Robyn Short's Blog, page 3

The True Meaning of Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 6:9

I recently commented to a friend that I have become immune to Christmas. It was one of those statements that rolled off my tongue without me planning to say it — an unfiltered statement. What I meant is that I have become completely detached to the secular expression of th...

An Open Letter to Police Officers

You are in your position to protect and to serve, and yet many people in the public feel as though you are at war with us. Many of us feel you are protecting and serving your fellow brothers within the police department and not your fellow brothers in the street. That statement is not a statement of blame. It is simply the current reality. I suspect this reality is a result of your training. You are trained to shoot us if you feel your life is in danger. You are trained to perceive us as a th...

America Is a Long Game

Post by Marianne Williamson.

The post America Is a Long Game appeared first on The New Bottom Line.

What Ferguson Can Teach Us About Love

I am a student of A Course in Miracles. The introduction to the course explains that its aim is to remove “the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence.” The introduction continues with: “The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. The course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way: Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.”

If your immediate thought to this introduction is … What? That makes sense. Be...

I Have a Home in Africa

Outside the Seeds of Peace motel in Rwanda

My favorite movie of all time is Out of Africa. Not because of the beautiful landscape, although it is breathtaking. Not because of the intense clash of Karen Blixen’s aristocratic way of life with the grit required to survive the rough African terrain, although the beauty and absurdity of it is equally magnificent. But because of the way love seeped into the crevices of the family system that developed on Blixen’s plantation and took up residency in...

God Lives in Rwanda

Photo credit: Joey Cope

In September, I traveled to Rwanda to facilitate peace-building training for security forces in Kigali, the nation’s capital, and to facilitate servant leadership training for our host, the nonprofit organization African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM). The trip was coordinated by ALARM through Southern Methodist University and included students from the Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution graduate program, Betty Gilmore, the program director and...

Listen to Robyn on The Funky Writer Show

Popular Writing Internet Radio with The Funky Writer on BlogTalkRadio

The post Listen to Robyn on The Funky Writer Show appeared first on The New Bottom Line.

Locked Out of the American Dream

“There are enormous victories that are being achieved precisely because the people whom we have written off and viewed as disposable are reclaiming their voice, standing up, speaking out, organizing even as they struggle to survive.”

Watch Michelle Alexander and Bill Moyer’s conversation on Moyers & Company and learn important information from her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

The post Locked Out of the American Dream appeared first on The New Bottom Li...

The Problem is Civil Obedience

by Howard Zinn, 1970,from the Zinn Reader, Seven Stories Press

I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. I start from the supposition that we don...

Creating a Peaceful Planet

Part of creating a peaceful planet is good stewardship of our planet. The follow tips are easy things we can all do to assist in creating a more peace-filled planet.

8 Easy Eco-Living Tips

Join an online group that has a green purpose. For those of us with limited time, you can even join an online group or support an important eco-cause financially. Checkout Green Peace, one of the nations oldest and most respected eco-conscious organization.

Stay educated on important issues facing our planet....