Human Rights. Again and again and again.
Perhaps your heart is heavy, too, with all the ways human rights are under attack right now. Of course, protecting human rights is an on-going struggle, but lately it seems to be especially so.
The news from Ukraine is grim and dire. So many lives have been lost and so many people have been forced to flee their homes. The refugee crisis is extreme with women and children leading the way out of their homeland.
And in this country, some continue to try to control the bodies of others as 150 anti-transgender bills move through state legislatures. An anti-LGBTQ+ bill in Florida would prohibit any classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in the state’s primary schools. LGBTQ+ advocates call it the “Don’t say Gay” bill. Texas has tried to criminalizing support for trans-youth by defining as child abuse allowing your child to be who they are.
Rev. Ashley Horan, Organizing Strategy Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association Side With Love, wrote, “Both the invasion of Ukraine and this latest attack on trans children stem from legacies of imperialism and colonization, rooted in the belief that one group of people should have authority over the decisions and freedoms of another.” We are living with the effects of supremacy culture that says some are more worthy than others, and those few can decide what is best for all.
You can support human rights efforts in Ukraine by financially supporting the UU Service Committee. You can help support LGBTQ+ rights by joining the Side with Love training about combating anti-trans legislation.
Our shared values of dignity and worth, connection and interconnection, make these struggles our religious struggle. All of us.
We say gay. We say democracy. We say all are worthy. We side with love.
Blessings on your week,
Rev. Mary
For more information:
https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/supporting-ukraine
https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/diversity-sexuality-and-gender-gift