Unity

Gov. Martin O'Malley began his second term Wednesday with a call for unity, tolerance and respect in the face of the challenges confronting the state. "We need each other just as much as the next generation needs us," O'Malley said from a temporary stage built at the steps of the State House after taking the oath of office. "We cannot allow our individual sense of entitlement to tear apart our shared sense of community. " The Democrat highlighted what he called the greatest achievements from his first term, including investments in biotechnology and renewable energy, reductions in homicides and traffic deaths, and steps to protect the Chesapeake Bay. O'Malley used the word "forward" a dozen times as he expressed hope that the next four years would see the state economy grow, crime go down, and education and the environment improve.

Hundreds of students, alumni and professors at Towson University gathered Tuesday to declare that the school stands for tolerance and diversity, and that a student who has attracted international news coverage for advocating racial segregation does not represent them. Some of those attending the student-planned rally said they were deeply frustrated and angry with news media attention to student Matthew Heimbach's White Student Union and the nighttime patrols that he said are aimed at fighting crime.

A former plastics salesman, House Speaker John A. Boehner stood before the GOP majority with a pitch: Members must stick together like never before, not only for the sake of their agenda in Congress, but for the larger prize of reclaiming the White House this fall. It was a complicated sell at the GOP's annual retreat, held Friday at the Marriott Waterfront in Harbor East, as Boehner faced rambunctious lawmakers still intent on changing how Washington does business. Though Republicans said they were humbled and frustrated by last year's bruising political warfare, some in the tea party-powered majority are ready to go at it again.

Shortly before the season began, Maryland men's basketball players sat down at computers, logged in with special passwords and began answering seven probing questions not only about basketball, but about themselves. "From whom do you seek input and opinions before making personal decisions?" said one question. "Whom do you rely upon when your team needs unity and motivation?" said another. The exercise, overseen by a consultant, might not be as important as practicing ball-screen defense or running breaks.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir appealed for unity yesterday from American Jewish leaders, many of whose views on the Middle East peace process clash with his.Otherwise, he argued, Israel will be perceived as isolated as it heads into difficult negotiations with the Arabs."

NEW YORK -- Memo: To Democratic elders.From: Heather N. Donaldson, 18, of Loganberry Land, Fulton.Subject: Unity, individuality and the Democratic Party's future: "We have to discover our unity. It can't be forced on us," Ms. Donaldson said. If individual conscience is sacrificed to the goal of unity, she added, the party's future is in danger.Ms. Donaldson sounded her cautionary message yesterday during a meeting of Maryland delegates. Her concerns were generated by Wednesday night's presidential voting on the convention floor.

Mothers whose children played quietly in the background, men and women in business suits, and construction workers in jeans and T-shirts printed with "Property of the U.S. Prayer Force" came to Vietnam Memorial Park in Westminster yesterday to pray.As a chime tolled noon, the people of different backgrounds came together with one intent as they joined hands in prayers for peace and unity."We need to pray for this country," said Larry Owens, who spent his lunch hour at the gathering. "Prayer will turn it around."

Women who have found themselves locked in abusive relationships have been turning to Unity for long-term help.Unity, a nonprofit advocacy group for battered women and their children, was formed in 1985 by Angela M. Lee, 50, of Eldersburg, and five other volunteers. The group operates in connection with shelters, local governments, public libraries and school guidance counselors, emphasizing that the help it gives is just a phone call away."We give victims a basic overall comprehension and provide them with people who can talk out specifics," she said.

DURBAN, South Africa -- The African National Congress flexed its political muscle yesterday with a display of strength in the middle of the territory claimed by its biggest rival for the black vote.Drawn in part by Nelson Mandela, the ANC leader, and in part by promises of entertainment and traditional healers, about 60,000 people overflowed King's Park, a stadium that the weekend before had held a gathering of white South Africans drawn to a championship rugby game -- the closest thing this country has to the Super Bowl.

SO MUCH has changed, it is difficult to remember how things were before Sept. 11. Then, President Bush was pushing parts of his agenda for which he had the least mandate. Now, he is a president for all Americans, avoiding controversy. Then, his legitimacy was questioned as no president's had been since Rutherford B. Hayes. Now, former opponents and critics have rallied around his leadership. Not only that, but some potential challengers to congressional incumbents have sworn off the 2002 campaign for fear of breaking unity.

President Barack Obama began his second term Monday by calling for an end to the rigid ideologies of modern politics but laying out a broad policy agenda more likely to stoke partisan confrontation than avoid it. Looking out over hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall, many waving U.S. flags, Obama offered a defense of government safety-net programs while arguing for historic action on climate change, immigration, gay rights...

It's hard to recognize the Democratic Party these days. In recent decades, it's been a divided, brawling tribe. But this year, Democrats are one big, happy family. Sure, there was grumbling from the left over President Barack Obama's agreement to keep tax cuts in place for couples making between $250,000 and $450,000 a year. But that quickly gave way to satisfaction that Mr. Obama had won the "fiscal cliff" fight, and growing confidence that he can win the next round over the federal debt ceiling as well.

Letter writer Alan Walden is right ("A stranger in his own land," Nov. 9). He is a stranger in his own land. Mr. Walden is having difficulty adjusting to a world where us white guys no longer rule. He and his Republican Party continue to try and put a round peg is a square hole. The country has changed before his very eyes, and there is no going back. Apparently, he has trouble accepting that. Mr. Walden wonders where the unity went. I wonder if that unity ever existed. The "Balkanized groups" that Mr. Walden refers to have been suppressed and discriminated against for many years.

The Prince George's CountyDepartment of Corrections celebrated Hispanic Heritage MonthFriday with motivational bilingual speeches from outreach ministries, Latin music and dance. For many of the inmates, it was not only a chance to break the monotony of their prison sentence, but to feel connected to other Latinos in and outside of the jail walls. "It illuminates the fact that we're from different countries, but we're all brothers and sisters," said Bryant Jones, 24. Jones was born in Panama and attended a bilingual school in Clayton, near the Panama Canal.

When 18-year-old Laura Ryan entered the 31st Annual Congressional Art Competition, she wanted to make a statement with her artwork. “Each section represents a different person,” says Ryan of her oil painting, “Unity,” which was selected to represent the 7th Congressional District. “The point was to show that even though we're different people from different places, we still unify into one face.” Every spring since 1982, the Congressional Institute has sponsored a nationwide art competition for high school students.

Eleven years after the fateful events of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans still pause to remember the tragedy that befell the nation that day. In the days and weeks after the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil in history, Americans came together in shock, grief and outrage over the murder of 3,000 of our fellow citizens. Even as we mourned our dead, we celebrated the heroism of the police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who risked their lives to save others - the highest expression of our national identity.

At Unity African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Severn, the visiting choir arrives on cassette tape, the pews are brown folding chairs and the sanctuary bears a striking resemblance to a school cafeteria.But with few of the trappings of an established church, the Rev. Myrtle Bowen and her small flock are determined to make a go of it.Bowen and a congregation of one brought Unity from its Crofton home of one year to Van Bokkelen Elementary School on Reece Road in September.Nearly three months and two church-sponsored block parties later, the membership stands at 22, including seven who joined Sunday.

WON'T DEMOCRATS have to kill or cripple every Bush initiative to set him up for the election of 2004? Won't Republicans be unable to resist pushing a sharply conservative agenda now that, finally, they're running the show? It would be a pity if either scenario prevails. Leaders on both sides of the congressional aisle must be smarter politicians than that. The stakes couldn't be higher. The nation may be headed for an economic downturn. We need an overhauled Social Security system. Public schools need a leader in the White House if, in fact, the nation believes no child should be left behind.

The Sun editorial "Mr. Abbas' mission" (Feb. 13) is a triumph of wishful thinking over analysis. Its self-contradictions and omissions include: •Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "would have to exercise the kind of statesmanship that has been sadly lacking among the Palestinians for generations" to lead a unity government of his Fatah movement and the terrorist Hamas to peace with Israel. "It's too early to say" if he could. It's hardly too early to say the 74-year-old Mr. Abbas can't and won't.

Signs of movement toward renewed cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have Israeli officials on edge. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization committed to its destruction and has shunned negotiations. In the wake of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts last fall to sidestep negotiations with Israel and seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state, it is easy to see this as another ominous sign for the prospects for peace. But there is another possibility at work.