Submission 46 Judith Barisonzi Blue Hills UU Fellowship (Rice Lake, WI) 8426
What is your suggestion or idea?
My proposed amendment concerns Section C-2.4, Inclusion. I propose omitting, in the third sentence, the words ““who share our values.””
What is the reason for your amendment idea?
The words ““who share our values,”” while they appear innocuous, in fact pose the risk of possible use to exclude those whose ideas we disagree with. Who is in a position of authority to determine whether or not an individual holds certain values? This is a dangerous stipulation to add to a section on Inclusion.
Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?
My congregation has intensively discussed the proposed revisions to Article II. We have not yet examined specific suggestions for amendment. This proposed amendment is based on the values we discussed.
Yes, one member of our congregation was vehemently opposed to the phrase “who share our values.” You are right. Who are we to say if someone shares our values or not? I support this amendment idea.
I support revising that part of the section. I would be okay with changing the words “who share our values” to those who “respect our values” or “are in sympathy with our values.” I think that newcomers are welcome and it may take some time before they can fully say they share our values.
I have recently become aware of The Schwartz Values Scale created by Shalom Schwartz at Hebrew University, Israel. His research is about how we mostly share the same values. He identifies 10 and it is how we rank those values in different scenarios that differs. Check it out at https://yourmorals.org/start/schwartz
I also did not like the change from welcoming all to welcoming only those who share our values. I originally wanted it removed but I like the suggestion to change “share” to “respect”.