In
the 1960s, these words were written by Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.:
"We are witnessing in our day the birth of a new age,
with a new structure of freedom and justice. Now, as
we face the fact of this new, emerging world, we must
face the responsibilities that come along with it. A
new age brings with it new challenges....
First, we are challenged to rise above the narrow
confines of our individualistic concerns to the
broader concerns of all humanity. The new world is a
world of geographical togetherness. This means that no
individual or nation can live alone. We must all learn
to live together, or we will be forced to die
together.
...Through our scientific genius we have made of the
world a neighborhood; now through our moral and
spiritual genius we must make of it brotherhood. We
are all involved in the single process. Whatever
affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are
all links in the great chain of humanity. . . We have
before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new
dimension of love into the veins of our civilization."
The
love so many of us would like to see injected into the
veins of civilization must first pour into us. Society
will not transform until we transform; what’s wrong
“out there” is but a mere reflection of what’s wrong
“in here.” This is liberating news if we see it that
way. Once we recognize that our minds are the causal
level of worldly events, then we are free to seek to
change the world by changing our thoughts about the
world.