Stop the Violence

Stop the Violence

  Today is Stop the Violence Day. Even in writing that it seems ridiculous to have to say. As children we are taught, from an early age, to be kind to one another. We have religious books that will tell us to be kind to our neighbors, and to want for our brothers and sisters what we want for ourselves. And since I doubt that anyone wants death and destruction brought upon themselves or those that they love...I doubt we are thinking of it in that way.

  Violence has become a way of life for most of our world. And to support the violent action we are often making excuses for it to continue...both on the domestic and global fronts. We will often hear an abusive person making excuses for his/her behavior stating that they were led to that dark place...often by the victim. When we hear such an outlandish statement, we often shake our heads. And we react in this way because it is juvenile for us to believe that another person could lead us into such violence. After all, we are individuals. We have our own minds and thought patterns. We certainly can not be led astray by another individual...can we? We couldn’t become so angry that we would want to strike someone that could be considered weaker than us, could we? We couldn’t actually hope for people to believe that a child could do something so awful that they would need to be battered or bruised...but do we?

  Tempers flare, but we are responsible for those actions. And if we can not control the actions of our bodies or mouths...we should reach out for help. I learned some startling statistics that I wanted to share with you, so that we could see this problem in black and white.

1.   In South Africa 1300 women are raped everyday

2.  In the United States, 683,000 forcible rapes occur every year

3.  Child abuse is reported every 10 seconds

4.  Every 9 seconds a woman is beaten

5.  5-6 children will die from complications of abuse every day

6.  Most Rapists commit 10 rapes before they are caught

7.  4 million women a year are seriously abused every year

8.  1 in 5 high school girls are sexually or physically abused by a partner

  These statistics, while startling are completely factual. There is nothing worse than being abused. This violence has to stop. We are literally killing each other...every single day.

  No one...has the right to put their hands on another living soul. We do not have eminent domain over another person. People are not property. We can not be held or contained and if we are...it is a violation of our civil rights. It is criminal to make anyone do anything against their will...whether spoken or implied.

  I pray that we use this day as an example of how we are supposed to live. We need to learn to live in harmony, with ourselves and others.

Peace and Perseverance

Peace and Perseverance

  For the first time since 2004, a woman was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. And to make it a triple treat, there were actually three women given this distinct honor this year; and it could not have been given to 3 more deserving human beings. I simply could not let the momentum pass without singing their distinguished praises myself. I would like to introduce you to 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Honorees:

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

 Ms. Sirleaf is a 72 year old Harvard trained economist. She became not only Liberia’s first female President in 2005, but the first on the entire continent of Africa. She is the reigning president and is coming up for re-election. When she took office in Liberia, she was seen as a reformer and peace maker. She was nicknamed the “IRON LADY”.

Leymah Gbowee

  As head of the Women’s Peace and Security Network, she was honored by the committee for mobilizing women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the war in Liberia and to ensure women’s participation in elections. Ms. Gbowee brought together Christian and Muslim women against the power of Liberia’s warlords. In addition, Ms. Gbowee has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after the war.

Tawakkul Karman

  Ms. Karman, a 32 year old mother who heads the human rights group “Women Journalists Without Chains”, has been a leading figure in protests against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. She is known among Yemeni’s as “the Iron Woman” and the “Mother of the Revolution”. The Associated Press adds that “Ms. Karman is a conservative woman fighting for change in a conservative Muslin and tribal society”.

  All three of these women should be commended for doing exemplary work. They can be held as an example to all women and all people everywhere. Just to further my belief that sometimes we must step up when others are stepping back. These women and their predecessors have paved the way for those that will follow; creating social awareness and a promise for the great things yet to come.

  As a woman, I want to thank you for shining your light so brightly.