By substituting the name of your own country for 'America' and 'person' for 'man', I think you will agree that Martin Luther King's message in the following speech is timeless:
Who can stir us thus today? Who can help us find that moral compass so necessary to heal the world? We are all part of the solution, if we can rouse ourselves beyond the perennial self-interest that shackles us.
Lorne, Martin Luther King changed America. Indeed a great man.
ReplyDeleteThen there was Nelson Mandela who changed the world. Such leaders are so rare. Look at the world now and there is not a single leader who can move the people the way these two did.
Courage, moral vision and the desire and ability to inspire are tragically missing in our world, LeDaro. I suspect that is why when a true giant passes away, the world takes note.
DeleteHow prescient was that? It's both uplifting and intensely depressing when you survey the state of society and the shell of democracy we endure so complacently today unaware that merely fosters worse outcomes tomorrow.
ReplyDeletePrescient and timeless, Mound. Much of the world hungers for real leadership, but is denied. I wonder if one has to be of a certain age to realize the true state of things today?
DeleteThere may be something to that, Lorne. As you go through life you can acquire a yardstick of experience against which to measure the present. The trick is to prevent the past from being recalled as more glamorous or wonderful than it truly was. Still, anyone who experienced the climate we enjoyed in the 60s and 70s - and can still recall those days - can grasp how the depth of our decline.
DeleteOn a certain age - I have teenaged students who get it and are driven to work for change. They're the minority, but they're there.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Chris Hedges as today's leader? He doesn't have the orator skills, but he's very convincing.
Hi Marie. During my teaching career I would occasionally encounter a student who was so knowledgeable and passionate about issues that it warmed my soul and gave me hope for the future. I always hope such people have a positive impact on society as they go about their lives and careers.
DeleteChris Hedges, for whom I have a deep admiration, is an interesting suggestion. Like an Old Testament prophet, he fearlessly points out our many shortcomings and warns us of the consequences of our folly. Unfortunately, he does not seem to have the high-profile of a Martin Luther King, no doubt in part because he is virtually shut out of the mainstream media now, despite the fact that he is an award-winning journalist who used to work for the NYT. Hedges is one of the reasons I am an avid reader of alternative new sites.