Articles on PR for People

I’ve used the September column most of the past 15 years to recall 9/11 and provide a brief analysis of progress made on the last of the 9/11 Commission recommendations.  As we near a quarter century since those tragic events, one wonders if there are lessons we have not yet learned that are applicable to chaotic world conditions today.  Here are a few observations that come to mind. 

The annual Book Bingo program offered by my regional library system guaranteed that I would stop in at the local library branch with regularity this summer. I was seeking books that would correspond to the categories listed on the squares of my bingo sheet. By the end of August I’d completed my bingo card and, by extension, had actively engaged in my own self-directed course of informal education. I’d learned new words and considered different points of view. I looked up places on the map that I’d never heard of before. I’d filled in not just the little squares on my bingo card but also some gaps in my understanding of world history, science, war trauma and international relations.

In the coming months, there will be a marked increase of “Civil Resistance.” Long coined as Civil Disobedience, nonviolent protest is one way people of conscience can stand strong and united during a time of heinous injustice. In our September news digest, we will feature an article about the many ways people of conscience can demonstrate civil resistance. Please scroll below to read Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Six Principles of Nonviolence.   

In light of Trump’s worsening cruelty, vindictiveness, and ever more belligerent attacks on democracy, many of you ask: “What can I do now?” Here are a baker’s dozen of recommendations. (I’ve shared some of these with you previously but wanted to give you a revised and larger version.) If you have others, please feel free to share them with all of us in the comments. - Robert Reich