119 results for tag: Things We Like

Balancing freedom and equality in a vibrant democracy

by Schuyler Foerster Sky is currently serving as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. We live in a world ridden by conflict—conflicts of ideas.  Rarely are these ideas about how, together, we might improve the quality of our lives.  Instead, they are all too often about how some of us can improve our lives at the expense of others, usually because we want to blame those “others” for whatever we think is absent in our own lives. “We the People,” was not about “some” of us.  (Actually, it was, but we have fought several battles and one Civil War to remedy that ...

Support banning conversion therapy- CO House Bill 1156

For the third year in row, Citizens Project is supporting legislation in the Colorado Legislature that would prohibit "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ children by licensed mental health care providers. This harmful practice seek to change an individual's sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex. We urge you to contact your representative and let them know that you SUPPORT House Bill 1156. Two friends of Citizens Project have shared their personal stories (given at the Colorado Legislature) of conversion ...

Reclaiming American Values

“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth, universal brotherhood and good will, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded.”  ~Eleanor Roosevelt In an environment that becomes increasingly politically polarized with each passing week, it can be challenging to both hold resolutely to values and to create a community in which lofty concepts like “truth,” “justice,” and “patriotism” do not necessarily belong to one group over others. And yet, at Citizens Project, ...

Minority Rights, the Fight Against Terrorism, and the Constitution

by Dr. Schuyler Foerster   Professor Edward Corwin, an eminent legal and political scholar, wrote that the U.S. Constitution is an “invitation to struggle”—an invitation to struggle among competing ideas, among competing centers of power, and among competing responsibilities in the exercise of governmental authority. In the domain of national security, the “invitation to struggle” built into the Constitution has been tested many times.  In combatting terrorism, these Constitutional issues have taken on different and much more complex forms.  They also require more careful attention on our part if we are to strike the proper ...

Why school board elections matter- a high school student’s perspective

At Mesa Ridge High School students are actively encouraged  to look beyond the campus for opportunities to be an involved citizen. One way teachers do this is to get students thinking about  the implications of elections at the local, state, and federal level.  From this discussion, the students wrote an essay that reflected their views on this important subject. So often we adults ask each other, what is best for the students? Now, instead, we are asking the students what they think is best for them.  With the school board elections in mind, students were asked to think about the school board as an institution. They were prompted  to think ...

VIDEO: Citizens Project Vision for the Future, 2015

This video was featured at the June 2015 Creating Community Breakfast. Featuring interviews from Jody Alyn, Don DeAngelis, Alison Garscadden, Bernie Herpin, Rosemary Lytle, Mary Lou Makepeace, Jan Martin, and Jariah Walker. Citizens Project is excited to be a vital part of the future of the Pikes Peak region! We invite you to be a part of OUR future!

THANK YOU for making the 2015 Creating Community Breakfast a success!

byJane Ard-Smith, Chair, Citizens Project Board of Directors What an incredible journey this morning at Citizens Project's Eleventh Annual Creating Community Breakfast! We looked at our past, through the eyes of Peg Bacon and Richard Skorman, we explored the Citizens Project of today through the inspiring words of Courtney Stone and Reverend Benjamin Broadbent, and we peeked into the future through the eyes of amazing community leaders. We capped it off with a performance by spoken word artist Idris Goodwin, who had the audience on their feet and cheering! What could top that? I can think of three things - first, everyone in attendance helped create ...

Legal Precedent, Religious Freedom, and the Hobby Lobby Court Decision

By Anya Arndt Religious freedom in the United States will never look the same again; while the majority of Supreme Court justices believe that their ruling on the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case will not be taken to extremes, history tells us otherwise. In fact, it was unexpected consequences of the ruling on the Citizens United case that partially allowed the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling to turn out as it did. When Citizens United is boiled down to its fundamental principle that corporations have the same rights as individuals, it translates into the Supreme Court’s ruling on the side of Hobby Lobby as a corporation with religious beliefs. As I ...