Shake Up the World: Charter for Compassion

It was Mahatma Gandhi who told us that "in a gentle way, each of us has the capacity to shake the world." We are seeing all over the globe that people are making their voices heard.  Often we might not agree with the messages, but don't we as peacemakers have an obligation to listen carefully to what is being said? Is our goal not to respect the right of free speech, to enter into conversation, to resist with respect and caring? Do we not have a bottom line to refer back to as we protest and forge a new path? All sacred texts point to the Golden Rule as a guide for our actions.  We have a number of good articles and illustrations on the Golden Rule on (Charter) our website. A few weeks back during one of our webinar's, the U.S. Civil Rights leader, C.T. Vivian, told us to find our passion, set our goals and work to achieve them. We are definitely in a struggle and as the theologian activist Harvey Cox once told us: "Not to decide, is to decide." If we want equitable and just change, I'm up to taking on C.T. Vivian's challenge.  Over the next few weeks the Charter is dedicating time to people who are and have decided to take a stand.  Join us in a number of these important webinars.

Charter for Compassion 

Conversations for a Kinder World

As public relations expert and former David Suzuki Foundation board chair James Hoggan writes in I'm Right and You're an Idiot, "polluted public discourse is an enormous obstacle to change." How, he asks, do we "create the space for higher quality public debates where passionate opposition and science shape constructive, mind-changing conversations"? David Suzuki Foundation.

But we don't have to keep replaying the right-wing end-game propaganda.  Right now there are many websites, blogs, institutions who have done the work and who write to inform rather than obsfiscate.  All we have to do is get off our diet of sensationalist drama, forget the gossip, and spend more time reading the stuff that will give you information.  It means more attention to words and ideas but with practice we could restore our attention spans.

Here are some links that are kinder:

I'm Right and You're an Idiot 

David Suzuki Foundation 

Logical Fallacies

Charter for Compassion 

Council of Canadians 

There are also many news organizations that still uphold the importance of journalism and who rely on donations to keep going:

The National Observer

The Tyee

rabble.ca

Protect People - Charter for Compassion

How Cities Can Protect People 

From Marilyn Turkovich, Director

Charter for Compassion International

"We should start organizing to make cities powerful bastions of noncooperation, resistance, and protection. Activists and organizations can start demanding in every city that city councils and mayors issue resolutions and statements saying

• Our city will not assist or cooperate with any raids or detentions or deportations of any immigrants. This includes assistance of local law enforcement or providing data to the federal government.
• Our city will not cooperate or assist with registration and surveillance programs of Muslims, or any attempts to make our friends, neighbors, and loved ones the enemy.
• Our city is a safe zone for all immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ people, women, and anyone fearing persecution from the Trump regime.
• Our cities reject any effort to criminalize or attack Black Lives Matter or other organizing for social justice, as Trump has suggested he might do.

This is a time to move to create compassionate communities in our world.  We’ve been hearing from many of our members who are thinking seriously about starting an initiative in their city, town or village
  Let us step forward to bind up what appears to be a very sorry world with our heart, hands and mind.  Register your community and we will be in touch to help you take the first steps"