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Are We Any Closer to Achieving Sanctity of Life?

Apr
15

By James E. Copple Co-Director, ACT NOWFacilitator of The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing A year before the murder of George Floyd, I was in Minnesota facilitating a working group on police-involved deadly force encounters convened by Attorney General Keith Ellison and John Harrington, Director of Public Safety. The working group was charged […]

Apr
11

Ocean passages on rolling seas; counting waves to challenge the myth of the set wave, where every seventh swell is the largest of a set of 14 waves. Sometimes, it was the fifth; other times it was the ninth. Whatever the number, there was always a wave that appeared too big, that roared and enveloped you.

The Set Wave of an Aging Activist Continue Reading
Mar
21

Pandemic, war, the loss of loved ones, and the machination that is the great wheel of time; all have caused me to consider and share thoughts on my own crossing from life to death, and it’s a sailing metaphor, of course.

Crossing the Channel Continue Reading
Jan
04

My early morning trip, with lights sparkling on the horizon in the wintry cold of dawn, reminded me that seekers are the torchlight that feeds the flame – illuminating and healing “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine” while spreading peace and joy.

Bringing the Light: Bolivia to Eagle Mountain Continue Reading
Nov
09

Nothing can violate my commitment to protecting and securing life through acts of love and compassion. So, if the state chooses to kill me, it is not the end for me; it is only the beginning.

Cheer Up, You Will Be Dead Soon Continue Reading
Jul
13

“The phrase, “sanctity of life,” is an interesting development in discussions about reimagining policing, and it’s beginning to influence the culture of policing . . . Sanctity of life should be the foundation of de-escalation, use of force, and how we approach all calls for service.”

Reimagining Police: What Could this Mean? Continue Reading
Nov
01

by James Copple Baseball is part of the warp and woof for most children raised in the suburbs of America in the 1950s and ‘60s. And as I watched the Washington Nationals upset the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series to win the championship title, the memories and thrill of it […]

Coach Thompson and Baseball Continue Reading
Mar
25

by James E. Copple In 1960, I was 10 years old and living in the Ruskin Heights suburb of Kansas City, an idyllic community occupied mostly by veterans of World War II and Korea. The houses were all the same, with public parks and well-lit streets, and the neighborhood kids would gather on long summer […]

My Brother Ron and The Jerk Continue Reading
Mar
11

By James E Copple It seemed like big trouble at the time, but a battle about bologna sandwiches ended up being the foundation of a legacy I cherish. I was in fourth grade, and we were scratch-farmers living in Lee’s Summit, a Missouri suburb of Kansas City. We had a few horses, four pigs, about […]

The Bologna Wars Continue Reading