(from almost anywhere in the Incarcerated States of America)
I’ve blogged about this before, so please forgive me if this sounds like a broken record (those over 50 may actually “get” that reference). I find it incredible (literally) that the nation that wraps itself in the flag of “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” imprisons more of its citizens by far than any other nation on earth. With only 5% of the world’s population the U.S. boasts 25% of the world’s incarcerated population…
Thanks to Linda at the Online Criminal Justice Degree who provided me with the very effective info-graphic shown above.
[My father was a pacifist pulpiter, so I rant about things like this quite naturally—is that a valid excuse? He taught me maxims such as “if you live by the sword, expect to die by the sword,” and “you can tell a tree by its fruit…” Geez, that sounds self-righteous!]
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“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”
~ Thomas Alva Edison
“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity”
~ Tom Peters
“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
“Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life.”
~ Albert Schweitzer
“Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenseless
if there isn’t the will to do what is right.”
~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others.
In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.”
~ Immanuel Kant
“No man can purchase his virtue too dear, for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us. Our integrity is never worth so much as when we have parted with our all to keep it.”
~ Ovid
“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.”
~ Confucius
“It is curious—curious that physical courage should be
so common in the world, and moral courage so rare.”
~ Mark Twain
“Relativity applies to physics, not ethics.”
~ Albert Einstein
(That’s a lesson that my Daddy taught me [he just turned 92]… Respect!)
Atlanta, Georgia
Forty-four years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. Baptist minister, world-renowned civil rights leader, and powerful advocate of non-violence, King’s influence fundamentally changed civil rights for African Americans in the United States. In 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tel Aviv, Israel
Last night, an Israeli couple—two graphic designers named Ronnie Edri and Michal Tamir—decided to cut across the growing anxiety and fear over the possibility of an Israel-Iran war, and to address Iranian citizens directly. They created a slogan that people could impose over their Facebook profile picture (or any picture).
The reciprocal response online to the message of love and understanding from Iranians was almost immediate, and the social media-sphere is rapidly spreading this positive meme around the world… read more here.
Perhaps you’ll consider sharing in or spreading this movement yourself? Methinks it’s high time that the voice of common, peace-loving people be heard above the cacophony of manipulative leaders, their opportunistic backers, and the saber-rattling of mainstream-media.
Bravo to Ronnie and Michal!
