In praise of opinionated friends

A few of us got together this week at a local café. The poor baristas hardly knew what hit their tidy little shop. Who could possibly be making all that racket, with crossfire conversations and laughter that might have set off the seismograph at the local library?

the word "friendship" spelled out in letters on wooden tiles
image by Fuzzy Rescue/Pixabay

Let’s see: one ex-rep, spending her summer on the road with her husband, back in town for a brief visit. Two current legislators, fresh off a busy session. There was a friend who like me has avoided elective office and found other ways to be up to her neck in politics. And there were women at the table for whom politics is like heat rash, to be tolerated only on a temporary basis.

God bless them, every one. We often agree on policies and politicians, but not always. We are opinionated. We might even be outspoken when prudence would dictate otherwise. (Moi…?) 

None of that mattered. We were there as friends, valuing each other, talking about the families we love to distraction, sharing our plans for the future. We weren’t there for shop talk. 

I couldn’t help but think about all I’d have missed with some of those women if I’d hidden behind my badge at the State House, settling for their votes without getting to know them. We’ve moved past positions and become friends. It took time, but here we are.

Read more at Braided Trails.

Refresh and recharge this summer

Overwhelmed by politics, ministry, or challenges at home? A good walk offers a mental re-set. Even a stroll around the block is an opportunity for prayer and relative silence.

My state’s park system is celebrating its 90th birthday this year, inviting me (and you) to discover new parks and enjoy familiar ones. At Granite State Walker, I’ve written about a few of the places I’ll be visiting this summer to celebrate God’s creation close to home on New Hampshire trails.

Read more at Granite State Walker.

pale pink rhododendron blossom
The July blooms at Rhododendron State Park in New Hampshire are worth a visit to the southwest corner of the state.

Essential reading, as end-of-life policy is in the news

For anyone keeping an eye on news involving the right to life, this has been quite a week. The American Medical Association’s House of Delegates refused to endorse assisted suicide. The next day, New York legislators voted to legalize assisted suicide. At this writing, the bill is on its way to the governor.

Deadly Compassion: the Death of Ann Humphry and the Truth About Euthanasia, a book published 30 years ago, seems startlingly relevant once again. While in part a history of a movement, it is primarily the story of Ann Humphry, her friendship with author Rita Marker, and the malignant influences that affected Humphry’s decision to take her own life. Such stories about individuals at their most vulnerable affect public policy more than any opinion poll or collection of statistics ever can.

Marker was founder of an organization dedicated to combating assisted suicide and euthanasia. In the course of her work, she met Ann Humphry, whose husband Derek was a leading light of the pro-euthanasia Hemlock Society. The two women developed a warm friendship that ended only with Ann’s death, the circumstances of which were closely tied to the movement promoted by her by-then-estranged husband.

Even in her grief over Ann Humphry’s death, Marker did not resort to melodrama when she wrote Deadly Compassion. She was smart enough to know that the bare facts were dramatic enough on their own.

If you’ve ever wondered how some of our states got to a point where the direct intentional termination of human life has been adopted by legislators as a desirable policy, the answer is “little by little.” Decades after its publication, Deadly Compassion continues to make the case for resisting the creeping tide.

Note: Following Marker’s recent death, her organization’s work is being continued by the Institute for Patients Rights.