Diane's Blog Posts

At a Jan 15 press event on Capitol Hill announcing unity among faith groups to push for the adoption of gun violence prevention, I joined forty-six faith groups representing over 80 million Americans urging Congress and the White House to take action.

All of us at FCNL are “holding in the Light” and praying for the families of those murdered in the Newtown tragedy, families who will live the rest of their lives with the profound loss seared into their hearts.

It was a happy sight on Capitol Hill two weeks ago to see the scores of Quakers and friends concerned about peace and good government lobbying Congress to seize the opportunity right now to cut $ 1 trillion from the Pentagon budget. While the outlines of deal are under heavy negotiation here in Washington for how to avoid the fiscal cliff, it's clear that increasing revenue will be part of the solution. And it's very likely that some of the cuts to both domestic and defense spending proposed under the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last year that would trigger sequestration on January 2 will stick.

Not a headline you would expect from FCNL; yet that is what we hear and see everyday in the drumbeat that defense contractors and their lobbyists are marching to here in Washington. And it's a catchy beat--if you are an elected official and a large employer in your district is threatening to lay off workforce, how do you keep from marching in line to protect those defense expenditures?

Our power as individuals and as a faith community comes when we act on our convictions--this idea was affirmed through the theme of "being salt and light" at the World Gathering of Friends just as it is when we live out each day working for peace and justice. I knew that Quaker collaboration to help prevent deadly conflict in Kenya was important before I left; being in Kenya and seeing the transformative relationships between perpetrators and victims of atrocities served to reaffirm the transformative power of non-violence as a response to conflict and the value of public policies that promote peace. What can we say to our U.S. policymakers about our public policies and this kind of transformative conflict resolution? Many may feel that the work of those building peace in Kenyan communities remains disconnected from U.S. policy in Washington. While it is true that the capacity to prevent renewed electoral violence lies with those in Kenya, there are actions our own government can take to help promote peacemaking and mitigate conditions for deadly conflict.

The world gathering challenged Friends to pay attention to what God is calling us to. One of the questions that resonated through the worship was: “What are you doing here?” I didn’t take this to mean “What are we doing in Kenya?” Rather, it was an existential question -- "What are you doing with your life?"

Today I spoke with Douglas, Killen and Caleb, three Kenyan men participating in the Transformative Mediation program.  What is the tipping point that creates a culture of peaceful transition at the time of elections here in Kenya?  Or how does every community create the culture that assures grievances are resolved peacefully—without weapons or wanton destruction?

The world gathering challenged Friends to pay attention to what God is calling us to. One of the questions that resonated through the worship was: “What are you doing here?” I didn’t take this to mean “What are we doing in Kenya?” Rather, it was an existential question -- "What are you doing with your life?"

Today I was in a conversation with men from three countries: Myanmar, the Phillipines and Kenya. Everywhere I go—the library, walking about campus, the plenary sessions—I see people who are happily making new friendships. With 42 languages spoken, the feeling is a bit like a United Nations village, without the formality of diplomacy or the feeling of power politics we experience in Washington. In fact, many of these Friends have experienced great hardship, and in the case of our Friends from Central Africa, they have been traumatized by violence they have witnessed or experienced. This violence has been countered by reconciliation and peacemaking programs that bring out a spirit of love and hope despite the pain people have endured. It is this spirit of love and a desire to span our differences of language, culture and theology to see what we can do to heal a broken world that is at the center of this gathering.

At this weeklong conference of Quakers from around the globe, we are being challenged to “heal a broken world.” For many Quakers here in Central Africa, this brokenness is seen in the problems associated with significant unemployment and despair leading to criminal activity —particularly for young people. Yet, many efforts are underway in Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and even in the Congo—led by Quakers—to foster reconciliation among people who have been in conflict and to lead local peacemaking initiatives.

What country is home to more Quakers than any other? Kenya. In fact, more Quakers live in Africa than in North America and Europe combined.

So it is not surprising that next week Quakers from around the globe will convene in Kenya for only the Sixth World Gathering of the Religious Society of Friends. I am thrilled to be representing FCNL at this World Gathering and to talk about FCNL’s view of how Friends and those who share our values of peace, equality, simplicity, community and integrity are actively engaged in the public policy debates in the United States by lobbying.

In addition to the time at the World Gathering, I am particularly interested in seeing firsthand what is happening in Kenya regarding civilian peacemaking. Kenyans are preparing for presidential elections early in 2013 amidst concerns of implementing a new constitution and avoiding a recurrence of the deadly violence that claimed 1,000 lives during the last presidential election in 2007.

As reported by Cassidy Regan, our Kenyan Project Associate, the civilian peacemaking being led by Friends Church Peace Teams and other Kenyan Quaker organizations are important methods of promoting peaceful prevention of deadly conflict. FCNL has been researching, writing and discussing the range of peacemaking tools that our US State Department can promote in our foreign policy with Kenya right now that will underscore the critical opportunity for peaceful elections.

When I lobbied against the death penalty in Connecticut nearly 25 years ago, I knew that one day Connecticut would get rid of the bizarre law that grants government the authority to take someone's life. But I wasn't certain I would see abolition of the death penalty in the United States in my lifetime.

Last night, we took another step toward justice in our country. The State Senate in Connecticut voted to repeal the death penalty by a vote of 20-16. Next week, the House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill and Governor Dannel Malloy, a former prosecutor, has indicated he will sign it into law.

The willingness of both Democrats and Republicans in the United States Congress to sponsor resolutions that would press for a military action is unnerving. Fortunately, there are some in Congress willing to speak out for diplomacy. The fact is: words matter, particularly the words spoken about war by the President, leaders of other countries and the people elected to national office, such as our members of Congress.

Maybe it's our heightened awareness during the holiday season of those who are less fortunate or maybe it's the lobbying work I did for many years on behalf of initiatives to end homelessness, but I was taken aback last week to see a young mom with a baby and toddler sitting on the cold ground outside my local Target store, begging for spare change. And in the short walk to my home, I saw two more people who were homeless-men sleeping at 3 o'clock in the afternoon in the local park, the signature shopping cart overstuffed with belongings nearby. These could have been scenes in any impoverished neighborhood, except that I live in Washington, DC, a metropolitan area that has actually gotten richer as the economic crisis has hit other cities and towns hard.

The news this week that the wealth of members of Congress has grown dramatically relative to the people who elect them may come as no surprise, but the economic gap between those who make decisions about the federal budget and policies that govern our country is unsettling. I hope that during this break when elected officials visit soup kitchens or public housing for the elderly, they make the link between their votes in Congress and how the programs funded through federal dollars serve their constituents. Despite the anti-government program rhetoric that is bandied about in election season, federal funding makes a difference in the lives of millions of our neighbors and in the quality of life in the communities where we live.

When the U.S. pulled its last soldiers from Iraq this week, it almost went unmarked here at FCNL. Despite the fact that the U.S. march toward war 10 years ago spawned the well-known “war is not the answer” slogan found on bumper stickers and yard signs across the country, and despite the fact that FCNL’s lobbying Congress over the last 9 years helped create the timetable for withdrawing troops by December 2011 through the creation of the Iraq Study Group, we held no party.

The uncertainty of the results we got for the price we paid for the war in Iraq should give everyone pause.

• Public schools reducing to four days a week in Minnesota. NPR news (10/30/11?) • A 20% increase in families turning to emergency homeless shelters as they lose their housing. NYT Times Editorial These news briefs caught my attention this past week. Local school districts, cities and towns, counties and states are making cuts to programs that are painful to the 99%. %. And they are painful in ways that are immediate--like families becoming homeless or people losing jobs because of cutbacks.

These services which are provided by local government can be bolstered by federal revenue that comes to states and local communities; our Congress will make choices about our priorities. Will they act to help create communities where every person's potential may be fulfilled?

A few months ago, shortly after I arrived in Washington to begin working at FCNL, I was waiting in Union Station for a train back to Connecticut when I noticed a local news channel reporter and camera. Sure enough, the reporter approached and asked if I would be willing to respond to a few questions.

"What do you think of the new legislation proposed by Sen. Schumer to heighten security screening on trains?" the reporter asked. Not knowing anything about the new measures, I couldn't say much. "Are you worried about terrorism when you travel by train?" the reporter pressed. "Do you think that measures that screen all train travelers will make us more secure?" No, I'm not worried about terrorism when I travel by train and no I don't think screening everyone getting on a train will make me more secure.

Has the $1.3 trillion dollars spent on the "war on terrorism" made our country safer? Does the "see something, say something" campaign and the "homeland security" measures in our local communities find real threats to our lives and safety or do they perpetrate a society of fear and mistrust?

There is a solution to homelessness. It’s a home. And there’s a solution to unemployment. It’s a job. Our elected officials can take action that will not only prevent homelessness and address substandard low-income housing, but they can act to put people to work by investing in affordable housing.

This week, FCNL joined 44 organizations in a letter circulated by the National Low Income Housing Coalition to White House officials charged with developing President Obama’s jobs creation strategy.

Like all news junkies, I’ve been captivated by news of Osama bin Laden’s death, how it’s been reported and how Americans and the international community have responded. Along with the 63% of the U.S. public that doesn’t think the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, I hope we’ll see the withdrawal of troops this summer as President Obama promised. De-escalating our military involvement as a response to bin Laden’s death signals not only a new approach for how the U.S. responds to terrorism but it could also have a remarkable impact in helping reduce our federal debt.

As Congress grapples with the debt ceiling and fixing the deficit through spending reductions and tax increases, they would do well to read Amy Belasco’s March 29 Congressional Research Service report. It couldn’t be more stark: "Congress has approved $1.283 trillion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks." The allocation of that $1.23 trillion: "About 94% of the funds are for DOD [the Department of Defense], 5% for foreign aid programs and diplomatic operations, and 1% for medical care for veterans."

"That's not fair."

It's a refrain we hear from children on playgrounds or from squabbling siblings or even from elected officials. If you ask children to make choices that are 'fair'--like how to divide a candy bar or a pie, they can usually figure out a practical way to choose.

So, it was a little ironic to hear the budget ballyhooing in Washington the past few weeks as the president called for "adult discussions" on the current federal budget and over our spending priorities for the next fiscal year.