It hasn’t gone away you know. The debate on death row rumbles on. Now there are calls in England for re-introducing the death penalty there. They follow in the wake of a particularly gruesome murder. Yet the question remains what would re-introducing the death penalty actually achieve?
For some people, of course, it would be a kind of revenge, especially if a loved one of theirs had been harmed or killed. On the other hand they might remember the words of Benjamin Franklin who said, ‘Tis more noble to forgive, and more manly to despise, than to revenge an Injury.”
Certainly murderers have to be punished. Certainly society has to be kept safe from them. What sort of society, though, hangs, shoots and electrocutes prisoners? It must surely be one that has never heard of rehabilitation or of Christian forgiveness.
Keeping people on death row for years is inhumane. The fact that they have committed dreadful crimes doesn’t take away from the fact that a prison system that keeps them there awaiting a grisly death is a crime in itself. There can be no doubt too but that some of them are innocent and many of them have mental problems which deserve medical treatment. After all what kind of normal person commits crimes of this sort?
Prison is not the only punishment for crime. Murderers and rapists who are a threat to others certainly need to be locked up but perhaps in a different environment than prison. Certainly we should be doing our best to ensure that they develop the work ethic and that they have the opportunity to learn how to become productive. Uninhabited islands might be used where farming methods could be taught. They might be put to doing some work in undeveloped countries. The death penalty certainly kills some of those who are dangers to society but others quickly take their place because society hasn’t tackled the social problems they breed the law of the jungle. Nor has it given them the message that they can become better people. Every time we execute a prisoner we are killing our own humanity.

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Thanksgiving Day is celebrated more widely than Christmas and that’s understandable. Whether or not we believe in Christianity we all know when we have reasons to be thankful. That is not to say, of course, that we always remember to be thankful. In our busy lives we often groan and moan about what we haven’t got. We aspire to bigger houses and better cars. We want more money. If the recession has taught us anything it may have taught us that these things aren’t important anymore.  What are important are all the things we celebrate at Thanksgiving. On that day we acknowledge the importance of family life, of food on the table and of the freedom to celebrate.
On that day it would do us no harm to spare a thought or a prayer for those less fortunate in our world. The group Amnesty tells us about prisoners of conscience throughout the world. The newspapers tell us about the starving in Africa, about drought and flooding. Each one of us knows someone who is ill or in hospital. So when we are gathered around that family table let’s stop and think how lucky we are and each, in our own way, express thanks for the gifts we’ve been given…

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Just now many people are searching for Christmas gifts for loved ones. Sometimes it’s very easy to choose but sometimes it’s more difficult. Your children will write their letters to Santa but what do you buy for that someone who has everything?
One thing that we all have in common is our personal genealogy. So why not start them on a fascinating hobby by giving them a book into which they could put details of their own family history? You might even give them a gift token for some genealogical research. Even better you could start off the research yourself and give them what you have got with the challenge to go further back in through the generations. It could give their life a whole new meaning as they found out who the goodies and baddies were in the family because, let’s be honest, all families have a mixture of both. Your Christmas message could be simple. Never forget your roots - you’re a branch on the family tree.

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So they have discovered water on the moon. The scientists may be thrilled about that but our own water is a bigger problem right now. We have droughts in some countries and floods in others and marine pollution as well. Let’s get our own world in order before we bother about outer space. After all the fact that there is water on the moon doesn’t help the people whose crops are failing because of lack of it and it doesn’t do residents whose homes are flooded any good to know that there is also water on the moon. Added to that we have countries where water is simply being wasted because the water pipes are so old they leak. We have vanishing fish stocks because of water pollution and naturally it affects the tourist industry in such countries too. So let’s forget about the moon for the moment and do something about this planet and what we are doing to it. The old saying, “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink” has a horribly threatening sound. That is, of course, if we are not all drowned!

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They are working on a new way to help people quit smoking. They hope within a few years to provide a vaccination against this nasty habit. After all let’s be honest about it smokers stink. Sitting beside smokers in a bus or a train is an endurance test for non-smokers and one they should not have to endure. It won’t seemingly be just one injection but a series of five. If and when it comes on the market it will surely be a best seller. After all cigarettes are a drug. They are hard to give up no matter how much the smoker may want to do so. They will certainly get encouragement from their loved ones to have these injections because second hand smoke affects others dangerously too. Smoking is a major cause of lung cancer and other illnesses and cost countries millions in lost earnings. Smokers also cost local authorities millions in cleaning up their mess. So Governments everywhere should give every support to these tests. Let’s help smokers to help themselves.

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What topics make for the most interesting speeches? For specific audiences of course you may have to give specific speeches. A motivational sales speech will go down well with sales staff. For a mixed audience though you can’t beat health subjects.
All of us either have health problems ourselves or know of people with them. Diabetes is a growing problem these days as is obesity so speeches on either of those topics is certainly topical. We are always being warned about skin cancer and summers with a high pollen count also brings untold misery to millions with hay fever. If you give a speech on these subjects you will be speaking about a subject people understand. They may not know much about these illnesses but you can enlighten them in your speech. That is not to say that what you say should be mournful, you can make it upbeat and interesting. Above all you can make people think. You can help them to understand how different lifestyles affect our health. Lots of people get sick through no fault of their own but lots more get sick because they eat or drink or stay out in the sun too much. For such people a good speech topic would be health it’s in your own hands.

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Sometimes it’s hard to think of a subject for a speech. After all you might imagine that by now most subjects have already been covered. They have, of course, but if you speak with passion you’ll capture the attention of your audience.
So why not choose a subject about which you feel strongly? It’s quite likely if you do your audience will have strong views too. So speak about abortion, or euthanasia. Talk about shooting down the gun lobby or racism or even tell your audience that smokers stink… Choose a subject that really affects people’s lives and you will grab the attention of those present…
Be clever about what you say. No matter how strongly you feel recognise that other may feel equally strongly against what you are saying. You can get them to listen by appreciating their standpoint. You might, for instance, say you understand how someone with a terminally ill child may wish to put them out of their suffering. Show your humanity but stick to your beliefs and give good reasons why those beliefs are the right ones. You may not change the minds of your audience but if you really believe in what you are saying you will give a good speech.

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Hurricane Ida is yet another in a long list of hurricanes. It seems that never a day goes by but we don’t hear of yet another natural disaster. If it isn’t hurricanes it is volcanos or failing that, earthquakes. That’s without mentioning the tsunami the killer wave waiting to strike.
The consequences of all these phenomena are tragic and hugely expensive in terms of life and money. Cities and roads have to be rebuilt for instance not to mention the millions spent on treatment of the injured and emergency workers and equipment. There are experts of course who study these things but isn’t it time that much more money and resources were put into research and into saving lives? If hurricanes can cause so much heartache in the U.S. with its warning systems just imagine the damage they can do in poorer regions of the world.
Isn’t it time at risk areas were pinpointed worldwide? Isn’t it time warning systems were shared on a much wider basis with less well developed nations? There are houses built to withstand earthquakes but not enough of them and often not in the places they are needed most.  Most of all, isn’t it time people who live in at risk areas were moved to somewhere safer? Natural disasters have always existed of course but climate change is extreme we need to prepare for the worst.

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Halloween has become almost as commercialised as Christmas. Children won’t play Trick or Treat unless they have appropriate costumes. Every store has hats and brooms for witches. Every home that has children has to be decorated too. There’s no need to ask, ”Is there a ghost in the house?” because at least one of the children will be dressed up in a white sheet uttering ghostly noises. In many windows hallowed out pumpkins hold candles which cast out a flickering light, thus adding to the ghostly atmosphere. It’s doubtful whether today’s children play those old-fashioned Halloween games such as snap apple any more. It’s even more doubtful whether they put chestnuts to roast on an open fire. Busy parents buy their costumes these days instead of making them. Yet despite these differences children still love dressing up, taking a bag and knocking on doors hoping to be given lots of lovely things to eat. Halloween may be commercialised but children will always be children.

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Terrorism - Are we fanning the flames? That’s the question that President Obama must ask himself before agreeing to send even more troops to Afghanastan. The army may say they need more troops on the ground but are they already driving more Afghans into the arms of the militants? What benefit will there be from sending more troops? Perhaps its time to start another war but this time one on want. The army is full of engineers, doctors and builders who could make such a difference in poor countries by providing facilities that people lack. If they were doing that perhaps the answer to the question would be an unqualified “Yes”. The more troops they send the sooner the war on want could be won.

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