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Brotherhood of Man

It is one thing to sit with friends over coffee and pound our fists in indignation over governmental policies that misrepresent our conscience or our citizenship, or to watch the evening news and feel wrenched by stories of injustice and pain. And quite another to walk the walk. A seed is planted. Now what? Altruism is honorable, but ineffectual without action.

When we create, we are compelled by an internal force. Often it is passion, vision, love. Our love inspires deeper understanding; our understanding fosters compassion which motivates us to desire a just and caring society. Therefore, as creative individuals, we are ideal vehicles for change -- in our communities, our country, our world -- to be the instigators of new deeds that deviate from mankind's misdeeds: injustice, war, depletion of our planet's natural resources. 

Creative individuals transform our perceptions of the world and have since man's early beginnings. Altruistic hearts combine with creative insight to illuminate problems and unearth possible solutions. Self-determined, these individuals step up to the plate and fearlessly challenge society's norms, sometimes facing ridicule, incarceration, or even death for refusing to be silenced. It may take moments. It may take years for an incipient idea to flower into a universal ideal. If enough of the citizenry is enlightened, societal values evolve.

Consider Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement or Nelson Mandela's ripple that swelled into the tidal wave that brought down apartheid. Or Millard Fuller's inspiration to rally volunteers to build houses for the underprivileged with Habitat for Humanity.

Oftentimes we jump on a bandwagon and support a cause out of self-interest. No matter what the impetus, if the outcome benefits society or the condition of our planet, it is a good thing. But intentions can be transitory if they do not resonate from a deeper, more magnanimous consciousness.

The seventies and eighties saw our nation's highways swarming with small, fuel-efficient cars. We rode a wave of perceived social responsibility. So many of us boycotted American gas-guzzlers and tapped into the European and Japanese mentality of energy conservation that our automobile industry was forced to go back to the drawing board. And for the briefest moment, we as a nation had a unified consciousness. But it was illusive.

There was a shortage of gas, prices were high, we were inconvenienced in long lines and in our pocketbooks. As soon as gas flowed more freely and inexpensively, family vehicles became the largest and most cumbersome in our nation's history.

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