Islamic Declaration on Climate Change
Editor’s note: On August 18, 2015 (exactly nine years to the day that this editor’s first daughter was born), Islamic leaders “called on the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims to play an active role in combatting climate change and have urged governments to conclude an effective universal climate change agreement in Paris” to be wrought later […]
A Declaration on Hate Speech, Violence and War
Editor’s note: This declaration was issued in 2015 by the Parliament of the World’s Religions, whose avowed mission is “to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.” The first such Parliament gathered in Chicago in 1893. […]
Declaration of Conscience — Senator Margaret Chase Smith, June 1, 1950
[Editor’s note; Margaret Chase Smith, former U.S. Senator from Maine, is a profile in courage and a true states-person, the likes of which we arguably haven’t had in either chamber of Congress in the longest time, though such souls in elective office are more sorely needed in our times than ever. Senator Chase Smith, a […]
An homage to Benjamin Barber — and a woefully belated note of gratitude
Never put things off. That was drilled into my noggin at a young age, and I’ve practiced it as best I can ever since. Usually. But on one occasion, I dropped the ball terribly, and I’ll always regret it. I had given a presentation in a while back about our Declaration Project at a ‘Civic Collaboratory’ […]
A Declaration of the Rights of the City and Citizens
A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CITY AND CITIZENS By Dr. Benjamin Barber Preface: The Importance of Rights Claims and the Argument for a Right of the City to SelfGovernment Rights language has been and remains crucial to establishing the legitimacy of political authority. In an interdependent world in which cities govern locally, but—through […]
Declaration of Interdependence
Declaration of Interdependence By Dr. Benjamin Barber We the people of the world do herewith declare our interdependence as individuals and members of distinct communities and nations. We do pledge ourselves citizens of one CivWorld, civic, civil and civilized. Without prejudice to the goods and interests of our national and regional identities, we recognize our […]
Jefferson’s Declaration about Our Declaration
Editor’s note: A week and a half before he died — on Independence Day in 1826 – in the last letter he ever penned, Thomas Jefferson expressed the wish that each fourth of July would serve as a “signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them […]
Declaration of Independence from President Trump
Donald Morrison: A new Declaration of Independence By Donald Morrison When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with their President, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the […]
Dr. Cornel West — Why Dr. Martin Luther King Considered the Declaration of Independence a Great Moral Event
Why Dr. Martin Luther King Considered the Declaration of Independence a Great Moral Event by Dr. Cornel West The last major resource for Dr. Martin Luther King’s thought was American civil religion — that complex web of religious ideals of deliverance and salvation and political ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality that constitute the evolving collective […]
A Declaration for a Caring Space for Students
Mental health is one of the many elements of a healthy lifestyle that many disregard — or that is disregarded and not taken into account by those who could provide it. Schools are one of the most influential institutions in the world. They are also the most stressful part of teens’ lives, given the heavy […]
