, to feel compassion for the sufferings and misfortunes of others, and to accompany those who are struggling against violence and injustice.

If we ask people with which sex they are most likely to associate these characteristics, my guess is that most of them would say “women.”

Not coincidentally, all four of the indispensables are reflected in the mission statement of the Women’s March on Washington, which led the protest movement against the Trump agenda in January. For example:

“In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore… We practice empathy with the intent to learn about the intersecting identities of each other….[Nonviolence] is a positive force confronting the forces of injustice and utilizes the righteous indignation and spiritual, emotional, and intellectual capabilities of people as the vital force for change and reconciliation…. ”

Wednesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day.  The theme this year is #BeBoldForChange. The organizers of the Women’s March on Washington are staging another series of events for Wednesday—a Day without a Woman action. Please read about the plans for that campaign, and think about how you can express empathy, sympathy, and compassion, and also accompany the protestors in words and spirit even if you will not be actively protesting, as they strive for social justice, human rights, and peace.

To read some suggestions for participation in Wednesday’s events, read this.

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Time to thank the trumpeters

Cygnus buccinator, Trumpeter Swan, Binder Park Zoo. In the public domain. Author: Ltshears.

By Kathie Malley-Morrison

The growing torrent of protests against the assaults on life and liberty being perpetrated by the Trump agenda are a welcome sign of resistance in the eyes of millions of Americans, including me. But we must remember that Trump is just the tip of a deadly, destructive iceberg about which former Republican President David Dwight Eisenhower warned us all.

Trump was elected President in part because of a flawed electoral systerm, but also because millions of Americans have seen jobs disappear, incomes plummet, the rich get richer, the middle class crumble, the poor get poorer, safeguards fail, health worsen, educational and occupational opportunities recede, and health care costs rise—with limited help from a government they have reason not to trust.

Although favoring some actions that represent horrendous threats to democracy and human rights ,Trump supporters also have many legitimate complaints needing to be voiced.

It is good to recognize that much is wrong with the American political and economic systems. Injustices abound. It is good that people are trumpeting their woes.   But how can the injustices be repaired? Aye, there’s the rub.

The populist rebellion—the eager embracing of alternatives to the self-serving imperialistic establishment displayed in the enormous support for Trump among disenchanted Republicans and for Bernie Sanders among disenchanted Democrats—was long overdue.

Yes, it is time to recognize the discontent, clean the house, and clear the swamps.  But more than words are needed.

People will not be able to participate in the necessary resistance and reform if they spend their evenings sitting in front of the boob tube watching the horror stories offered by the corporate media to divert them. Nor will knocking over gravestones or attacking the scapegoats at whom  fear-mongering leaders point.

What to do? We can start by actively (and non-violently) participating in and supporting the most effective environmental groups, anti-nuclear groups, anti-racism groups, pro-peace groups, pro-human rights groups, and so forth.

Good start, but to truly reform government, we need to work on ways to break the hold of the richest individuals and corporations, the dark and non-elected shadow government working behind the scenes to promote nobody’s interests but their own.

To create a more perfect union, all the many individuals and small groups working for peace and social justice must find ways to work together.

There are many other good ideas out there about how to Take America Forward. Please share them.