By Dr. C.E.S. Originally published 12-12-1968 The Michigan Chronicle © All Rights Reserved.
What the world needs in 1969 is LOVE. In a world gone mad with lust for power and blinded by personal hatreds and group prejudices, only a large-scale revival of the spirit of love and concern for one’s fellow man will see us through safely.
As the late John Steinbeck is reported to have written: “The rich hate the poor and taxes. The young hate the draft. The Democrats hate the Republicans, and everybody hates the Russians.” And Steinbeck could have added many other examples, with racial hatred heading the entire list.
If we could make a New Year’s resolution for America and Americans it would be very simple. We would resolve that every American who speaks with hate should speak with love instead. And all those who now talk of love should stop talking so much and begin to practice more of what they preach.
Such a resolution would be a large order to fill. Perhaps the most difficult thing about it is the fact that it would require a change of values and a drastic rearrangement of national priorities.
It is no big thing for America to feed her starving children in Mississippi. There is plenty of food for everyone in this richest of all nations. But the children in Mississippi will continue to hunger until more well-fed Americans recognize their personal share of blame for the inhumanity that permits starvation in the midst of plenty.
We do not believe the problems of the cities are insoluble. The ill-housed, the ill-fed, and undereducated of the nation’s urban centers can be helped. But they will not be substantially helped until more affluent Americans come to grips with the truth that they share, by their actions or by their negligence, in the blame for the problems.
It is unthinkable that this nation’s social problems cannot be solved. There is no lack of skill and know-how. There is no lack of resources. There is lacking only a recognition of national responsibility and a burning desire to achieve solutions.
We needed no added proof of America’s capability to solve problems. But if we needed further evidence of that capability, it was there for all to see in the most recent conquest of space – a brilliantly conceived and skillfully executed step towards landing a man on the moon.
There also, though not so readily obvious to viewers, was the proof of America’s desire to conquer space – our desire to beat the Russians to the moon, for whatever that is worth. That desire is expressed in the high priority given to the space program, the wealth of technical competence devoted to it, and the billions of dollars spent to bring together the necessary men, materials, and machines.
We hear little protest voiced against the race to the moon, and we offer none here. What we want in 1969, and what our country so urgently needs, is an expression of an equally great national desire to conquer its homespun social problems. We pray that in the new year a greater love for his fellow man will inspire each and every American to help create that national desire.
As the late John Steinbeck is reported to have written: “The rich hate the poor and taxes. The young hate the draft. The Democrats hate the Republicans, and everybody hates the Russians.” And Steinbeck could have added many other examples, with racial hatred heading the entire list.
If we could make a New Year’s resolution for America and Americans it would be very simple. We would resolve that every American who speaks with hate should speak with love instead. And all those who now talk of love should stop talking so much and begin to practice more of what they preach.
Such a resolution would be a large order to fill. Perhaps the most difficult thing about it is the fact that it would require a change of values and a drastic rearrangement of national priorities.
It is no big thing for America to feed her starving children in Mississippi. There is plenty of food for everyone in this richest of all nations. But the children in Mississippi will continue to hunger until more well-fed Americans recognize their personal share of blame for the inhumanity that permits starvation in the midst of plenty.
We do not believe the problems of the cities are insoluble. The ill-housed, the ill-fed, and undereducated of the nation’s urban centers can be helped. But they will not be substantially helped until more affluent Americans come to grips with the truth that they share, by their actions or by their negligence, in the blame for the problems.
It is unthinkable that this nation’s social problems cannot be solved. There is no lack of skill and know-how. There is no lack of resources. There is lacking only a recognition of national responsibility and a burning desire to achieve solutions.
We needed no added proof of America’s capability to solve problems. But if we needed further evidence of that capability, it was there for all to see in the most recent conquest of space – a brilliantly conceived and skillfully executed step towards landing a man on the moon.
There also, though not so readily obvious to viewers, was the proof of America’s desire to conquer space – our desire to beat the Russians to the moon, for whatever that is worth. That desire is expressed in the high priority given to the space program, the wealth of technical competence devoted to it, and the billions of dollars spent to bring together the necessary men, materials, and machines.
We hear little protest voiced against the race to the moon, and we offer none here. What we want in 1969, and what our country so urgently needs, is an expression of an equally great national desire to conquer its homespun social problems. We pray that in the new year a greater love for his fellow man will inspire each and every American to help create that national desire.