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H.R.1 — the “For the People” Act
H.R.1, the For the People Act, is a democracy reform bill that was introduced and passed in the House of Representatives in 2019. It passed 234-193, with one Republican representative voting for it. The bill was never brought to debate nor vote by the Senate majority leader, causing it to fail by default in the Senate. On January 4, 2021, the bill was reintroduced to the House. Even though many of these reforms are bipartisan by nature and have significant public support, current political polarization will make it challenging to garner widespread bipartisan support in Congress. H.R.1 is an expansive bill that champions improved access to voting for all citizens,…
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Practical Peacemaking Week 2: Individually Finding Peace
Jesus said, “A house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25). This means we must integrate our thoughts, experiences, and actions into a harmonious blend internally. When our actions and beliefs are out of sync with each other, we are essentially divided, or at war with ourselves. As peacemakers, we need to access and cultivate the calm, tranquility, justice, mercy, and connection associated with inner peace before we can expect to create peace in connection with someone else. There are many real sources of creating inner peace, which largely hinge on the idea of meeting human needs and bringing our souls into balance. We know Jesus Christ’s atonement provides…
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Official Statement from Mormon Women for Ethical Government on the Vote to Acquit the Former President
Today, 43 U.S. senators chose to acquit the former president from any responsibility for the assault on the U.S. Capitol and on members of Congress. This violence on January 6, 2021, marked the culmination of a months-long attack on our system of elections by former President Donald J. Trump. His behavior was highly undemocratic and unethical. Unfortunately, he was joined by others who, through falsehoods, also attacked the integrity of our elections. Today, many who voted to acquit the former president did so in order to acquit themselves. For many months and years they had aligned themselves with his anti-democratic behavior. In the end, they were no longer able to…
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Call to Action: Request the Former President Be Held Accountable
After his election defeat, former President Trump lied about the election, repeatedly and with the direct intent to undermine legitimate results and maintain power. The result was not only a horrific attack on our nation’s Capitol building and the deaths and injuries of close to 150 people, but the undermining of American democracy using a big lie as a tool. We expect accountability from the former president just as from the individual citizens who stormed the Capitol. We cannot move toward a more secure future without first recognizing the truth of recent events — and demanding that accountability should stem from that truth. To do: Contact your senators to let…
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Week 1: Introduction to Practical Peacemaking
As members of MWEG, we recognize that peace can feel like an abstract concept. And it’s not merely the absence of violence. Instead, peace is a state of harmony, tranquility, and understanding that requires not only justice and ethics, but also balance, love, and connection. Peace has everything to do with how we feel about each other and how we act in our personal and collective lives. Defining terms We differentiate between conflict and contention because conflict is a normal, ongoing part of our mortality; there is no way to avoid it! Conflict implies that we perceive or actually experience differences that matter to one or more parties. It is…
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The U.S. Rejoins the Paris Climate Agreement
On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, in one of his first acts as president, President Biden signed a letter to the United Nations recommitting the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement. The U.S. officially left the Paris agreement in November 2020. The onboarding will take 30 days, with the U.S. officially back in the pact on February 19, 2021. The U.S. remains the only country to have left the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement began in 2015 when 195 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change. Climate change is responsible for not only higher air temperatures, but also stronger storms, rising sea levels, drought,…
