In the U.S., today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January each year to commemorate his birthday, which is January 15th. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech from 1963 is well known, and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. His words are powerful. In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in Sweden, he stated,
"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need
for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and
retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love....there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow."
"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need
for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and
retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love....there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow."
In his speech in Manila yesterday, Pope Francis proclaimed,
"We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a
society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each
child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. And we need to care for our young
people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets."
Today, when reading through my Twitter feed, I was struck by the contrasting stories. One contained a video featuring homeless children living in New York expressing their dreams, ranging from being a fireman, to being "like my big sister." Another story contained appalling statistics about the wealthiest people in the world: the richest 1% of people worldwide own almost half of the world's wealth. Inequality--racial, social, and educational-- is here and now, not just in the 1960's, and it is worldwide.
Dr. King once asked, "What are you doing for others?" Last year, I completed a wonderful online course called The Science of Happiness, offered through edX (which I totally recommend to all)! One week, the topic was: Kindness and Compassion, and through videos and articles, various aspects of the two were discussed, including challenges and how to overcome them. Many people feel that they are just too busy to help, or tend to help people who are just like them, or believe that they are just not capable of making a difference. It starts with a choice. So, today, make a choice to get involved, if you aren't already. Many of my friends are educators, several of my friends volunteer with their entire family at food banks, and one friend was an executive producer for the film, "Every Three Seconds," which describes the efforts of five ordinary people in their quest to address two global issues, hunger and extreme poverty. Wherever you are, whatever you do, however big or small, you decide. Your involvement will make a difference.
Help be the light at the end of the tunnel!
References:
King, Jr., Martin Luther. (1964). Acceptance speech. Nobelprize.org
Staff Reporter. (2015). More than six million attend largest papal Mass in history. Catholic Herald.
"We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a
society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each
child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. And we need to care for our young
people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets."
Today, when reading through my Twitter feed, I was struck by the contrasting stories. One contained a video featuring homeless children living in New York expressing their dreams, ranging from being a fireman, to being "like my big sister." Another story contained appalling statistics about the wealthiest people in the world: the richest 1% of people worldwide own almost half of the world's wealth. Inequality--racial, social, and educational-- is here and now, not just in the 1960's, and it is worldwide.
Dr. King once asked, "What are you doing for others?" Last year, I completed a wonderful online course called The Science of Happiness, offered through edX (which I totally recommend to all)! One week, the topic was: Kindness and Compassion, and through videos and articles, various aspects of the two were discussed, including challenges and how to overcome them. Many people feel that they are just too busy to help, or tend to help people who are just like them, or believe that they are just not capable of making a difference. It starts with a choice. So, today, make a choice to get involved, if you aren't already. Many of my friends are educators, several of my friends volunteer with their entire family at food banks, and one friend was an executive producer for the film, "Every Three Seconds," which describes the efforts of five ordinary people in their quest to address two global issues, hunger and extreme poverty. Wherever you are, whatever you do, however big or small, you decide. Your involvement will make a difference.
Help be the light at the end of the tunnel!
References:
King, Jr., Martin Luther. (1964). Acceptance speech. Nobelprize.org
Staff Reporter. (2015). More than six million attend largest papal Mass in history. Catholic Herald.