Monthly Archives: March 2017

Growing up, I remember the patients who came to their office as much as I remember my father making house calls to help those who couldn't leave their beds.

The diversity of people and religions Rockwell depicted, the introspection required by the injunction "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" left a deep imprint. It was a principle that our nation's leadership at the time held dear. In fact, none other than First Lady Nancy Reagan had presented the restored original mosaic to the United Nations in 1985 as a gift on behalf of the United States.

Fast forward to today. After nearly two months in office, President Donald Trump has issued immigration executive orders that call for a US-Mexico wall and a massive expansion in deportation resources. And, if not for the temporary restraining order a federal judge in Hawaii issued Wednesday night, the President's order to ban travel from six majority Muslim nations and freeze our nation's refugee program would have been implemented just hours later.

Through his actions, Trump has led America to a threshold question: As citizens, will we do unto others as we would want others to do unto us?

Our answer means so much for our future.

With the temporary restraining order, US District Court Judge Derrick Watson acknowledged that the revised travel and refugee ban still would be first step toward Trump's December 7, 2015, call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

Not only is an order based on such discriminatory intent likely unconstitutional, the travel ban, and the statement it sends to the world, undermines our national security, destabilizes our economy and puts our troops in harm's way.

Richard Clarke, who served on the National Security Council under both Presidents Bush and President Clinton, spoke, last month, to the original ban from a national security perspective, "Very often it doesn't seem like the [security] problems that they're trying to address on a priority basis actually exist. They just think they do. They think there are Mexicans pouring across the border when, in fact, the traffic is in the opposite direction. They think there's a problem with refugees from [the banned] seven countries coming into the United States and staging terrorist attacks when that's never happened."

Taken as a whole, Trump's executive orders not only do little to address national security concerns, they also dramatically expand enforcement priorities and undermine local law enforcement efforts.

These priorities now encompass not only those with convictions for "any criminal offense" (whether serious or minor), but also individuals who merely have committed acts that could be chargeable offenses -- an affront to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."

To put it all more simply, in the eyes of Immigration and Customs Enforcement today, the undocumented landscaper is the same priority as the undocumented violent criminal.

There is a better way to keep the nation safe: Focus valuable local and federal law enforcement resources on individuals who are threats to public safety. And, through our refugee programs that already require two years of intense security vetting, ensure America serves as a beacon of freedom to the world, building trust with those we rely on in unstable and dangerous countries.

Now, immigrants are afraid to take their US citizen children to school, afraid to go to church, afraid to open their doors. They are signing papers to make sure their children have a home in case they are detained. And refugees are living in camps around the world wondering if the land of the free is a land for them.

These are the millions of undocumented immigrants working and contributing in cities and towns across the country; the thousands of refugee families that evangelical churches helped resettle.

We all know these families. They sit in church one pew over, they are our children's best friends, they are the neighbors who live in the neatly kept home down the street.

These are the immigrant and refugee families the majority of Americans have come to know. These are the families we cannot unremember.

So we ask ourselves: Do we believe in the Golden Rule?

As the American public comes to realize that these neighbors, shop keepers, laborers, students, friends now live their life afraid of the US government, we face this question with a clarity of purpose.

The lesson my immigrant parents instilled in me is not lost on the majority of Americans: We must do unto others as we would want them do unto us.

Excerpt from:

Hawaii judge upholds America's 'Golden Rule' - CNN

My brother, Jerry, recently emailed me a great story that I immediately knew I wanted to adapt for a column. I easily found the story online, but was unable to determine the author.

The story took place in a third-grade classroom. A 9-year-old boy was sitting at his desk when with little warning, a puddle formed between his feet and the front of his pants was wet.

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A bowl of water and the golden rule - West Plains Daily Quill

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

When launching a startup, an entrepreneur goes through a number of ifs and buts of the situation. While some of the questions may require external help from investors or mentors, there are some basic rules that every entrepreneur should adhere while starting out on this journey.

In a session titled How to launch a fast growing company conducted by Franchise India in Hyderabad, industry experts shared their views on some of the basic rule book ideas on what entrepreneurs should tackle issues while starting out.

In a panel chaired by Abhishek Srivastava - Director at Endiya Partners, Mahendra Sureka Director and CEO MACJ, Vijay Bawra Regional Head- Telangana Region & NASSCOM 10,000 Startups, Prajwal LV and moderated by Srini Chandupatla Serial Entrepreneur, Co-founder Mahendra Digital Systems, the panellists explored some of the basic tactics that need to be mastered by entrepreneurs.

These are some of the basic tricks that entrepreneurs should master

#1 Investors that add value

Entrepreneurs should make sure that when they get investors onboard they add more than just the money. Startups often tend to get carried away by the cheque sizes and dont look out for additional value. They should make sure that they add investors wisely, so that they bring technical expertise on board.

Capital today has become more of a commodity today, entrepreneurs should seek more value addition from incoming capital; the panelists said.

#2 Crack the jargon

Entrepreneurs should not sit back and assume that basic fundamentals of taxation, policies, funding and operations will be taught to them externally. They should do their due diligence on commonly used terminology in the industry so that they can make the best use of advice imparted at conferences and startup talks.

#3 Show progress at bootstrapping stage

Investors today want to look at a critical amount of progress at bootstrapped stage and then take the negotiation forward. How entrepreneurs perform and where they can take it with the first set of money assigned to them.

I write on India's well- established entrepreneurs, VCs, business houses, cover a whole range of sectors, for the company's website and monthly magazine. I also take care of branded content for the portal.I am an engineer turned jou...

More here:

#3 Golden Rules for Entrepreneurs Starting Out Today - Entrepreneur

A friend recently shared a Facebook post listing 13 children's picture books which promote kindness. (The link is titled Community Post: 13 Children's Books That Encourage Kindness Toward Others.) It's often said that a well-written children's book can distill a life's truth in a way that makes it easy for children to understand. Some books created for children hit a chord in the hearts of many adults as well.

When reading through the kindness titles, two additional picture books immediately spring to mind, both dealing with The Golden Rule. I've been heard to lament "What is so hard about the Golden Rule," and then, of course, ultimately too often fall short of it myself.

The first book is called "The Golden Rule," by Ilene Cooper and Gabi Swiatkowska. In it a grandfather has a gentle discussion with his grandson about the Golden Rule and what it means. He gives examples of situations in a child's life to which the boy can relate; yet, brings the tenet to bear on a global scale. A favorite passage in this book is when the wise grandfather says of the maxim, "I said it was simple; I didn't say it would always be easy." Informational material at the end of the book lists the equivalent of the Golden Rule in many religions. The illustrations are full of symbols from various cultures, re-iterating that the Golden Rule is a universal one. Would that we could live it every single day.

The second book is "Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners" by Laurie Keller. This book has a lighter touch, with the same ultimate message of "doing unto otters as you would have otters do unto you."

The Otters have moved in next door to Rabbit. Because otters are different than rabbits, Rabbit doesn't know what to expect of his new neighbors, and becomes fearful of the Otters. Sound familiar? The wise owl of the neighborhood encourages Rabbit to get to know his new neighbors, and Rabbit eventually sees that the Otters have the same basic interests and needs that all animals do, even though some details might be different. In this case, it is favorite foods (Rabbit likes carrots, while the Otters like fish). Throughout, there is punny dialogue and activity jumping all over the pages. Hey video game creators, how about one based on this book? Fun and frenetic activity without violence. How many acts of kindness can be scored?

Rather than showing a passive sort of kindness, many of the books on the list mentioned above, as well as the two Golden Rule books, show that it often takes courage to be kind and stand up for others as well as ourselves and what we believe. These books show that kindness and consideration can gain much more in our every day interactions than bullying and harsh words. We can all learn and re-learn from truths as written for children.

Chris Oyer is a retired District 61 library resource specialist.

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Prairie Talk: Picture books teach us all - Herald & Review