Let Us Give Thanks

 Historical Forms of Killing That Used to Be Socially Approved and Rampant but Can Barely Be Found Now
 

• Duels

• Gladiator games

• Burning of “witches” and “heretics”

 Historical Forms of Killing That Used to Be Socially Approved and Widespread Yet Are Now Fairly Uncommon in the World:
 

• Executions for crimes other than homicide

• Public killing or torture to “set an example”

• Ceremonial human sacrifice

• Law-enforced slavery

• Lynching, tar-and-feathering, and other vigilante mob violence

Current Forms of Killing –
Signs of Subsiding
 
Abortion
 
        As of September 19, 2019, the Alan Guttmacher Institute headlines the abortion rate in the United States is still dropping. They being the research arm of Planned Parenthood, they have different assertions about the causes of this than we would make. But they are probably the best source of abortion statistics.  
 
         They report:
 
The number of abortions fell by 196,000—a 19% decline from 1,058,000 abortions in 2011 to 862,000 abortions in 2017.
 
The abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44) fell by 20%, from 16.9 in 2011 to 13.5 in 2017.
 
The abortion ratio (the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies ending in either abortion or live birth) fell 13%, from 21.2 in 2011 to 18.4 in 2017.
 
War
 
        While there’s still overwhelmingly too much war, especially civil wars, the practice of major countries spending many years in fighting each other has clearly ebbed: 
 
 

 Graphic from Our World in Data

 
Nuclear Weapons

        The United Nations has negotiated a treaty on The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), now in the process of being ratified. Two-thirds of the world’s countries support TPNW.  While those who actually have nuclear weapons oppose the treaty, making actual implementation a practical problem, it’s progress for increasing the stigma on these weapons of mass destruction.         

Death Penalty
 
        In the United States – the long range trend:
 

        In the world:
 

 Remember Consistent Life on #GivingTuesday!
 
        #GivingTuesday, which falls on December 3, is a special day for donating to charities and other groups working to improve our world. Please consider making a donation to the Consistent Life Network on #GivingTuesday. 
         For over 30 years, Consistent Life has stood up for life in the face of threats from abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, poverty, racism, and war. We need your help to continue our work. Thank you for your support.

 Quotations of the Week
 
Psalms 100:1,2,4

         Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Worship God with gladness; come into God’s presence with joyful singing! . . . Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and the courts with praise; give thanks to God and praise God’s name.
 
Buddha (563-483 B.C.E.)
 
         Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
 
Qu’ran translation, from 31:12 (Khattab)
 
        Be grateful to God, for whoever is grateful, it is only for their own good. And whoever is ungrateful, then surely God is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.

Responses/News Tips/Questions to share are all welcome.

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