Dogwood Flowering Tree

From: ELLEN M. ROSS, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor of Quakerism and Peace Studies, Swarthmore College, April 13, 2017

Dear President Trump, Vice President Pence, Members of the Trump Administration and 115th Congress,

As leaders of our nation, I imagine you seek to bring all Americans together to build a better future. Quaker voices offer insight to those of us working to achieve that goal.

Philadelphia Quaker leader Anthony Benezet (1713-1784) observed that humans have an inborn affinity for one another. Sharing a common humanity, we are all a part of “one family.” For Christians, the fundamental commandment that humans should love one another (John 13:34-35) affirms this inborn affinity.

Still, Benezet knew, if we turn away from one another, we live in constant danger of falling prey to what he regarded as the greatest calamity that can befall humanity: “hardness of heart.” He pondered how we who regard ourselves as “generous and humane” could treat other humans cruelly, “without a feeling of great remorse.”

Now is the time to hear Benezet’s challenge and consider how we diminish ourselves when we act in repressive and warlike ways. When not only individuals, but also nations, “grow gradually from bad to worse, they, at the same time, become more and more hardened.” As a result, they become “reconciled to practices for which they had at first the utmost detestation and abhorrence.”

The preeminent American Quaker reformer Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) — whose image will soon be on the $10 bill — noticed how often we silence our own awareness of the injustices surrounding us. “I believe it is high time there was more…moral courage,” she wrote. As we are implicated in the harming of others, whether by our actions or by turning our eyes away from the suffering we perceive, we become increasingly alienated from ourselves and from the communities around us, more deeply mired in the sicknesses of the world.

For Benezet and Mott, the antidote to hardness of heart is the cultivation of compassion. They urge us to listen to the still, small voice within. Tenacious and persevering, this voice reminds us of times when we have felt compassion for others. By remembering our common humanity, we sow the seeds of transformation and contribute to the realization of a better future for all people.

Sincerely, Ellen M. Ross

Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor of Quakerism and Peace Studies; Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

See also:  Values and Voices, 100 Letters, 100 Days

Why We Turn Our Thoughts to Martin Luther King Jr.

By Michael M. Barrick, The Appalachian Chronicle, MLK Day 2016

“Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King / and recognize that there are ties between us, all men and women living on the Earth. / Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood, that we are bound together / in our desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong. / We are bound together by the task that stands before us and the road that lies ahead. / We are bound and we are bound.” – From James Taylor’s song, “Shed a Little Light” on his “New Moon Shine” album from 1991.

LENOIR, N.C. – Over the weekend during the gathering of a number of friends, one of the folks in the group – a fifth grade teacher – shared that she had a white student ask her last week why we bother celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday. Her answer, which she shared with us, was masterful. In short, she said what James Taylor wrote in the song referenced above, though in her own words. Knowing her as I do, I know her point was made.

When I was teaching in a high school that had approximately 1,400 students, only one of which was black (until he transferred because of relentless bullying), I was often asked the same question. In response, I decided to develop a lesson plan that would enlighten the 15-year-old students I was teaching. The plan was consistent with the topic of “Great Ideas” which we were studying in the literature we were reading, from Leo Tolstoy to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

That young people continue to ask this question is disturbing, but not surprising. It is the culture in which they are being raised. Today, throughout Appalachia (and beyond) scores of businesses, churches and nonprofits owned or run by whites ignore the holiday, requiring their workers to clock in.

The implicit message is clear: Dr. King’s life does not matter. Therefore, we should not be surprised, that 33 years after the federal holiday was signed into law by President Reagan – yes President Reagan! – that there is a movement called Black Lives Matter.

Hence, it seems appropriate to review some key points of the lesson plan I used more than a decade ago. Parts of it follow. Perhaps it will help you understand or explain why we celebrate the life of Dr. King —-

See this: http://appalachianchronicle.com/2016/01/18/why-we-turn-our-thoughts-to-martin-luther-king-jr/

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See also the comic book (“graphic history”) entitled “March, Book Two” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell at the following:

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/29/382173865/low-key-real-life-heroism-in-march-book-two