Preamble
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is composed of
members of the Religious Society of Friends who bring spiritual
values to bear on public policy decisions. Our legislative policy
grows out of our basic belief that there is that of God in every
human being and that God's love endows all creation with worth
and dignity. Through individual and corporate worship we try
to be open to the will of God and to express the spirit of Christ
in all relationships and levels of interaction, whether personal,
communal, national, or global.
We work together to secure justice and freedom for all people
so that we may live at peace with one another. As seekers after
truth and Christians, Friends strive to make the social, economic,
political, and environmental aspects of our lives consistent
with our spiritual values and Quaker heritage. We endeavor to
live in right relation with the earth.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation engages in the
positive, continuing process of interpreting to people in government
our convictions on the moral and spiritual values that should
undergird government and law. We work to encourage Spirit-led
decision-making on legislative matters. We listen to others,
convey our beliefs about policy issues, urge members of Congress
and others in government to support specific policies and actions,
and try to shape and support legislation consistent with our
convictions. We work to educate Friends and like-minded people
to participate in the political process, whether as voters,
activists, or elected officials.
In consultation with and on behalf of a broadly representative
group of Friends, we have composed this Statement of our objectives
for public policy. In this Statement, we focus on broad principles
and goals rather than specific legislative actions that may
flow from them. We attempt to focus on root causes of injustice
and their long-term consequences, knowing that many issues are
inextricably linked with one another. Many of the goals that
we outline here require profound changes in attitudes and behavior,
both in and out of government. Change may entail personal and
material costs which we are prepared to share. We are convinced
that such changes are essential for life on earth to survive
and flourish.
Underlying all the legislative recommendations in this statement
are spiritual convictions that ultimately cannot be legislated.
They live in each individual conscience, forged and nurtured
through ties to family and community, growing out of a continual
search for truth.
Above all, we seek to remain open to where God's spirit leads
us.
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Reviewed:
02/20/2007
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