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Shared Security: Reimagining U.S. Foreign Policy - Review

Shared Security: Reimagining U.S. Foreign Policy A working Paper of the American Friends Service Committee and Friends Committee on National Legislation.  April 2013. 

On Patriotism (January 2014)

Information on Public Education: Ask the Students

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)

A Prayer for Public Officials

Dear Friends: As a Christian community, the Cleveland Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) are led by our witness of God to love everyone. All persons are equally worthy of love, respect and justice, and this includes those with whom we do not agree.

On Insight (March 2017)

Justice Reform Begins with Understanding

“You end up with broken families. You end up with communities that are being plagued with more violence and more crime. And you end up with people not reaching their God-given potential.” This sort of remark about the impacts of mass incarceration on life in America is typical for liberal politicians and Friends. In this instance, however, the New York Times was quoting Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio (3/13/2014). Remarkably, a bipartisan coalition is developing to move public policy in the criminal justice arena in a way that respects that of God in all persons – including those in prison – and at the same time advances public safety.

On Family (September 2014)

“Tell Our Story.”

The stories I have heard told, graphic and heart-rending, by northbound migrants and asylum-seekers along the Arizona-Mexico border and by Latinx and indigenous campesinos in Central America, have transformed me. Where I was once a concerned but passive on-looker, I am now a determined human rights activist, intent upon bringing stories from the southwestern borderlands to the American public.

On Water (March 2019)

Spiritual Reconstruction

The following text is an abridged version of a longer article found at westernfriend.org/media/spiritual-reconstruction-unabridged.

On Politics (July 2017)

What Friends Bring to Politics

A few other Oregon Quakers and I were in an online book group. We read We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign. This book consists of fifty-three essays, each just two or three pages long, each including Scriptural references. It’s by and for people who are working towards more dignity for poor people – by challenging the ways that our institutions keep people in poverty. This book makes one thing clear to me – local government policies and actions have been major drivers of economic inequity throughout the history of our nation, especially in terms of housing inequality. It also seems clear to me that this level of democracy – the local level – is a critical place for us to work to make a positive impact on these issues.

On Dignity (July 2023)