From today’s daily quote service:
October 23, 2008 Quote of the Day
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do." – Freya Stark
About Freya Stark
French-Anglo travel writer Freya Stark was one of the first Western women to see the deserts of the Middle East. She was born in 1893 in Paris and spent her childhood split between her father's family home in England and her mother's in Italy. Her first book, Valley of the Assassins, brought her grants to continue her travels. She focused on remote areas of Turkey and the Middle East, seeking cultures that the modern world had not yet altered. She died in 1993 at age 100.
THINGS WE SAY WE BELIEVE
AS AMERICANS WE SAY WE BELIEVE:
“…One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…”
“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
AS FLORIDIANS WE SAY WE BELIEVE:
“Florida Constitution, SECTION 2. Basic rights.--All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property…”
SECTION 23. Right of privacy.--Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein….
Fla. Stat. 877.19 Hate Crimes Reporting Act.-- (2) ACQUISITION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA.--The Governor, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, shall collect and disseminate data on incidents of criminal acts that evidence prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity, color, ancestry, sexual orientation, or national origin.
AS CHRISTIANS WE SAY WE BELIEVE:
"So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12 RSV
"And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them." Luke 6:31 RSV
Mat 22:35 (NRSV)... and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.36. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"37. He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38. This is the greatest and first commandment.39. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Mark 12:28 [NRSV] One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" 29. Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30. you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31. The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32. Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; 33. and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,'--this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34. When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.
AS JEWS WE SAY WE BELIEVE:
What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. - Talmud, Shabbat 3id
WHAT WE PROPOSE TO DO IN FLORIDA
Florida Marriage Protection Amendment (2)
"Inasmuch as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
What effect will it have is passed?
If passed, the amendment will ban all recognition and benefits for unmarried couples, straight and gay. It will block civil unions, domestic partnership and repeal existing protections and family benefits relied upon by millions of Floridians.
The amendment would have an especially harsh impact on Florida''s large senior population, many of whom form domestic partnerships rather than remarry after they are widowed in order not to risk losing essential benefits.
Same-sex couples, who are already denied the right to marry by law, would now be denied the right to any kind of meaningful legal protection. The vague language in the amendment, "the substantial equivalent thereof", will plunge Florida into lawsuits, much as has happened in other states. In every instance around the country, those behind these amendments immediately seek to have it interpreted in the most restrictive way possible for all unmarried people.
(SOURCE: No on Amendment 2 Website)
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I noted in a previous blog the following:
Einstein often argued that “You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.” He recognized the impossibility of pursuing mutually exclusive goals. In the same vein, one cannot simultaneously support legislation that discriminates against a designated group of people and insist that one is not a bigot. The actions speak louder than the words.
Perhaps Freya Stark says it more concisely and pointedly this day:
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do."
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The Rev. Harry Scott Coverston, J.D., Ph.D.
Member, Florida Bar (inactive status)
Priest, Episcopal Church (Dio. of El Camino Real, CA)
Instructor: Humanities, Religion, Philosophy of Law
University of Central Florida, Orlando
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ncoverst/
frharry@cfl.rr.com
If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding.
Most things of value do not lend themselves to production in sound bytes.
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