FEATURE ARTICLES. THE POLITICS OF PREJUDICE. PT 1.

If There is one thing we can Take from Recent National Political Campaigns, it is that PREJUDICE, IN ALL ITS FORMS, STILL SHOWS US WHY THE REAL STUMBLING BLOCK TO CAMPAIGN REFORM IS THE VOTER, NOT THE POLITICIAN.

It is still Amazing how Supporters of a Candidate, WILL STILL USE THE SAME TIRED EXCUSES TO JUSTIFY THEIR SUPPORT FOR A PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL OR PARTY, EVEN WHEN IGNORANT OR IRRATIONAL COMMENTS ARE MADE PUBLIC.

For Example:

 "(HE OR SHE) IS JUST SAYING WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK."

-  Really, and this ASSERTION IS ARRIVED AT BY....WHAT?

Maybe we should just take Their Word for it.

"(HE OR SHE) IS NOT SCARED TO TELL THE TRUTH.  OTHER

POLITICIANS ARE AFRAID TO."

-  So this Politician and Supporters are MIND READERS, and can

Ascribe MOTIVATIONS TO RIVALS who do not Voice Similar 

Opinions.

"THEY GIVE A VOICE TO THE DISENFRANCHISED VOTER, WHO

BELIEVE THEIR CONCERNS ARE BEING IGNORED."

Please Give me an Example of any Important and\or Divisive Issue

that does not have any Politicians or Pacs Championing One Side

or the Other, Deliberately Ignoring a Specific Segment of the Population.

END PT 1.

ETHICS AND MORALITY. PERSONAL ETHICS VS INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS, OR FINDING GOD VS FORCING GOD. PT 1.

Why is it that people with certain Moral Beliefs, automatically feel it is their mission to see that others also adopt this same ETHICAL SYSTEM?

What is even more Disturbing, is their desire to see it instituted into Law, either by Statute or Judicial Decree.  Unfortunately, the Lack of Freedom to Choose never seems to bother them, unless it inhibits their own ability to make Individual Decisions.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AS A RIGHT, INCLUDES THE ABILITY TO OBEY OR DISOBEY ANY FORM OF RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE.  IT IS NOT A MATTER OF SELECTING WHICH FORMS OF FAITH CAN BE LEGALIZED, AND ADJUSTING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM TO CONFORM. NONE OF THEM ARE TO BE PART OF ANY CODE OF LAW, BECAUSE THE CONCEPT OF 'FREEDOM OF RELIGION' WOULD BE MEANINGLESS. 

A Response to this is could be something like: "The Word of God is Absolute, we must Convert or Convince others that their only hope for Salvation is accepting Scripture, and Submitting to Gods Will."

This type of Response makes the following Assumptions;

-  DEFINING "GOD" IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AND MUST BE ACCEPTED.

-  That Their DEFINITION OF GOD IS THE CORRECT ONE.

-  THAT FAITH ALONE IS REQUIRED AND NECESSARY.  NO LOGICAL PROOFS OR SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY IS NEEDED TO "KNOW THE TRUTH."

-  That GOD HAS REVEALED INSTRUCTIONS FOR A MORAL LIFE, THROUGH INTERPRETATIONS OF SPECIFIC TEXTS, WHICH MUST BE ACCEPTED AS TRUE AND INFALLIBLE.

-  "SALVATION" IS A DESIRABLE GOAL, THAT CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED BY OBEYING THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

Now there is nothing UNCONSTITUTIONAL OR ILLEGAL about believing any of the above.  A FREE SOCIETY allows each of us to find answers on our own and being able to share our BELIEFS OR FAITH with others. 

HOWEVER, THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVERTING OR CONVINCING SOMEONE TO ACT OR BELIEVE CERTAIN RELIGIOUS DEFINITIONS OR ABSOLUTES VOLUNTARILY, AND FORCING THEM TO THROUGH THREATS OF CRIMINAL OR CIVIL SANCTIONS INSTITUTED INTO LAW.

LOOK FOR PT 2 IN A FUTURE POST.  

What is best for this nation. SETH MOULTON, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

David,

When I was in the Marine Corps, I served with great Americans from all across the country. Our service brought us together from a wide variety of different backgrounds and beliefs, but we were able to put aside our differences to do what is best for this nation.

That spirit is missing in Washington today. It is time to elect a new generation of leaders who know what it means to serve. We need leaders who will put the good of the people above the pettiness of politics. 

Ken Harbaugh is a former Navy veteran who led reconnaissance missions off the coast of North Korea. As president of a disaster-relief organization, he helped retrain combat veterans to be first responders and he deployed with them into emergency zones in this country and around the world. Ken is a proven leader.

That is why I was proud to endorse Ken Harbaugh in the Ohio 7th. Will you join me to support his fight?

Like me, Ken is a veteran who served overseas and has a history of putting his countrymen first. He is cool-headed in a crisis and he has never been one to back down from a challenge. With more public servants like Ken in Congress, we can get back to a government that puts people first, and puts partisanship in the back seat. 

Please support Ken,..make him the next Congressman from Ohio’s 7th District.

In service,

Seth Moulton
United States House of Representatives.

Congress listened – now we keep going. FREEDOM UNITED.

“For six months, Rose was beaten and forced to sell her body on the street. Her pimp kept her under 24-hour surveillance and deprived her of food and vital medicine.”[1]

Congress has finally introduced the bill we’ve been supporting that will help protect youth in America from trafficking and exploitation – the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking Prevention Act (S. 2571; H.R. 5339). And this announcement is timely as April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Now, you have a chance to help ensure that kids like Rose don’t fall through the cracks.Tell Congress to pass the RHYTPA and protect kids from trafficking.

Traffickers target homeless children and youth because they are low risk and easy to manipulate. Their vulnerability, combined with inadequate support, makes homeless and runaway children and youth particularly susceptible to human trafficking, often being forced into exploitative labor or sex to receive basic necessities.

36% of all labor trafficking and 49% of all sex trafficking cases reported in the United States in 2016 involved victims whose exploitation began when they were only children, between the ages of 12 and 17, but there are likely many other cases that go unreported.[2]

Call on Congress now to protect children in the United States from exploitation and abuse.

Senator Heitkamp, one of the bill’s introducers said, “We know that children and teenagers who run away…are at greater risk of being trafficked and exploited, and they lack the support networks and wrap-around services they need to succeed. We must provide them with every opportunity to reach their full potential in a safe and supportive environment.”[3]

That’s why reauthorizing the RHYTPA is so important – because it better protectsrunaway and homeless youth in the US and ensures their access to life-saving services. The bill must now be assigned to committees in Congress for voting. And if it passes that vote, it has to be voted on twice more before it becomes a law.

We still have a journey ahead of us, but we will keep raising our voices together for America’s vulnerable youth! Keep up the momentum...

In solidarity,

Joanna, Alex and the teams at Freedom United and National Network for Youth.

©2018 Freedom United is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
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