Politics – Page 4

Visit to The Civil Rights Institute: Choosing Humanity Over Otherness

Today America is in the midst of a tectonic shift regarding money, culture, and a fear of outsiders. Fifty-six years ago, these same issues divided our country. At the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) in Alabama, I came face-to-face with past laws that justified abuse and oppression to Black American citizens. For today’s younger generations, […]

New Year: Become, don’t just overcome

In 2019, I hope to “become” not to “overcome.”  To me, becoming is about awareness and inner change, while overcoming feels like a grinding discipline of must and should. Yet there is so much to overcome: the polemics of news, bad habits, ongoing hurts. But recently I fasted from TV for a week, and a […]

March for Our Lives: The house of tomorrow reveals itself

(Photo by Suzette Standring:  Granddaughters Lulu and Bella with husband David) Over 100,000 people walked and rallied against gun violence in Boston’s March for Our Lives on March 24. Three generations of my family were there. The gold dome of the Massachusetts State House gleamed in a wintry sky, high above leafless treetops and bundled-up […]

March for Our Lives: Reasonable Gun Control Measures

On March 24 in Washington D.C. and across the nation, Generation Z will lead “March for Our Lives.” I, too, will march in Boston for common sense gun protection, such as a ban on assault weapons and effective background checks. School killings are increasing and young people have had enough. Cameron Kasky, a high school […]

Sexual Assault: Shine the Light

Sexual assault awareness and the #metoo movement release millions from the clutches of fear.  Speaking out heals the shame not of the sufferer’s making, yet endured in silence for far too long.  Now survivors are heard and supported, two vital elements to healing. Who would have dreamed there were so many? In October 2017 #metoo […]