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Civic Engagement & Nonviolent Action

An FCNL Education in Civic Engagement

Future generations will likely study the events of this year and scratch their heads. Just considering a global pandemic (and the failure of our leaders to address it) and racial injustice reaching a fever pitch, one can almost envision an entire college course examining the calamities of 2020. Add to that the voter suppression, gun violence, hunger, poverty, wars, and extinctions of plants and animals that were already in play before 2020’s headline events, and it almost sounds like a fiction course.

On Teachers (September 2020)

Rules of Engagement

Some rules are written down, like those in law books. Others are unwritten rules, which can be even more stringent and unforgiving than statute, like the unwritten rules that whisper to dictate which emotions each gender is supposed to feel and show, or not. Lately, various new and somewhat inconsistent rules have arisen concerning speech that some people experience as offensive, and these rules have been causing occasional havoc.

On Rules (November 2020)

Dignity and Civic Life

We can envision a universal parameter of dignity for individuals: Each person is owed fundamental respect simply by virtue of being human. We can also appreciate the importance of ensuring dignified treatment of the myriad of groups that comprise our society, and in particular, those that have been exploited, marginalized, and disempowered. For Friends, the importance of human dignity rests on a strong spiritual basis:

On Dignity (July 2023)

Friends and Civic Action (video)

Friends and Civic Action (conversation notes)

Rename William Penn House

Quaker Discernment about Technology

My life is shaped by computer science and my Quaker faith. Virtually no evolutionary process, including the evolution of faith, evolves in a straightforward line.

On Tech (July 2024)

Lots of Opportunities with AFSC

Extra Extra - 2020 News Sorted by Topic

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