While I heartily agree with the direction President Biden is heading on most issues, I am troubled by his recent announcement that the U.S. had used a drone to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current leader of Al Qaeda and one of the masterminds behind the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack. The New York Times reported President Biden as saying: “Justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more.” The President reminded us of President George W. Bush and his promise, reiterated by his successors, that the U.S. would track down and get retribution for those involved in 9/11, no matter how long it took.
Tom Adams
Tom Adams — what we offer to readers on this topic...
See our Resource Pages for additional information on each topic.
More on quilting, connecting and loving
Last week’s post on the Quilt of Souls stirred up a lot of memories of the power of quilting. No matter the difference of culture, race, class or privilege, everyone who shared their experiences talked about how quilts and quilting were a source of nurturing and love for them and those involved. In the spirit of sharing how we all grow in loving, I am sharing – with permission – the reflections of some of our readers on how quilts and quilting touched their lives. Undoubtedly, there are many more stories about how quilting and loving were intertwined in families and life journeys. Please share your experiences in the comments section after the post or by email to me at [email protected]. Here are three replies I am savoring:
Quilting as a Path to Love
Writing about love and deepening my ability to express the centrality of love to life itself is a goal I set for myself in retirement. A less heady goal I set was to finish writing a book that I have been toiling over for a long time. It is a book about Bill and Lois Wilson/and their marriage. You may recall that Bill Wilson was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois Wilson was the co-founder of Al-Anon, a Twelve Step program for families and friends of people with drinking problems.
Are we free to love? A 4th of July Reflection
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” I have been haunted by these words from the Kris Kristofferson/Fred Foster song that Janis Joplin popularized with Me and Bobby McGee in 1971. When I feel stuck or confused these words come back. I ponder, “What is Janis saying?”
Lessons for Today from AA’s 87 Years
The founding moment for Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) happened on June 10, 1935. Recovering alcoholics and their families from all around the world are celebrating the unique and powerful personal and family transformations that are the result of this simple Twelve Step program. The power of A.A. and the Twelve Steps is now frequently applied to many other addictions. And the number of people grateful to Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith for a chance meeting in Akron in June of 1935 continues to grow.
What’s Therese of Lisieux have to do with anti-racism?
A recent trip to Lisieux in France deepened my understanding of Therese of the Little Flower and her spirituality. I was surprised and delighted with what she had to teach me about surrender and faith and about persistence in learning how to be an anti-racist in America.
George Floyd Two Years Later: Who is winning the racism battle?
America is in denial about its “war” on racism. Only one side is truly engaged – the white supremacists. They are organized and committed to winning at all costs. If those of us who want to end racism are serious, we have an imperative to organize, fight, and not stop until we are victorious. We need the commitment of a warrior and the heart of a nonviolent revolutionary.
Working for Racial Justice – Learning through Conversations by Tom Adams
This week I am continuing to explore concrete recommendations from author Eric Deggans about daily actions that advance our commitment to be anti-racist. In his article Not Racist is not Enough: Putting in the Work to be Anti-Racist, the first tip is about “accepting that we’ve all been raised in a society that elevates white culture over others.” In last week’s post, I looked at how we each might conduct a racial justice self-examination to advance our awareness and motivate personal change.
Concrete actions for racial justice: self-examination
In last week’s post, I invited readers to share what they have learned about working for racial justice in the nearly two years since George Floyd was murdered. I shared some resources which I have found helpful, including an NPR podcast/article by Eric Deggans. In his article, “Not Racist is not Enough: Putting in the Work to be Anti-Racist,” Deggans is very concrete. He offers four practical tips below that I’ll explore in this and future posts:
What Have We Learned About Increasing Racial Equity?
We will soon reach the 2nd anniversary of the heinous murder of George Floyd. This murder was so ugly and wrong that even white folks noticed – at least some of us did. Somehow, we had been able to overlook countless atrocious murders of Black and Brown and Native peoples for years, even generations. In last week’s post, Tim Leadem reminded us about the atrocious deaths at the Canadian Training Schools, operated by the Catholic Church.