Category Archives: Golden Rule

Deepak Chopra, Special to SFGate

Watching mainstream coverage of the Biden inauguration, you couldnt miss the much-repeated call for uniting a divided nation. The commentary was quite approving; no one seemed to disagree with the theme or the need. But if you turned to right-wing media, the notion of uniting the country was derided as a ploy and scorned as bad faith. This indicates that gulf that lies between vision and outcome.

It is much better to have a vision than not, because a vision makes your intentions clear and keeps the goal in sight. A vision that is destined to fail, however, has no real use. Bringing the country together isnt different from bringing a wounded relationship together. The needed skills are psychological. The right-wing has taken advantage of this fact for decades, as many commentators have noted, by tapping into grievances. But stoking peoples complaints, grudges, fears, and fantasies of revenge is a negative vision. As recent events have shown, the people you manipulate this way eventually leads to bad faith and eruptions of a violent, chaotic kind.

So how do you get someone to yes when that person is dead set against you? The necessary tactics depend on understanding two things: 1. The basic principles of negotiation and 2. Putting yourself in the other sides shoes. Both are always workable, no matter whether we are talking about a broken relationship or a broken political culture.

Principles of negotiation

These principles are well known in diplomatic circles but they are flouted in everyday life all the time. The main reason is that people dont try to learn how successful negotiating works. Instead, they fall back on tactics that hardly ever work, or when they seem to, leave residues of resentment from the other side. The tactics that dont work are easily recognized in our current state of deep division.

How to stay at no

It is worth the time to sit down and reflect on both lists. Getting what you want is a natural impulse, but using the wrong means leads to frustration and futility.

The second thing needed in order to change no to yes is to put yourself in the other sides shoes. One might call this the path of empathy. Nobody really disagrees with the Golden Rule in their heart of hearts, but treating others the way you want to be treated remains hypothetical without an understanding of psychological wants and needs. The most basic wants and needs are common to everyone.

You cant put yourself in someone elses shoes by pretending that you agree with their beliefs, prejudices, and social conditioning when those things are foreign to you. Much less does it work to adopt false empathy with positions you abhor. Divisions dont go away as a condition for getting to yes. Instead, they stop being obstacles.

You put yourself in someone elses shoes by shifting to the needs and wants listed above. They constitute the unspoken agenda in everyones life. Once you see that you and the other side share the same needs and wants, you can start to talk about them. Speak about the unspoken, and you will get much further than keeping silent.

Ive devoted a small space to issues that fill many books, but I think it is necessary to understand that there is a way to clear up the fog of war. War isnt always conducted with armed weapons. Armed words do the job quite well. If there is to be an end to deep divisiveness, one side must be the first to step up and use the tactics that actually work. The situation cant be made any simpler than this.

DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a whole health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential (Harmony Books), unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his latest book, Total Meditation (Harmony Books, September 22, 2020) will help to achieve new dimensions of stress-free living and joyful living. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. http://www.deepakchopra.com

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How to Get the Other Side to Yes - Laredo Morning Times

Dungeons & Dragons players must work together both with their party and their Dungeon Master to have a fun and successful adventure together.

PlayingDungeons & Dragons is a team sport. To embark on and enjoy the adventure set up by the Dungeon Master, all players must bring their best teamwork to the table, otherwise the game may crumble due to poor communication. To have a successful and enjoyable campaign, players must be respectful not just to their DM, but also their party members, to help foster an environment where players can speak freely, bounce ideas off each other, and create powerful strategies.

There are three basic rules DMs and players can implement during the preparation stage of a campaign to help the adventure go smoothly. These skills will help all players feel heard, as well as eliminate the possibility of a misunderstanding. The first of these three golden rules is not to talk out of turn. The quickest way to have aDungeons & Dragons campaign devolve into chaosis for the party to constantly be talking over each other. While it it easy to let player actions be guided by excitement, and it is tempting to express feelings in the moment, players should always try to take a step back and make sure that no one else is talking, and that it is the appropriate time to interject with an idea, attack, or in-character comment. This rule helpsD&D players listen more clearly to their party members, and foster good communication from the start of a campaign.

Related:Dungeons & Dragons: What A Murder Hobo Is (& Why They're Bad)

The second rule that players should implement is to always come to the game session prepared.Dungeons & Dragons often has homework outside of a session. Whether this is reading up on a player's class, investigating lore about a new area, or leveling up a character and preparing the next round of spells, it is important to have these tasks done before the session begins. It is frustrating for players who come prepared to be forced to wait on a party member who put preparation off until the last minute, and can often eat into precious play time. Preparing for the session shows party members that the player is committed, and that they respect the time of their DM and the friends they are adventuring with.

The third rule for a successfulDungeons & Dragonscampaign is player boundaries. Players need to be clear about respectful roleplay while in character. This rule can be difficult, as every party will need to set these boundaries differently. What is okay in one group may not be in another.

This is especially important when it comes to in-character interactions. Players should check with each other before engaging in conversation that could be considered promiscuous, and make sure that the language and actions being used are okay with both players. It's easy to get carried away while in character, and it is important to remember that there are real people behind thatD&DFighter or Barda player may be interacting with. Because of this, connecting and expressing what everyone is comfortable with ahead of time can prevent a situation where a player feels uncomfortable.

If players are respectful and think before they speak or act, aD&D campaign is likely to go smoothly and be enjoyable for all at the table. Touching bases regularly before a play session starts helps to make sure that everyone is still feeling comfortable and confident with how communication has been going. This is an excellent way to create a good atmosphere for aDungeons & Dragons session, encouraging all member of the party to have fun as they journey together through the unknown.

Next:4 D&D Rules DMs Should Only Use Once

90 Day Fianc: Ariela & Biniyam Are Not In Ethiopia With Aviel Anymore

Laura Gray is a writer, illustrator and gamer in cozy Boise Idaho. They have had a wild freelance career in being a nerd, spending time traveling as a professional cosplayer and becoming a published illustrator while working the night grind as an IT tech. Laura is currently a content writer for D&D campaigns and Screenrant while working on personal writing projects for publication. They are also busy welcoming their first child into their life, which has been the best adventure life has given yet.

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D&D: Three Ways To Be A Good Party Member | Screen Rant - Screen Rant

For as long as history has been written, humanity has struggled to evolve society from the tribal to a more inclusive system. A healthy society nourishes all its members, or it rots from within. Americas experiment with a democratic republic still suffers from tribal exclusivity, where some count more than the rest. This flaw manifests in capitalism as the illusions of exclusive gain and externalized costs. The social function of government is to set boundaries on tribalism, and address the needs of the entire society, without exclusion.

In 1986, President Reagan claimed the nine most terrifying words in the English language are Im from the government, and Im here to help. In the decades since, Republicans have relentlessly disparaged government, sowing public distrust, while working to underfund or eliminate essential social services. This has created massive economic inequity and disenfranchised millions.

Believing they could control him, Republicans embraced candidate Trump, accepting his incompetence, corruption, and disregard for the rule of law, being more focused on power than integrity. In 2020, during the pandemic, the 614 American billionaires increased their net worth by $931B while most Americans suffered. America leads the planet in Covid cases and deaths, due to incompetent federal leadership.

January 6th was the culmination of Republican anti-governmental sentiment when the mob of Trump supporters, incited by his deranged, self-serving lie about a fraudulent election, invaded Congress to stop the peaceful transfer of power. The self-proclaimed patriots were armed, had explosive devices, and were prepared to take hostages. This insurrection was coordinated with actions in thirteen state capitals.

The good news is the attempted coup failed. The legislators and staff were unharmed by the mob. Order was restored later that day, Congress returned to business, and Biden was confirmed as the next president.

The bad news is that five people died, including one policeman. Capitol security was easily overwhelmed, perhaps even complicit in the invasion. Trumps defense department appointees delayed authorizing the Maryland National Guard to enter and restore order. Six Republican Senators and a majority of Republican House members voted to thwart the will of the electorate.

Keep in mind, the core of all this is the big lie that the election was stolen and that violence and opposition to the rule of law was somehow patriotic duty. This lie ignores 60 failed legal challenges, numerous recounts, and the certification by every state governor and secretary of state, a majority Republican-controlled, affirming the election was free and fair. Trump just got fewer votes.

The aftermath is still unfolding. Trump, loyal only to himself, abandoned his supporters and belatedly condemned their actions in a stilted video. The Wall Street Journal and the National Manufacturers Association, among others, have called for Trumps resignation. Pence and the cabinet have been requested to invoke the 25th amendment to immediately remove the president from power, but Pence has gone into hiding and some cabinet members have resigned to avoid the issue. The House has begun presidential impeachment proceedings for sedition and insurrection, which could bar Trump from ever holding public office again. There are calls for resignation, expulsion, or censure of legislators who participated in attempting to thwart the will of the voters. Around the country, prosecution of members of the mob are proceeding, based on selfies, cell phone data and social media videos.

It is understandable that Trump needs to believe in fraud, because he is too mentally damaged to admit that he lost. He should be pitied and given psychological care in a safe environment with no responsibilities. But the sad part is the millions of people who have swallowed the big lie, hook, line and sinker, rather than listening to their inner truth.

What does it mean to be an American? Are rich, white, Christians the only people who count? Or are we truly a land of equal opportunity, open to everyone, without regard to wealth, race, or religion? The mob invaded Congress wrapped in flags and carrying crosses. Republicans with integrity need to call out the autocratic faction that has flourished in their party, and excise it like a cancer. Real Christians, who understand the Golden Rule as the essence of Christs message, need to reclaim the integrity of their religion. It is encouraging to see that this process has begun.

Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.

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Another Voice: The Whole world is watching - The Willits News

Dennis Zink| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Corruption is widespread in business. Some leaders are out-and-out crooks directing malfeasance from the top. More often, employees bend or break rules because those in charge are blind to unethical behavior and may unknowingly encourage it.

So says Harvard Business Review.

A business sector with countless examples of an ethical morass is the automotive industry. Dating from the Ford Pinto era, rear-end collisions often ruptured fuel tanks, resulting in leaking fuel and deadly explosions. Casualties were thought of in terms of a dollar amount to settle lawsuits as a cheaper alternative to fixing the problem. A few years ago General Motors had a massive recall involving faulty ignition parts that was a result of saving pennies at the expense of its reputation and lost lives. Volkswagen cheated on diesel-emissions tests. And in the biggest automotive recall in history, defective Takata airbag inflators in cars made by several manufacturers showed a high risk of killing passengers with pieces of shrapnel.

Sadly, this is only one industry.

The quest for higher profits, conflicts of interest, misguided incentives and coverups of unintended consequences are just some of the reasons business ethics go awry. In the quest for higher profits, cutting corners and other cost savings strategies often backfire and result in the loss of profits and even thedemise of a business.

In a case of the end justifies the means, liar loans were all the rage during the housing boom. Banks and mortgage companies didnt even try to hide it. Government incentives prompted small down payments in an effort to increase home ownership. The ends justified the means until they didnt.

Honesty, perhaps the most important value, is a slippery slope descending into dishonesty through various stages, such as withholding information, telling white lies, using puff or spin, putting lipstick on a pig, exaggeration and understatement, evading or stretching the truth, and outright lying.

Some of my thoughts on business ethics:

Be a good corporate citizen. Social responsibility encourages honesty, dignity, respect and fairness in dealing with your associates, customers and vendors.

Hire ethical people who will do the right thing. The culture of your company should reward safety, diversity, accountability and promote continuous improvement. Culture is made up of the collective behavior of owners, managers and employees.

I am more ethical than you. Surprisingly, employees tend to see themselves as more ethical than anyone else. They see their peers and co-workers on their level as less ethical than themselves. They see those above their level as even less ethical, with ethical standards descending with ascending levels of management.

Personal versus business ethics. As a person, of course, you act ethically. Your company is putting pressure on you to achieve quotas as it relates to sales goals. What are you going to do?

In religion, its the golden rule of reciprocity. Confucius said in 500 B.C., What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

It all comes down to values. If you go with your gut, you should stay out of trouble. But your business should have a written code of conduct. Ethics is not event oriented, it is value oriented. David Rockefeller said, Honesty in business is non-negotiable. Trust is the foundation of all business success.

The boss. The top dictates the tone on what people say and do in the workplace. Clear and effective company communications are necessary. As the leader, anticipate trouble and be proactive. The best thing a company can do to help it succeed is to take care of its employees and inspire confidence in others.

The greater good. Sometimes there are no good choices. Ask what decision will provide the greatest long-term benefit to the greatest number of people over the long term. Conversely, what decision will do the least harm to the fewest people over the long term.

In the past few decades, there has been a greater emphasis on stressing the importance of ethics education in business. A persons core values are pretty much set by the time they enter the workplace. If you are obeying the laws, following the rules, using your common sense, and going with your gut, then you should be fine. You can always ask people you trust what they would do in a given circumstance.

In summary, business ethics is about how we treat others and how they treat you. Its a two-way street. Most ethical dilemmas are delineated in shades of gray. Try to be aware of your own blind spots.

Finally, if you get the urge to do something questionable because no one will know, remember this: You will know.

Dennis Zink is an Exit Strategist, business analyst and consultant. A Certified Value Builder and SCORE mentor, and the past chapter chair of SCORE Manasota. Dennis created and hosts Been There, Done That! with Dennis Zink, a nationally syndicated business podcast series and SCORE Business TV available at http://www.Time4Exit.com. He facilitates CEO roundtables for the Manatee and Venice chambers of commerce. Dennis led a SCORE team to create the Exit Strategy Canvas and Exit Strategy Roadmap program that provides a real-world methodology for business equity realization. Email him at dennis@Time4Exit.com.

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BUSINESS ALCHEMIST: Ethics in your business -- do the right thing - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Joe Bidens inaugural address Wednesday wasnt electrifying. It wasnt marked by extraordinary rhetorical flourishes, nor delivered with staggering charisma.

It was, rather, a clear, heartfelt, passionate and sensible speech at an immensely fraught moment of America history in which the newly sworn-in president of a dangerously divided country set out the challenges at hand, indicated where the solutions might lie, and vowed to do whatever is in his now-considerable power to implement them.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the woman: America would appear to be fortunate that Biden, the veteran conciliator, is the individual best placed to heal a country many tens of millions of whose citizens still do not believe he won the election. And that he had the wisdom to choose, alongside him, the countrys first female, Black vice president.

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Democracy has prevailed, Biden declared early in his address, and indeed it had in that the duly elected president duly took office, and his predecessor reluctantly vacated the White House, albeit promising ominously to return in some form.

But America is riven, with the Donald Trump-inflamed assault on the capital two weeks ago both the practical and symbolic culmination of that internal rend. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal, the 46th president said. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we are willing to stand in the other persons shoes as my mom would say. The Golden Rule is indeed vital, whether learned from Hillel the Elder or Catherine Biden.

US President Joe Biden delivers his Inauguration speech after being sworn in as the 46th US President on January 20, 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Semansky / POOL / AFP)

As Biden now bids to mend America at home while protecting and advancing its interests abroad, Israel has cause to feel fortunate, too.

The pendulum has swung away from an administration with which Israels leadership found so much common cause. But it has swung not to Democratic contenders hostile to and dismally uninformed about this country, and there were those. Rather, Biden understands better than most the challenges Israel faces in fending off its enemies, and in surviving as both a Jewish and a democratic nation.

There will be disagreements bitter and likely open over policies regarding the Palestinians and the settlement enterprise. It is already clear that the nascent Joe Biden presidency and the longtime Benjamin Netanyahu premiership are deeply at odds over how to thwart the Iranian ayatollahs rogue nuclear weapons program. This latter is a cardinal issue. But at least it will be tackled by Israel and a Zionist ally in the White House.

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Joe Biden, his mother, and the Golden Rule - The Times of Israel

The Golden Rule is more than a little familiar to Jews and Christians alike, at least it should be, since it is, according to Hillel, the foremost scholar of his day and father of the Talmud, what sums up the entirety of Torah. As a Jewish Rabbi, Yeshua, who Christians believe to be the Messiah, would have agreed with what Hillel wrote.

Both speak about the importance of treating others with love, not hatred of their fellow man. Matthew 7:12 from what Christians refer to as the New Testament and Talmuds Shabbat 31a have almost identical wording.

Matthew 7:12

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207&version=ESV

Shabbat 31a

The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation.

https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.31a.6?lang=bi

Hillel slightly predates, with some possibility of an overlap towards the end of his life, the time of Rabbi Yeshua. To write he was the foremost scholar of hid day, is a vast understatement of who he was and his impact that continues to this day.

According to Britanica, though any number of other sources can be cited, Hillel was the, foremost master of biblical commentary and interpreter of Jewish tradition in his time the literary sources do combine coherently to summon up what may be called the first distinct personality of Talmudic Judaism, the branch of Jewish thought and tradition that created the Talmud, a commentative work on the Oral Law.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hillel

When Rabbi Yeshua spoke of treating others as they wish for others to treat them, it was a reference to Hillel, who was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the predecessors of Orthodox Judaism that exists today. They were, and are, keepers of the law.

Why would the foremost scholar of his day sum up the whole of Torah with the Golden Rule as it is called today?

The answer can be found in Vayikra, which is Leviticus 19:17 and 18, which are both parts of the same law. You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.

https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.19.18?lang=bi&aliyot=0

Kinsfolk and kinsman are references to each tribe of Israel. Countrymen is a reference to the whole of Israel. Fellow is the entirety of the human race. To love your fellow man, regardless of tribe or nation; to treat others no matter where they are in the world as one wishes to be treated, is the whole of Torah according to Hillel.

Yoma 9b from the Talmud explains the reasons for the destruction of the second Temple was due to the severity of sin that was being committed against God by the Israelites. It was destroyed due to the fact that there was wanton hatred during that period. This comes to teach you that the sin of wanton hatred is equivalent to the three severe transgressions: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed.

https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.9b.8?lang=bi

The Talmud equates hatred of people to murder. How does one look at other parts of the Tanakh where hatred is mentioned as something other than being wrong as in the case of Mishlei, which is Proverbs, 8:13 as one example of many?

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the forward mouth do I hate.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mishlei-proverbs-chapter-8

Vayikra, which is Leviticus 19:17 and 18 serve as the reminder to not hate the one who has transgressed the law, but hate the sin. The transgressor, no matter how tempting it may be to hate, is to be loved.

There is a distinction between sinner and sin, which should never be forgotten. To hate the sinner is, as the Talmud makes clear, to be the same as murder. To reproach from a position of hatred for the person is to be in violation of what Hillel summed up as the whole of Torah.

Hatred of a person or people is something that blinds people to reason. Anything can be justified by those who hate the sinner(s), as they see it, rather than the sin(s). Without reason, there can be no clear reproach of wrongs, since the focus is pointed in the wrong direction.

Anti-Semites justify every wrong committed against Jews and Israel on a daily basis. They make excuses for every threat and every act of violence committed in and out of Israel. Not all anti-Semites share in violent, sometimes murderous action, but all justify the deeds out of hatred for the Jews as a whole.

When Soviet backed Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered the slaughter of Ethiopian Jews, much of the world was silent about what was happening. It was another attempt to bring about the extinction of Jews. The silence was an act of anti-Semitism by those who knew what was happening and said nothing.

In 1939, after Kristallnacht made headlines in the United States, the Wagner-Rogers Bill was introduced in the United States Congress that would have allowed 20,000 Jewish children from Germany into the United States as refugees, Roosevelt was silent. His lack of support for the Bill that would have saved the lives of children kept the Bill from getting past. That silence was anti-Semitism directed at children who could have been saved from the horrors that followed.

It was hatred of Germans that led to the Soviet rape of Berlin where, what can only be described as war crimes, were committed. The same Soviets who had agreed to split Europe with Nazi Germany. The same Soviets who invaded Poland shortly after Nazi Germany. Unlike Nazi Germany, there was no war crimes tribunal for anything the Soviets did.

The difference between hating the person and hating the sin could be seen in the Nuremberg Trials. The focus of the evidence was on the actions of those charged, rather than who was on the stand. It was not the person who was hated, but the actions committed by them that were. Without that distinction, Nuremberg would have been nothing more than a show trial.

Bob Ryan is a science-fiction author and believes the key to understanding the future is to understand the past. As any writer can attest, he spends a great deal of time researching numerous subjects. He is someone who seeks to strip away emotion in search of reason, since emotion clouds judgement.Bob is an American with an MBA in Business Administration. He is a gentile who supports Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

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The Jewish Root of the Golden Rule | Bob Ryan | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

By the time we've matured enough to reach the age of reason, most of us have forgotten the details of our journey. How, exactly, did we learn to read? Or to add and subtract? Or to spell, even our own names? Yet snippets of our earliest instruction remain.

We can still sing the A-B-C song, still count out "one, two, buckle my shoe," and spell our names without conscious thought. Some of us even remember the words of a poem we learned in fifth or sixth grade for me it is "O Captain, My Captain" by Walt Whitman and who among us can't remember a nursery rhyme or two?

Our teachers and parents knew, as we do now, that repetition and recitation were sure-fire methods when it came to early learning. From the very first, the fourth 'R' recitation has been a hallmark of the educational process, especially for the youngest learners. By repeating, out loud, over and over again, we learn. If the words are set to music, so much the better.

It stands to reason, then, that even during pioneer settlement here at the western edge of the continent, and at a time when a plow or a cookstove took precedence over books or writing paper, "Recitation" was a mainstay of education. Repeated rhymes and counting games "This Little Piggy" and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" were learned effortlessly and provided a strong foundation for more formal schooling. In the one-room schools of Pacific County, as in most grammar schools across the country, the basics of formal education were also taught through recitation.

According to early Pacific County teacher Arthur Skidmore, "We stressed mental arithmetic, and that needed neither board, slate nor pencil. They enjoyed rapid addition and subtraction. It was a pleasure to hear them recite their oral arithmetic, giving a full analysis of problems. omitting no step whatsoever. The County Superintendent, visiting one day, complimented them upon their ability to think and work rapidly. When they allowed mental arithmetic to slip from the schools, I feel it was a great mistake. "

"Memory Gems" were often a mainstay in the little one-room schoolhouses. Each week a new selection would be posted for all the children, no matter their age, to learn. Quotations from Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale or Horace Mann were popular selections and, whether or not children understood the full significance of a quotation, it was felt that they would

come to understand these "gems" in time, perhaps not until adulthood. Meanwhile, according to Skidmore, " I always figured that anything to the good helped out in the long run. Once a month we held rhetoricals. I believe they helped develop an appreciation of good literature. They brought out the children and made them more self-possessed."

Many years later, Skidmore was remembered by Anna Wiegardt Perrow (18851975) as her favorite teacher in the Bruceport School. "He fixed the building up nice by whitewashing the walls, making cheese-cloth curtains, hanging pictures on the walls, and putting up window boxes of flowers inside," she said.

"I don't know whether we learned so much from him, but we did enjoy going to his school. He taught us memory gems which we remember yet today, and we always opened school with a good old hymn. We didn't have any grades at all we just studied together and helped one another. The seats were for six when he came, but he cut them up so that only two were together."

At first, in Pacific County as elsewhere, standards for schools and teachers were not always uniform. By 1863, both Washington State and Pacific County Superintendents of Education were elected to oversee the local educational process. Even so, guidance for teachers and the actual schooling students received was hit-and-miss at best.

Equipment and materials provided through tax monies also varied from meager to sufficient, but seldom were they bountiful. Even the little one-room schoolhouses that dotted the county differed in sturdiness and in the number of amenities such as doors and windows. Essentials as basic as desks for students and teacher and provisions for heat and drinking water depended upon the tax base of each school district. In an affluent district such as Sunshine where a large mill was located, the school might be a cut above a neighboring district with more limited means.

In the first Nob Hill School in South Bend, for instance, two marks on the wall served as the classroom clock. Both were drawn across from the desk by the window; one caught the sun's rays at noon, the other at four o'clock. "If the sun did not shine," remembered Skidmore from his student days, "we were lost, and obliged to guess at the time." Presumably, in our northwestern climate, there were frequent occasions when students and teacher were "lost" for days at a time.

Though facilities varied greatly, teachers' salaries remained the same throughout the county. For many years before the turn of the twentieth century, the pay rate was $25 a month, though some years a bonus of $5 was offered a male teacher. No district's school board could contract with a teacher unless the amount of salary stated was in the County Treasury and credited to that particular district. As each month ended, teachers were paid in gold.

Teaching assignments lasted for a term, or three months. If the district had money enough, the teacher might be kept on for another term but, in most cases, as the term at one school closed, another school's doors opened and teachers moved from school to school, usually working steadily for an entire year. On the other hand, students were required to complete only one term's work before moving on to the next grade, presumably the following year, if a teacher could be found.

The uniform pay scale was not a guarantee that teachers were uniformly prepared for their positions. In some cases, they were not much older than their students and, though most had obtained some high school education, it was not a job requirement. Normal Schools institutions created to train high school graduates to be teachers began in the eastern United States as early as 1823, but it would not be until 1882 and 1890 that such schools were created in the western states of Oregon and Washington, respectively.

Among those who enrolled in the first class at the new Normal School in Ellensburg were 19-year-old Daisy Colbert and her 16-year-old sister, Elfreda, from Ilwaco. Their mother had learned that the school officials at Ellensburg were having difficulty in obtaining enough applicants for their beginning class. To encourage enrollment, they prevailed upon each county in the state to conduct a contest with the two highest scorers awarded a scholarship for their first year of attendance. The Colbert sisters both graduated and went on to teach Elfreda, for a number of years at the Ilwaco Elementary School.

Four-year-old Martha Murfin began school in 1922 at the Camp Henry Schoolhouse at her grandfather E.E. Case's logging operation on North River.

Some teachers began their jobs with materials of their own. Bertha Allison who arrived by train at South Bend in 1898, all the way from Ohio, brought an entire set of Encyclopedias with her! Years later, in the 1940s, teacher Katherine Burton Bame brought records and phonograph from home to the schoolhouse in Oysterville so that students might be introduced to a variety of music.

Requirements for students were also slow in coming. In Washington, it wasn't until 1897 that some schooling became compulsory for youngsters three months of school each year for 8 to 15-year-olds (essentially, eight "school years") was the total mandate. Secondary education depended upon the proximity of a high school as well as upon the family's need for the child's economic contribution to the household. Both boys and girls were often needed to help on the farm or at another job which would bring in additional income to the family.

By the time Henry Beasley (1905-1979) of Ilwaco began school, grammar school attendance was required and truancy was frowned upon. Even so, like many boys his age, Henry was a reluctant student. When he started the first grade Miss Huff was his teacher. For the first two weeks he would start off for school but he didn't arrive there. Years later he remembered that he just "monkeyed around" until he was finally caught and returned to school. Though he never did like school, Henry finished all eight grades, but quit during his first year of high school to go to work."

As a practical matter, of course, many children began school earlier than age eight. Martha Murfin (1918-2011) began school when she was four. Her father was working as superintendent of one of his father-in-laws logging operations. Marthas earliest memories are of the three years that her family spent at Grandpa Cases Camp Henry on North River.

'She took one look at all of us all ages because if you could walk and talk you were considered ready for school and she thought they were joking, so many of us were so young. All the four- and five-year-olds were put in first grade and if you survived you went to second the next year; if you didnt survive, you got to try first grade again. I survived.'

Martha Murfin

Recalling school in North River nearly a century ago

We lived in a house built on stilts, she once told me. At first the camp had just a mess hall and a bunkhouse for the men, but as the men married, my grandfather provided housing for the individual families The schoolhouse was built on stilts too, and had grades one through eight. There must have been quite a few kids in the camp the year I was four because they hired a primary teacher, Miss Ouren.

"I remember that all the little kids went down to the landing to meet her boat when she arrived. She took one look at all of us all ages because if you could walk and talk you were considered ready for school and she thought they were joking, so many of us were so young. All the four- and five-year-olds were put in first grade and if you survived you went to second the next year; if you didnt survive, you got to try first grade again. I survived."

From the beginning, compulsory education laws were put in place not only to improve literacy, but also to discourage the widespread child labor practices of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Washington, mandatory school attendance came about slowly with the laws fine-tuned only every few years. Gradually, provisions were made for special education and for home-schooling. However, it was not until 1969 that school was mandated for 15-18-year-olds.

Well into the 20th century, the grammar school curriculum, or "Course of Study" as it was called, was based upon a list of textbooks distributed to all teachers by the County Superintendent. Parents were responsible for providing the books, an onerous expense for large families. No matter the improvements in subject matter or presentation, a new textbook requirement was not always a cause for celebration. It meant an outlay of money that was often a hardship and frequently considered unnecessary by Pacific County parents.

Volumes passed from one family member to the next, carefully patched and mended as needed. Though not an ideal arrangement, it was sometimes possible for neighbors to share books. In a letter written by my aunt Medora Espy to her mother in November 1911, she describes one such possibility proposed by her teacher in Oysterville:

"we are examined in Reading Circle work as well as just reading. Miss Blair is going to find out what books are needed and if the District will buy them or county or what. We have to read three books out of school, that much she knows. If we have to buy them, she is going to have Deane buy one and me buy one, and Edwin Goulter buy one. We three are the only ones who will take the eighth-grade examination."

From the time that the "common schools" were established by Washington's Territorial Legislature in 1854 until well into the 20th century, students were required to pass an extensive examination in order to continue on in a public secondary school. The exam was given in the late spring of eighth grade and covered all the curricular areas. It was anticipated with anxiety by both the students and their families, especially by those who wanted to continue with their schooling.

Students who failed just one or two parts of the test were sometimes allowed to begin high school on a provisional basis with the understanding that they would re-take and pass the tests within a set amount of time. Failure meant an ending to formal education unless a private school was affordable.

Medora Espy, right, with Olympia High School chums Elizabeth Ayer, left, and Marie Strock, 1912.

When Medora was informed that she had not passed the arithmetic and physiology sections of the test, the entire family was distressed. Medora, the oldest of the six Espy children, had attended all eight grades at the Oysterville School, and there was the expectation that she would set the academic standard for her three sisters and two brothers who followed.

As a further complication, the closest high school to Oysterville was at Ilwaco, but there were not yet adequate roads from the north end to the south end of the Peninsula. Many of the isolated communities of the county were similarly hampered and, to continue school after eighth grade, it would be necessary to board with relatives or friends or, perhaps, to attend a boarding school.

Medora's situation was at once easier and more complicated. Her father had recently been elected to represent Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties in the Washington State Senate and the family would be moving to Olympia in December 1912. In the meantime, arrangements had been made for Medora to board with "friends of a friend" and to begin her freshman year at Olympia High School.

As soon as Medora's examination results were made known, adjustments were hurriedly made with the school which allowed her to enter in the fall term on probation. She had until mid-September to re-take and pass the arithmetic portion of the test with a higher score so that she could be officially enrolled. Apparently, the school was not concerned about the physiology grade. Her father took her to Olympia and saw to getting her settled at Mrs. Eadie's home and, on Sept. 1, her mother, still in Oysterville, wrote:

Papa has returned and has told me all about you and the house. Of course, we are more than anxious that you should do creditable work these two weeks and pass your examination. Don't let anyone distract you from earnest, diligent work. Mama and Papa are doing all they can to make it possible for you to get through and I know you will repay them by doing your very best. Get a tutor at once every day without one is lostget one quick and conquer that arithmetic before it conquers you.

I know you will not disappoint us. We have absolute faith that you can and will make a good record for yourself...

Medora labored diligently under the tutelage of Miss Torrey, the 7th-grade teacher at Olympia's Lincoln School and, fortuitously, also a boarder at Mrs. Eadie's. Medora re-took the math portion of the examination and, on Sept. 25, Mama wrote:

Your good long letter just came and to say that we were happy that you had passed your examination only half expresses it. The tears would come when I read the glad tidings. Papa was at Nahcotta and I called him up to tell him and he too was delighted

Some months later, when the family was well-settled in Olympia, Papa had reason to go to South Bend on business. While there, he wrote to Mama:

You and she [Medora] will both be glad to know, at this late date, that I yesterday saw Miss Bode [Lottie Bode, Pacific County Superintendent of Schools,] and she said Medora passed in both Arithmetic and Physiology. She recently discovered that [the] man who went over papers marked on basis of ten questions whereas there were only seven (or 8 possibly in one). She therefore received good marks. Pretty system isnt it? She will issue her a diploma. Might be well for her to tell Prof. Aiken. [Principal, Olympia High School.]

Seen here is the interior of Badger School, circa 1899. Located in District #8 of Wahkiakum County in Grays River, it consolidated with other schools in 1938 to form Grays River Valley School District #104. The photo provides a rare glimpse of a 20th century schoolroom very probably typical of many small rural schools of southwestern Washington.

In some ways, parents were more directly involved in the affairs of the one-room schools than is apparent nowadays. Many of the little schools served a small area a district which might include only two or three families. Such districts were usually in isolated parts of the county, but before roads were built and better transportation was available, these small school districts were the rule rather than the exception. By 1905, Pacific County schools had an enrollment of 2,110 pupils instructed by 72 teachers within 46 districts.

As now, each district's school board was made up of parents and prominent people within that district. They were responsible for locating suitable teacher candidates who would then apply to the county superintendent for employment. School boards were also responsible for the physical needs of the school an adequate firewood supply or timely repairs to the building when necessary.

Generally speaking, academic and disciplinary concerns of the schoolroom were left up to the teacher with little interference from the community. Occasions which were likely to bring parents to school were usually extracurricular in nature often a spelling bee arranged with the students in a neighboring district or an evening of "rhetoricals" when students demonstrated their oratory or debating skills.

For these presentations, great emphasis was placed upon elocution and the dramatic flair which students brought to their recited "pieces." Said Skidmore, "We dramatized poems and other selections. It was difficult for some to throw themselves into it naturally, while others were very apt. Parents always visited these rhetoricals in numbers: nothing gave them greater delight than to see the children performing in a creditable manner."

Perhaps it was in the nature of the one-room schoolhouse to draw together the community it served. This was no more obvious than in the late fall of the year as the time for the Christmas program approached. It was considered the highlight of the year. In Oysterville, where the one-room school continued until 1957, the entire town was in a high state of excitement by the time the anticipated evening arrived. All fall, the school children had worked on their costumes, practiced the carols, and prepared their pieces.

A few days before the scheduled event, the men brought a big tree in from the woods and cut holly and other greenery for the women to place strategically throughout the hall. Everyone in town contributed to the gift exchange which ensured that, no matter how meager their own familys celebration, each child, would receive a gift. Until 1921, when the building was blown down in a storm, the program was held in the Methodist Church, the most spacious accommodation in town. and everyone, young and old, attended.

Said beloved teacher Alice Holm in a reminiscence about the Oysterville Christmas program of 1917: An air of expectancy pervaded the place. It was a gala event but each sensed the responsibility of doing his bit and doing it well. The Christmas tree with its uncertain wax candles twinkling might well have been considered the first number on the program.

"For days previously the children devoted his or her hand work to the making of paper chains and Christmas tree ornaments. These they added to the long fairy like strings of white popcorn and strings of rosy cranberries fresh from the nearby bogs. Bunches of holly from Mr. Stoners trees and the smell of cedar made one further to know that Christmas had come.

The audience arrived early, mothers, dads, grandparents, visitors and all others. They came, more or less, laden with babies and the next to the babies, too young for school. They also carried cakes and coffee donated for the social hour. The class known as Baby Sitters was as yet unthought of. Mothers shushed intermittently to nip in the bud any wail that might unexpectedly peal forth from their offspring to mar the program or make the mothers, themselves, conspicuous."

Too, it was a Christmas Program that was a life-long memory of Gary Whitwell's when asked about his Oysterville school days in the late 1930s: "We had practiced for a Christmas play. For my part, I had to stand up and hold a long cotton sock and recite a story, something about Santa, etc. The night we went to school to do the play for our folks, things had been switched. Dad stood up and did my part. I think all the parents took their kids' parts. All I remember is Dad standing up in his bib overalls, in front of everyone, holding up that sock and reciting my part. I can't imagine how they ever got Dad to do it."

Often called the "Brix Landing School" for its location, Oneida School District #21, was built at the Brix Brothers logging camp in early 1906. It was located on the Columbia River at Brix Landing just a quarter mile west of the mouth of Deep River. Though isolated and only accessible by boat, at one time there were as many as 25 children enrolled. The camp closed in 1925 and, the following year, the Oneida Schools consolidated with Naselle to become District #119.

It was at one of the Christmas programs that little Beulah Slingerland (Wickberg), 1893-1995. received a gift she would treasure for all of her very long life. The gift was the culmination of her earliest childhood recollections which involved making mud pies in front of her family's home next to Oysterville's Baptist Church.

Little Beulah normally made her pies in the morning which was when a neighbor, Mr. Wachsmuth, would take his daily stroll past the Slingerland house. He would stop and ask Beulah what kind of pies she was making that day. She'd tell him and offer to give him one which he always accepted and took away with him, later returning the empty pie tin and commenting on how delicious her baking had been.

This friendly exchange was repeated until one day, after Mr. Wachsmuth walked away with his pie, Beulah peeked over the fence and saw him furtively empty the mud from the pie tin, clean it out, and put it into his pocket. When he returned to give Beulah the empty tin, she angrily accused him of not eating her pie, saying that she saw him "dump it out." And that was the end of her pie sharing with Mr. Wachsmuth!

During the next Christmas season when the community gathered at the Methodist Church, Beulah discovered that there was a beautiful doll under the tree with her name on it. The doll was about 14 inches high with a red dress trimmed with gold lace and wearing a gold hat and little gold slippers. Best of all, she could open and close her eyes! It was a long time later that Beulah learned that the doll had been given to her by Mr. Wachsmuth.

Shirley Rowlands Wright (1925-2019) grew up on the Long Beach Peninsula during the Great Depression and the World War Two eras. By then Pacific County schools and teaching methods were well established. Yet, in isolated southwestern Washington, some things were still slow to change. Means for getting to school, for instance, had certainly improved during the eighty years of tax-supported education, but concerns about safety and expectations for student resiliency lagged behind.

By today's standards, Wright's story about getting to school in the 1930s seems almost unbelievable: "The bus from the north end of the Peninsula was owned and driven by 'Pop' Gove or, at times, his sons. In his later years, Mr. Gove had spells of passing out, which at the time was thought to be heart problems. So, a second seat was welded to the floor on his right and was usually occupied by Emogene Saunders, who we called our co-pilot.

"On one occasion, Pop Gove slumped forward as we neared Black Lake, north of Ilwaco. The bus crossed the road and nosed down into the lake just as Emogene got it under her control. The front end was in the water at the lake's edge. We were mighty shaken up, but were taken on to school while they pulled the bus up on the road and check it and Mr. Gove out. He regained consciousness and drove us home that afternoon.

"We had some participation en route that made our bus rides a little less dull. Quite often a potato the proper size to fit a tail pipe on the exhaust system was passed out of the back window, and the last one at that stop to enter the bus was given the privilege of showing it up the tailpipe. Needless to say, the bus didn't go very far before it stalled out."

On a more serious note, Shirley remembered being punished for her failure to do well in spelling. "By the time we reached the fourth grade, I'm afraid I was known as the twin who couldn't spell. You might wonder what this has to do with the Depression, so I might as well tell you the humiliation this problem caused me and how I got helped."

She went on to tell of the day her older sister brought an added lunch treat a hard-to-come-by orange for Shirley and her twin sister, Corrine. She found Corrine in the hallway eating her lunch, but no Shirley. It was necessary to get Mr. McAnally, the superintendent to unlock the classroom door and then the coat closet door before finding Shirley. She had been placed there as a punishment for failing her spelling test. On being questioned, Shirley said, "No! I never get my lunch when Mrs. Johnson locks me in there!"

When it was found that she had not had a recess in over twenty days, the teacher was put on probation and Shirley was never locked up again. Meanwhile, Shirley begged her sisters "not to tell Mom and Day because Mom got up extra early to help me with my spelling and I still couldn't get it and I didn't want her to feel she'd failed me I was in sixth grade before my family could afford to have my eyes checked and found I was very near-sighted in one eye and far-sighted in the other. That was a lot of my problem."

One of Mrs. Wright's stories seems right in line with the words to the old "School Days" song: You were my queen in calico, I was your bashful barefoot beau "Our school bus was very crowded until the students south of Caples Corner got off. The little ones were quite often held on the laps of the older students until they left the bus. Corrine and I always shared Edwin "Penny" Wright's knees until he reached his home just east of Butt's Road. We thought he was really a nice 12-year-old young man when we started school. I later married him."

Sources for first-hand accounts in this article:

"Readin' 'n' 'Ritin'," by Arthur Skidmore Sou'wester Magazine

"My Girlhood Days in Bruceport," by Anna Wiegardt Perrow Sou'wester Magazine

"They Remembered- Parts I & 2," by Edgar and Charlotte Davis

"Pioneer Teacher," by Bertha Allison

"North Beach Girls of the Teens and Twenties," by Sydney Stevens Chinook Observer

"Dear Medora," by Sydney Stevens

"The Best Days of My Childhood," by Gary Whitwell Sou'wester Magazine

"When A Little Meant A Lot," by Shirley Rowlands Wright

Go here to read the rest:

Those 'dear old golden rule days': Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, Recitation: The 4-Rs of Pacific County's early schools - Chinook Observer

There is a very simple and effective way to significantly reduce the tension, conflict and violence plaguing the United States treat others the way you would like to be treated.

One well-known example of this reciprocity is the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12. However, this basic principle is found in most if not all religions and cultures. Its universality, or at least generality, reflects its practical utility.

Individuals without any religious allegiance, atheists and agnostics can value and practice this ideal, too.

This principle is essential and pivotal for the harmonious functioning of any group, community or society.

However, this ideal assumes that reason and truth are not suppressed by emotion so that common sense and civility can prevail.

Maybe more leaders in religion, government, politics, law, education and other sectors of American society could do more to encourage this ideal, including by their own example.

Leslie E. Sponsel

Hawaii Kai

Trump, not Democrats, bent on destruction

John Tamashiro provided a bizarre point of view, saying conservatives are being targeted (Democrats want Republicans destroyed, Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 14). Last I checked our very own President Donald Trump and his supporters incited violence on Jan. 6 by repeatedly claiming Trump won the election, thus throwing our nations values into turmoil.

With multiple injuries and deaths reported, as well as emerging evidence of kidnapping plots against Democratic lawmakers planned among the insurrectionists, I find it hard to believe that his attention and empathy are not placed there.

Social media platforms are private entities that are free to limit or remove content that does not adhere to their terms of use. Follow the rules of the forum. Law and order, right?

Ryan Tin Loy

Nuuanu

Impeachment without conviction meaningless

Impeaching the president twice is meaningless unless the president is convicted by the Senate.

When he was impeached the first time, President Donald Trump was not convicted, so the first impeachment does not mean anything.

On this second impeachment, the Senate is not expected to meet until after Trumps term ends, so no conclusion can be made until later this month at the earliest.

Therefore, he should be considered innocent of any charges until then.

Tom Wong

Liliha

Primary UH campus should be at West Oahu

I have always felt the University of Hawaii is being shortchanged without having a stadium on campus. But the main campus should be in West Oahu, where the majority of students will be living and population will be located. Living by the Manoa campus is just too expensive.

Build a regular college stadium and not an expensive individual-seat stadium.

Use the Aloha Stadium land not for housing but to consolidate all the city, state and maybe federal government agencies.

Shuttle people from town to college activities when the rail is finally built.

Ernie Itoga

Waialae Iki

Ethics Commission right about new gifts rule

Hurray for the state Ethics Commission! I saw a little-publicized article that this commission adopted a new rule last November affecting legislators and other state and county officials.

This rule prohibits legislators from accepting all gifts from lobbyists and people and companies affected by the laws they pass or prevent, including gifts under $25.

These gifts include malasadas, manapua, spam musubi, cookies and other items designed to curry goodwill and favors.

This former practice was a visible and clear attempt to get in the good side of the receiver and should have been banned a long time ago. But better late than never.

Please publicize this rule more, especially as the Legislature prepares to open this week.

Clyde Morita

Kaneohe

Clamp down on those violating COVID rules

Its been more than 10 months of this closing, reopening, closing and gradual reopening. The spike is calming now after the holidays, and its time to get back to reopening.

However, those places of business that violate the mayors proclamation and protocols should be hit hardest. They should be given a 48-hour shutdown first as a warning; and second- time violators a seven-day closure plus a fine.

It also appears the largest clusters come from churches, funerals and large gatherings, yet they are not penalized.

There were many businesses doing their part to comply with the mayors proclamation, yet they were all shut down because of a few violators. Small businesses themselves are drowning.

We can do this smartly now, learning from the previous mayors shortcomings.

Clif Johnson

Ala Moana

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Letters: Live by the Golden Rule, common sense, civility; Primary UH campus should be at West Oahu; Clamp down on those violating COVID rules -...

Great news: On Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, the United NationsTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponsgoes into force.

Three and a half years ago, on July 7, 2017, the United Nations General Assembly approved the language of this treaty by a vote of 122 to 1.

The vote was a clear expression of the will of the worlds people and the treaty has now been ratified by 51 nations.

Under international law, nuclear weapons will join chemical weapons, biological weapons, cluster bombs and land mines as illegal weapons of mass destruction.

The Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat arrived in Hawaii on July 31, 2019 from San Diego, California. The 34-foot ketch, a project of Veterans For Peace, has nowsailed to the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Oahu and Kauai to promote the treaty.

The crew of the Golden Rule has presented to over 100 audiences on those islands and on Molokai about the dangers of nuclear weapons.

The Golden Rule Project has been welcomed by the Hawaii Legislature and the governments of each of Hawaiis four counties. Mahalo, Hawaii, for your aloha spirit.

The nuclear missile attack scare in the islands three years ago compelled many of the people of Hawaii to join worldwide efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.

On Nov. 6, 2019, Honolulu County passed a resolution to welcome the Golden Rule and to urge the U.S. government to ratify the treaty and to take other measures to bring us back from the brink of nuclear war.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons prohibits signatory countries from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, deploying, transporting, financing, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and also from assisting or encouraging such acts.

The Nuclear Ban Treaty is a milestone in the long march toward nuclear abolition. This is a moment to urge all the nuclear powers to sign the treaty and begin the process of the de-nuclearization of the world.

Nowhere is this more important than in the United States, which holds almost half of the worlds nuclear weapons.

None of the worldsnine nuclear-armed nations have yet signed on to the treaty. These nuclear powers are in violation of the 50-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires them to negotiate in good faith to reduce and eventually eliminate all nuclear weapons.

Instead, the United States and other nuclear powers are developing new generations of nuclear weapons, alarming many experts who believe the threat of nuclear war is greater than ever.

The United States government will spendover $1.7 trillion of our tax dollars over the next 30 years to upgrade its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Powerful and influential corporations make billions of dollars from the nuclear programs and contribute to members of Congress, who vote to continue nuclear weapons production. These corporations make astronomical profits from weapons that would doom civilization.

Our nation can be a leader in the peace race, but only if our leaders hear a loud message from the people: Nuclear weapons are very dangerous for humanity and now they are also illegal.

We must have a future free of weapons of mass destruction. The United States must take immediate actions to stop the possibility of nuclear war and to show leadership in the worldwide effort to eliminate all nuclear weapons. The future of humanity hangs in the balance.

Political leaders need to hear from everyday people who are rightfully concerned about the very survival of human civilization. We must demand that the United States and all the nuclear powers sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and begin the de-nuclearization of the planet.

The International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its leadership in working to pass the treaty. Veterans For Peace and the Golden Rule Project were a part of that campaign and share in the Nobel Peace Prize.

Celebrate the nuclear weapons ban treaty and talk with friends, neighbors, relatives and your elected representatives about the treaty and the need to prevent the possibility of nuclear war.

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The Treaty To Ban The Bomb Takes Effect - Honolulu Civil Beat

The Redlands Chamber of Commerce saluted the Redlands firefighter and police officer of the year at its virtual Installation and Awards Dinner Thursday night. However, the annual traditional selection of man and woman of the year award remains on hold because of the pandemic.

Capt. Josh Hannan, Redlands firefighter of the year.

Capt. Josh Hannan was announced as firefighter of the year. Redlands police officer of the year was Sgt. Kyle Alexander, who led seven successful homicide investigations in 2020.

Hannan, who has served in the Fire Department since 2005, was raised in Big Bear Lake. A 1999 graduate of Big Bear High School, he often visited his fathers fire station in Long Beach. He worked as a lifeguard and was trained in basic first aid and CPR.

He earned a social sciences degree from the University of La Verne in 2004 and his license to become an emergency medical technician at the Crafton Hill Community College fire academy.

Hannan worked for the San Bernardino County Fire Department before joining the Redlands department. He was promoted to engineer in 2011 and became a captain in 2018. Hannan earned several certificates to advance his career and service.

Capt. Hannan has shown his ability to lead others, said Redlands Fire Chief Jim Topoleski. Josh has a unique way of connecting with people through his charismatic energy that people naturally gravitate toward.

Redlands Police Chief Chris Catren, left, congratulates Sgt. Kyle Alexander.

Police Chief Chris Catren presented the departments Jose A. Rivera award to Alexander, named in honor of the first constable in the city of Redlands. Constable Rivera was best known for treating everyone with dignity and respect,.

Sgt. Alexander is assigned to the department's Investigative Services Bureau where he supervises the departments team of detectives and investigators, Forensics, Property & Evidence, and Crime Analysis. He is also one of the supervising sergeants of the SWAT team and a board member of the Redlands Police Officers Association.

He is a dedicated and dependable officer and a humble, well-respected, hands-on supervisor who consistently leads by example, Catren said. His actions honor and exemplify the Golden Rule of Policing.

He is committed to public service, professionalism, and benevolence.

Excerpt from:

Chamber salutes firefighter and police officer of the year - Redlands News