I greatly value silence, solitude and peace. I abhor violence in all its forms, including state-sanctioned violence. I do not support the death penalty for criminal offenses other than for high treason, crimes against humanity, and tyranny (the kind that kills its own citizens).
I oppose militarized law enforcement. I do not support criminal penalties derived from a sense of revenge, retribution, or social control. In my view criminal justice should be focused on rehabilitation or containment. If someone can be taught to live a moral life they should be given ample chances to grow into that life, and through their repentance (change in behavior) we are called to forgive them. If someone cannot live a moral life, then we should humanely isolate them from society so that they cannot harm others.
I am vehemently anti-war. It is evil, by all measures. It creates widows, orphans, and disabled people. These people then become vulnerable to being abandoned, lost, and forgotten. War inflicts endless ongoing cycles of trauma and suffering on innocent lives. While I have great respect for our military, it is my personal belief that killing any human being, for any purpose – including war – is a sin of the highest order. I do not support the taking of innocent human life.
We are all of God’s creation, and we are all commanded to love one another, without exception.