Watch Dr. Reverend William J. Barber and learn how we should all be talking about the issue same-sex marriage, or as I like to call it, marriage. It’s about the majority taking away the rights of a minority. Reframe!
I was so disappointed in North Carolinians this past week. My anger and frustration is finally subsiding, thanks in no small part to our President. Whether or not gays and lesbians even want the right to get married, it is morally reprehensible to have any government involved in creating a set of second class citizens who do not get some rights based solely on their sexual orientation. Thank you Mr. President for finally taking a stand - better late than never.
Peace and Love. #p2
“Kids are born curious. They are always exploring. We spend the first year of their life teaching them to walk and talk, and the rest of their life telling them to shut up and sit down.”
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
Progressives MUST start talking about their values. Here’s an example.
FAMILY VALUES: Family values are extremely important particularly concerning the raising of children. Children must grow up in strong, supportive, loving homes. Children become responsible, self-disciplined and self-reliant through being cared for, respected, and caring for others both in their family and community. The obedience of children comes out of their love and respect for their parents and their community, NOT our of fear of punishment. Good communication is crucial. If their authority is to be legitimate, parents and other adults must explain why their decisions serve the cause of protection and nurturance. The principal goal of nurturance is for children to be fulfilled and happy in their lives. This nurturance can and should come from multiple sources. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, extended family, neighbors, and/or friends should all play a role in raising children. The configuration of adults (and their sexual orientation) plays absolutely no role in a child’s healthy development - respect, nurturance, love, communication and protection does.
It’s about empathy, nurturance, and caring for your friends, family, community, state, nation and fellow global citizens:
Love, empathy, and nurturance are primary, and children become responsible, self-disciplined and self-reliant through being cared for, respected, and caring for others, both in their family and in their community. Support and protection are part of nurturance, and they require strength and courage on the part of parents. The obedience of children comes out of their love and respect for their parents and their community, not out of fear of punishment. Good communication is crucial. If their authority is to be legitimate, parents must explain why their decisions serve the cause of protection and nurturance.
Questioning by children is seen as positive, since children need to learn why their parents do what they do and since children often have good ideas that should be taken seriously. Ultimately, of course, responsible parents have to make the decisions, and that must be clear.
The principal goal of nurturance is for children to be fulfilled and happy in their lives. A fulfilling life is assumed to be, in significant part, a nurturant life – one committed to family and community responsibility. What children need to learn most is empathy for others, the capacity for nurturance, and the maintenance of social ties, which cannot be done without the strength, respect, self-discipline, and self-reliance that comes through being cared for. Raising a child to be fulfilled also requires helping that child develop his or her potential for achievement and enjoyment. That requires respecting the child’s own values and allowing the child to explore the range of ideas and options that the world offers.
When children are respected, nurtured, and communicated with from birth, they gradually enter into a lifetime relationship of mutual respect, communication, and caring with their parents.
— Dr. George Lakoff in Moral Politics (2002)
