#276 | Teresa Amabile | Add Love as the First Value & Define It

Submission 276
Teresa Amabile
Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence (Northampton, MA) 4816

What is your suggestion or idea?

Add love as the first value, and define it: ““Love. We show unconditional compassion and respect for all in the human family, including ourselves.””

What is the reason for your amendment idea?

I agree that love should be at the center of our shared values. If that is so, then love should be the first value. Moreover, the word ““love”” is used throughout the proposed Article II, but it is vague, never clearly defined. It should be! I believe that respect and compassion are core elements of the love that infuses Beloved Community.

Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?

Yes, I have discussed this idea, both in a meeting and through comments in a shared document, with several members of our congregation, including the Minister and the RE Director. There were no objections to the idea, and several others contributed to refining the definition of love.

1 Like

I absolutely agree with this suggestion and was puzzled by the description of “7 values” but then only 6 descriptions. Thank you Teresa for your thoughtful suggestion. I am a proponent of “for all beings” to replace the “human family” but that is very negotiable. Having a definition and explanation of all 7 Values is crucial as well as logical.

I totally agree with this. Love should be clearly stated as an underlying value. It is implied, but it needs more. But not just love for the human family, but all beings and the environment.

Isn’t “love for the environment” what we call “interdependence”? Isn’t “love for the human family” what we call “Equity” and “Justice”?

From my perspective, the many machinations of love are woven into the other ideas/principles/values that we’ve laid out. Love doesn’t stand separately from any of these ideas, and it doesn’t emerge as a single, unifying concept. It is a common thread, but it’s not the Godhead of our religion, and a single word that tries to mean everything will mean nothing.