Human rights are standard equipment with human life. They cannot be taken away by any government, (but they can be violated). Oppressed people have as many human rights as anybody, but their government and/or institutions or individuals ignore their rights.
Democracy works better with kind persuasion — “speaking the truth in love.” Bullying and coercion in a democracy are counter productive and tend to cripple it. In a democracy there is room for disagreement and even disapproval, but there should be no room for disenfranchisement.
Sometimes one word defines the difference between a democracy and a mob — civility. When a society loses kindness and respect, the freedom of speech can easily become the so called “freedom” of verbal abuse.
Listening to people with heart-felt concern for their well being will build bridges of compassion across rivers of divisiveness. Compassion is released when you hear people share their struggles and pain. People who don’t want to care won’t listen.
Beyond the labels humans give each other, we’re all people. Ignore the labels and be kind. As people are heard, their pain’s no longer concealed & hearts are healed as truth’s revealed. That’s how we “walk in the light.”
The term “significant others” implies that there are some “insignificant others.” That’s not true.
To be unconscious of your conscience is to jeopardize your mental health. To ease your conscience, begin to align your thoughts, words, and behaviors with it. Wrong often feels better (and more compelling) than right, but that doesn’t make it right.
Politicians are always saying they will fight. Perhaps it would be better if they would work together to get things done. Warfare is always unfair — to soldiers, to civilians, and to nations. Its so called “glory” is a myth.
