"What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"6 Friends' testimony calls for right relationships among people and between individuals and God. Governments are instituted, in part, to promote and protect basic human rights. These are rights, not mere privileges subject to easy denial. Friends acknowledge the indispensable role of government in safeguarding the integrity of our society and the essential dignity of all human beings. Citizens have the responsibility to participate vigorously in making government more responsive, open, and accountable. |
We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored |
Section
1. Governmental Institutions
Electoral
Processes
Active and informed citizen participation in the political and
electoral process is essential to the proper functioning of
government.
We
urge support for government and media policies that shift the
emphasis in political campaigns from image-making to an in-depth
understanding of a wide range of perspectives on the issues
and the candidates' qualifications. We support campaign and
election reform to achieve more open access to public office,
to reduce the influence of money, to ensure the integrity of
the balloting process, and to provide full participation for
those now disfranchised.
District
of Columbia
We support full voting representation in Congress for the District
of Columbia.
Government
Accountability
and Transparency
We hold our government institutions and officials to rigorous
ethical standards of fairness, honesty, openness, and avoidance
of even the appearance of conflicts of interest. We expect our
government to abide by the U.S. Constitution, national and international
law, and international treaties. The system of checks and balances
among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches is central
to our form of government and must be maintained.
Secrecy
in governmental decision-making, funding, and operations erodes
representative government. We believe that the gathering and
compiling of information related to public policy and government
practices must be an open process, allowing the public opportunities
to evaluate and use data. Timely and free access to accurate
information enables the constitutional process of checks and
balances to function well, and allows informed participation
by individuals in government activities.
A
strong, vibrant, and independent media is a pillar of democracy.
Government policy should promote diversity of media ownership.
Criminal
Justice
We call for a transformation of our current system of criminal
justice. We acknowledge that a well trained police force and
incarceration of violent and destructive individuals are necessary
to protect society. We urge our government to work toward a
criminal justice system that is restorative, seeking to return
rehabilitated offenders to society with the restoration of their
full rights and obligations. Crime prevention should include
programs that address the complex and pervasive causes of crime,
which often are rooted in social and economic injustice.
The
criminal justice system today is used principally as an instrument
of retribution, a policy contrary to our Quaker beliefs. We
call for laws that provide equitable and prompt adjudication;
education, training, or treatment for those convicted; and restitution
to the victims of crime. We insist upon a system that treats
juveniles as children, not adults; is not biased by race or
economic status; and provides full access to competent counsel.
We oppose the privatization of prisons and the exploitation
of prison labor. We support measures that ensure constitutional
protections for offenders.
We
seek the abolition of the death penalty because it denies the
sacredness of human life.
Violent
acts that stem from using, selling, or transferring drugs, or
obtaining money to use them, should be prosecuted through the
criminal justice system. However, substance abuse itself is
fundamentally a health issue requiring prevention, education,
treatment, and rehabilitation.
Section
2: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Believing
in the presence of the Light in each person, Friends are compelled
to uphold the sanctity of the individual. Hence, we believe
in the paramount need to protect and promote human rights, civil
liberties, and civil rights. Friends seek a society free from
discrimination, including on the basis of race, creed, gender,
ethnic or national heritage, age, sexual orientation, disability,
medical condition, genetic background, and gender identification.
We
support the separation of church and state. We support guarantees
for the free exercise of religion and oppose any action or attempt
to favor particular religious beliefs or groups.
Freedom
from arbitrary or undue governmental intrusion and the equal
treatment of all people by the state are inherent to each individual's
realization of her or his potential. We advocate the restoration
and protection of civil liberties that are a foundation of our
nation and society, including commitment to the rule of law
in national and international affairs; representative government;
First Amendment freedoms (speech, assembly, petition, press,
religion); due process and equal protection guarantees; rights
of privacy and of conscience. We expect our government to uphold
the rights and liberty of each person, as identified in the
Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We expect law enforcers to adhere to the highest standards of
civil liberties and due process.
Communities
Free of Violence
Friends seek peaceful and nonviolent solutions to personal and
societal problems at all levels. The seeds of war are sown in
communities that tolerate verbal and physical violence in its
many forms or that tolerate the disrespect of ethnic, gender,
racial, religious, and other differences. We advocate policies
that encourage community mediation, conflict resolution, and
other programs to resolve conflict peacefully and to promote
mutual respect. We also advocate stricter gun control and the
reduction of gun ownership, possession, and use.
Section
3. A Society Free of Racism
We
continue to pursue a vision of society which recognizes that
all people are created equal and respected as children of God.
The people of the United States continue to live with the legacy
of slavery and the perpetuation of discrimination and institutional
racism, and so must continue to seek reconciliation and remediation.
While each person must examine unintended, unrecognized personal
racism, the federal government has a special responsibility
to establish policies that acknowledge our history and seek
to create genuine equality of opportunity. This would include
measures to assure voting rights and political voice; transform
our criminal justice system; protect civil rights; promote educational,
economic and employment opportunities; and create communities
free of violence.
Section 4. Relationships with Native
Americans
Friends
have long sought to honor William Penn's commitment to live
"a kind, just and peaceable life"7
with Native Peoples.8
In this spirit, while acknowledging and addressing our unjust
treatment of this land's original inhabitants, we encourage
respectful relations with Native peoples. Federal policies must
recognize that Native peoples retain certain aboriginal rights,
including access to land, water, hunting, and fishing, and the
free exercise of their religions and languages. Treaties and
trust agreements reflect solemn promises and must be honored.
The tribal governments established by Native Americans are entitled
to set policies that govern life on reservations and that affect
tribal members who live off reservations. The federal government
should relate directly to tribal governments, respecting their
sovereignty.
Section
5. Immigration and Refugees
We believe that the world should move toward
becoming a global community that safeguards the human rights
and guarantees the economic opportunity of all people in their
country of choice. Free and open borders need not result in
large scale migration in a world with a more equitable distribution
of global wealth and economic opportunity than exists at present;
with more widespread respect for and protection of human rights;
and with greater tolerance and valuing of differences. U.S.
involvement and investment in advancing these concerns, alongside
international efforts, is essential to dealing with international
migration.
The United States was built from many and varied cultures and
histories, and the contributions of many peoples continue to
enrich this society. We support openness to refugees, those
seeking asylum, and family members of citizens. Selection criteria
for other immigrants set forth in present laws should be made
equitable, eliminating bias based on race, national origin,
and economic status.
The federal government should support programs to mitigate the
social, economic, and environmental impact on regions where
immigrants concentrate.
All those seeking to enter the United States or residing here
should, without regard to immigration status, be treated with
justice and equity. They should be accorded equal protection
under the law and full human rights, as well as access to governmental
social services. Fair labor laws and health and safety standards
in the workplace should be firmly enforced, regardless of the
immigration status of the workers.
Reviewed:
02/20/2007
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