Aliens and such

I just got off the phone with my buddy, a local director of a private-non-profit dealing with mental health. He is a great guy and I love. He’s an aging jazz bone, a cool cat, lo brow hipster(in the good sense). He teaches cops(aliens)to be humans. It’s has been a tough job—some slippage- but I see him exhibiting color again and he laughs and his world moves on. He wrote the following
Toward Some Key Values for the 21st Century

ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSITY.... It is clear that physical, mental, ethnic, racial, sexual , religious and spiritual diversity are all part of the American experience. Now it is time to recognize how this diversity contributes to the cultural mosaic of our country and to accept one another in all of our differences. It certainly would be a boring world if we were all the same. Acceptance of diversity does not mean acceptance of in-equality. We must do everything in our power to eliminate in-equality in all of its myriad forms.
ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY.... A new awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things needs to happen. We cannot continue to pretend that our actions have no impact upon the Earth itself. Global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, pollution of the air and water are not the figments of an ecologists imagination. These are worldwide issues that take cooperation from all peoples if they are to be solved. A person with a disability is just as concerned about these issues as anyone else. No one can develop their human potentials in a world destroyed by our own avarice.
GENDER EQUALITY....The philosophy of masculine dominance and control needs to be replaced by total commitment to social, economic, political and institutional equality. This includes people with a disability as well as everyone else. Antiquated and outdated notions about men and women will simply not work in the twenty first century.
NEGOTIATION INSTEAD OF VIOLENCE....In our personal relationships as well as in the relationships between governments, people need to make a commitment to negotiation with "win-win" outcomes and compromise. Further, self-advocates and parent advocates must be willing to express their concerns assertively and clearly.
INVENTING THE FUTURE....It is important that all of our citizenry be involved in an on-going dialogue about directions for the future. Out of these discussions can come temporary consensus. The consensus will constantly evolve in a teleological manner and that is perfectly O.K. It is just consciously understanding the dialectical model of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. An example of this process would be, "The Americans with Disabilities Act". A wonderful piece of legislation. The legislation was the thesis. Resistance to implementation becomes the antithesis and implementation becomes the synthesis which then becomes another thesis.
FULL INCLUSION.... In schools, in society at large, in every institution we must support total inclusion for people with a disability. The time has long since passed when people could be selected out of our society because of physical or cognitive differences. This involves on-going and adaptive advocacy. The latest advances in medicine and assistive technology must be made available to all citizens regardless of their economic status. There cannot be special privileges given to the wealthy at the expense of the ordinary citizen.
WE ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS KEEPER....There are people all over the world without enough basic necessities to survive let alone explore their potential. It is the obligation of rich nations to help poor developing third world nations to become self-sufficient. Further, we must provide help for people with a disability in developing nations. The chance of birth should not doom children and adults to a lifetime of neglect , pain and poverty.
WE MUST DEVELOP A NEW SENSE OF COMMUNITY....A community based upon two-way communication, more equitable distribution of resources and mutual respect for all of our citizens. This can only happen if we make a commitment to learn how to "listen" to one another.

For more go here http://www.xmission.com/~mhaut/archive.htm#Key%20Values