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DIY Divestment

• Authored by:
• Kathy Barnhart

Some tasks seem to take a long time to get started. Doing dishes, weeding the garden, and paying bills come to mind. Once I’ve finally gotten going, I wonder why they ever seemed like a big deal. Divesting my family’s bank accounts from fossil fuels was like that.

On Debt (July 2021)

Information on Public Education: Ask the Students

• Authored by:
• Eli Enochs

Dear Editor: I was not surprised to find that my article in the March/ April issue of Western Friend, “My Quest to Change the Education System,” was controversial to some Friends. Regarding Gary Miller’s letter to the editor, I would like to write my own response in my defense.

On Heritage (July 2016)

Quaker Displacement of Native Peoples

AFSC Leadership Responds to “Perilous Crossroads” Letter

Playing Violent Games in Peace

• Authored by:
• David Wampler

In his recent article, “ISIS’s Call of Duty,” Jay Caspian Kang describes similarities between ISIS recruitment films and first-person-shooter games – similarities that are likely intentional (The New Yorker, September 18, 2014). Kang’s article is one of many that play into a larger debate about the role of violent videogames and other violent media in our culture. This debate has continued unresolved for decades, and both sides often succumb to strong emotions and hyperbolic statements. I feel this leads to a shutdown in communication between groups, and that is the issue I would like to address in this article.

On Temptation (November 2014)

Building a Bridge to COP26

Quaker Disrespect

• Authored by:
• Andrea English

Dear Western Friend: Thank you for publishing Rob Pierson’s article in the last issue of your magazine. The article is substantial, but does not cover what I experience as some Quakers’ suspicion of any companies, even small ones, including non-profits – ones that practice prudent business processes and employ management, ones that may ask their Boards to use Robert’s Rules rather than “consensus.”

On Pride (July 2014)

Who is this “We”?

• Authored by:
• Kate McClellan

Dear Editor: Robert Griswold’s article in the July/August 2014 issue of Western Friend discusses ego development without any references and starts off all about “we.” Since he is not referring to any research or current psychological literature, I assume he is sharing his opinion of how ego development worked in his own life.

On Family (September 2014)

Shareholder Activism versus Divestment

• Authored by:
• Karie Firoozmand

Dear Editor: I read with interest the article “Quakers, Climate, and Money” in the May/June 2015 issue of Western Friend. I am always happy when Friends concern themselves as individuals with the future that climate change will bring, and take action. I would like your readers to know, however, that in deciding how to handle invested assets, they may find useful information by reading about the movement for divestment from fossil fuel companies that is going on worldwide. The Friend who wrote the article may find additional information that could change his opinion about the values of shareholder activism vs. divestment.

On Difference (July 2015)

Children as Soldiers

• Authored by:
• Shelley Blank

Dear Friends:  Please consider this article I wrote for Epoch Times, September 10, 2015 on “children as soldiers.” UNICEF estimates that about 300,000 children under 18 are currently involved in more than thirty conflicts across the globe. Although there are no exact figures, the average age is 16 in government forces, younger in armed rebel groups. Some soldiers are as young as eight years old. Please consider this issue, and let your conscience be your guide. Read the article here.

On Money (November 2015)