MY WORD: "HUMATERNITY"

(a letter I submitted to the editor of The Medford Mail Tribune in Oregon, USA)

Today, I'd like to introduce a philosophical term I've coined: "HUMATERNITY." It's a fusion of "humanity," "fraternity," and "maternity." "Maternity" honors motherhood and above all Mother Earth. Fraternity means a brotherly association of men, but "humaternity" includes all humans across the globe. It also contains the word "humanity," which includes charity, civilization, the humanities, and law and order.

Unfortunately, "law" in our nation and especially in Jackson County has been perverted to stand for heavy-handed injustice. Humaternity calls for minimal and just laws: written in plain English, and enforced effectively.

Our nation has contradictory tangles of unneeded laws only lawyers can read, and a higher percentage of our population behind bars than any nation on earth(look it up.) And years later, I still can't forget the inhumanity I saw in our local jail, or the dishonesty of some local police. Meanwhile, destructive crime flourishes in our streets and wealthiest corporations like Goldman and Sachs.

So I reject the ruling paradigms of our society along with the political system we share with Western Europe: electoral democracy. As a college educated writer who's travelled the world teaching English, I'm often asked what should replace it.

My answer is "humaternity" and liberty.