PORT ANGELES — A proposed resolution before the Port Angeles City Council tonight calls for the use of compassion while making decisions.
A proposed Charter of Compassion for Port Angeles is on the agenda of tonight’s meeting, which will start at 6 p.m. in regular session at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.
“Why does Port Angeles need a Charter for Compassion? Why now? What’s different?” Marilyn Eash of Compassion Clallam County, asked rhetorically in a press release before providing an answer.
“We live in a complex, challenging and often polarized world,” she said.
“The divisive incivility we are seeing in some public leaders and settings is not the model we want for our young people. We can give our young people and all of our community a dynamic and resilient model of how to be good citizens.
“We all need an additional compass to help navigate some of these new situations we may not have faced before.”
Compassion can be that compass, she said in the press release.
“When we look through the lens of compassion, all our 20,000 residents belong, and the 2 [million to] 3 million annual visitors feel welcomed,” she said.
The council will consider approving the resolution, which says that the council declares on behalf of residents of Port Angeles, “a shared commitment to embrace compassion as a value that we will intentionally build into the culture of our community.”
Among examples of this: “Scientific research reveals that early interventions with youth using policies of compassion show great promise for positive change. Shared responsibility for the safety and well-being of those without a place to call home is an act of compassion.”
The resolution resolves to “embrace compassion as a key value and support the exploration and development of policies and activities that integrate compassion into the daily life of our community.”
