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Ethical Action
The Ethical Culture movement
attributes unique dignity and worth to every human being.
The movement, therefore, promotes a wide variety of Ethical
Actions based on its humanist tenets. Many members of the
Ethical Society of Boston are active in projects,
organizations, and causes that help individuals or promote
social justice.
The Society's Ethical Action
Committee helps to facilitate and coordinate these efforts.
This page presents editorials and letters on issues of
importance that members have acted on. There are also links
to other organizations that promote causes members
participate in or support.
Events
Topics
Legislation AEU
Special Projects
Activist Links
Events
Ethical
Action Committee Meeting
The Ethical Action
Committee meetings are currently in hiatus. Call Margo Woods at
(781)646-6059 for more information.
Hearing on the "Restoring Free Speech"
Bill (S. 722)
Tuesday, February 28 at 1:00 P.M.
State House, Room A-2
Greater Boston Move to Amend
Planning meeting
Thursday, February 16 at 6:30 P.M.
Cambridge YWCA, 7 Temple St., Cambridge (in Central Square).
For more information, contact
bostonmta@gmail.com
call (617)894-6279 or go to
http://bostonaag.squarespace.com.
Proposed Ethical Action Activities
for 2011-12
The Ethical Society of Boston is considering three areas of
potential Ethical Action activity for the coming year:
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Review and develop ideas that identify and plan for an
effective action / project on racism in America.
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Volunteer to be involved in supporting the DREAM Act, which
supports allowing children of illegal immigrants to enter
state colleges at the same rate of tuition as state
citizens.
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Work with United
for a Fair Economy on issues of wealth disparity in
America.
For more information
or to voice a preference, contact Margo Woods at margo.woods@tufts.edu
or (781)646-6059.
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Legislation
HR 676
and SB703
-- Federal Single Payer Healthcare
Support federal legislation for national single-payer
healthcare. There are currently 86 cosponsors in the House
from the 110th Congress who have been sworn into the 111th
session. Contact your
Congressional Representative to thank them for their
sponsorship or to urge them to sign on.
HB 2127
-- State Single Payer Healthcare
Support legislation for single-payer
healthcare in Massachusetts. Contact your
State Representative to to urge them to sign on
or support this bill.
Thursday, December 15 at 1:00 P.M.
There will be a public hearing on this bill in the Gardner
Auditorium at the State House. Anyone who wishes to submit
testimony or show support is welcome to attend. For more
information, contact Ben Day at MassCare
at director@MassCare.org
or (617)723-7001.
S.
772 -- Corporate Personhood
A resolution from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts calling upon
the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to
restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people
[and excluding corporations].
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American Ethical Union
The following resolutions were passed
at the 2011 annual Assembly of the American Ethical Union.
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In response to the Americans United vs. FEC Supreme Court
decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts on
political campaigns, the AEU, local Societies, and EC
members should push the federal and state governments to require that:
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majority shareholder approval be required for all corporate
political expenditures
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all such expenditures be disclosed
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the Ethical Society should promote awareness of the dangers
of corporate political spending. -
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To push for the elimination of the practice of hydraulic
fracturing (fracking) in natural gas development.
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To push for statehood for the District of Columbia.
National Ethical Action Report
The Washington Ethical
Society publishes a monthly newsletter of important issues
to contact our legislators on. It can be found at
http://aeu.org/library/eactions/EAR201110.pdf. This
month's issues are:
Reform the Criminal Justice System
Make Sure the “TRAIN” Act Doesn’t Become Law
Insist on Supercommittee Transparency
Maintain Funding for the United States Institute of Peace
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Special Projects
Environmental Buyer's Guide
The
Ethical Society of Boston has developed a booklet called A
Consumer's
Guide to Wise Choices for You and the Environment.
This is an informative
compact guide to what is proper and what is dangerous in regard
to Appliances, Household Cleaners, Food and Health, Toiletries
and Cosmetics, Pet Products, Lawn and Garden Products, as well
to infants and children. Wide-ranging but not too
technical, it recommends Best Buys, National Reports, Ways to
Prioritize, Actions to Take, and many other matters you will
want to learn about.
The
booklet may be obtained for only $5 by contacting us at P.O. Box
38-1934, Cambridge, MA 02238.
Carbon Footprint Reduction Project
This year we offer you a step by step plan that involves
personal behaviors that you can change and that individually
and collectively can significantly decrease the amount of CO2
that we contribute to the atmosphere. We plan to track, month
by month, how much CO2 we save
and we will tally the total effect of the Ethical Society of
Boston over the course of the year.
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Topics
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ESB Issues in the Media
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Activist Links
Economic Justice -
Government
- Health Care -
Human Rights -
Labor Issues -
War on Terror and Iraq
Economic Justice
United for a Fair Economy:
Works to focus public attention on economic inequality in
the United States and its implications for American life and
labor.
Alliance for Democracy:
Works to reduce corporate domination of politics, economics,
the environment, culture and information.
Co-op America: A
national nonprofit organization providing the economic
strategies, organizing power and practical tools for
businesses and individuals to address today's social and
environmental problems.
Alliance for
Retired Americans: Works to improve the lives of the
elderly and people of all ages. It is one of the leading
activist voices for older Americans and is one of the
largest organizations today representing senior citizens and
their families.
Massachusetts Coalition for
Healthy Communities: A nonpartisan organization whose
purpose is to defend the economic, social, and democratic
foundations upon which healthy communities are built. The
Coalition provides networking and coordination services to a
diverse array of public interest groups who are working for
community protection and improvement.
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Government
United States Senate:
Official U.S. Senate Web site
United States House of
Representatives: Official U.S. House of Representatives
Web site
Commonwealth of
Massachusetts: Official Web site for the state of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Legislature: Official Web site for the
Massachusetts state legislature.
Ethical Action Reports: A newsletter produced by the
Ethical Action Committee of the Washington (DC) Ethical
Society on proposed or pending legislation in Congress.
Common Cause: A nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen's
lobbying organization promoting open, honest and accountable
government and opposing corruption and big money special
interests.
Citizens for Participation in
Political Action (CPPAX) A democratic, grassroots
organization that works for justice and peace through
political action.
Center for Responsive Politics:
A research group that tracks money in politics and its
effect on elections and public policy.
Progressive
Secretary: Sends progressive e-mail letters on your
behalf to Congress, the President and other officials on
peace, ecology, civil rights and other issues. You are asked
to approve each letter or you can send the letters yourself.
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Health Care
Health Care for All:
Provides assistance and advocacy for people without health
insurance and lobbies for universal, single-payer health
care.
Mass-Care: A
consortium of organizations working for single-payer health
care.
Families USA: A
national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to
the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for
all Americans.
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Human Rights
AEU National
Ethical Service The American Ethical Union's
non-governmental organization representative to the United
Nations
Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice: A national interfaith coalition
representing the mainstream, pro-choice views of people of
faith and countering religiously-based anti-choice
arguments.
Amnesty International:
An advocate for the freeing of political prisoners and
prisoners of conscience all over the world.
Criminal Justice Policy
Coalition: An organization dedicated to the advancement
of effective, just, and humane criminal justice policy in
Massachusetts.
The Earth Charter
Campaign: Pushing to promote a world-wide dialogue on
common values and to craft and implement a People's Earth
Charter to secure a sustainable future based on justice,
equity, peace, and ecological security.
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Labor Issues
Fair Trade
Federation: An association of fair trade wholesalers,
retailers, and producers whose members are committed to
providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to
economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers worldwide.
War on Terrorism and
Iraq
United for Peace and
Justice: A listing of events and actions that are taking
place to oppose war around the world
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