IDEAS FOR A BETTER FUTURE
April, 2005
Vol. 4, Number 4
The SNS Press E–Zine presents new perspectives for a better future in society, politics, religion, education, self-awareness and human relations.

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DEPARTMENTS

DIPLOMACY
A hopeful approach for the future of international relations.

HELP FOR TEENS
Redirect teen rebellion towards idealism and self improvement.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION
Read excerpts from unpublished book: Science, Religion and the Search for God —Bridging the Gap.

POETRY
Poems of society, the human condition, and spiritual discovery.

TEACHERS' RESOURCES
Our student activities and curriculum materials instill an environmental, cultural, and global perspective, and integrate various academic disciplines.

 

This Month's Article

 

Life is Calling

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, I commemorated the forty-fourth anniversary of the Peace Corps this March. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers and former volunteers, shared our experiences and reaffirmed the goal of promoting world peace and friendship. The motto of the Peace Corps is "Life is Calling - How far will you go?"

The first part of the motto, "Life is Calling," strongly impacted me this past month. What is the voice of "Life?" Are we listening to its call? Are we responding?

President John F. Kennedy heard this call, and it shaped his vision for America's role in a post-war, post-colonial world. In his remarks on the establishment of the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961 he stated:

"The initial reactions to the Peace Corps proposal are convincing proof that we have, in this country, an immense reservoir of … men and women—anxious to sacrifice their energies and time and toil to the cause of world peace and human progress.... Every ... American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace."

As I write this, the Pope lies on his death bed. Much of the world is reeling from the persistent effects of natural disasters, of people displaced by wars and genocide, and of disease, poverty, and pandemics. In the wake of Theresa Schiavo's recent death, right-wing politicians hypocritically talk about "a culture of life" as they approve of war, condone torture, vigorously advocate capital punishment, and vote to turn wilderness areas into profit machines for corporations. "Life" is calling to us all the time. "Life" is more than the duration of time between conception and death. It is the call to create a peaceful, healthy, environmentally sustainable world, where all have respect, a quality life, and the ability to fulfill their potentials.

Emotional suffering has made us focus on the loss of individual life to the point of trying to prevent the natural process of human death. More important than sustaining a life that is ending, is the task of making life for those alive worth living. Recent events have made people throughout the world focus on human mortality, while making the expression of grief a common feeling uniting many diverse people. However, focusing on the individual life is distracting us from the greater "Life" that is calling to us.

How may humanity turn their feelings of grief into constructive actions to sustain the greater Life - our planet - in which we all live, and which is slowly dying because of human abuse?

The second part of the Peace Corps motto: "How far will you go" is a challenge for humanity and our politicians. The Peace Corps is an example of a political initiative focusing on improving life for humanity and for the planet. Its projects focus on sustainable development in order to improve the quality of life without harming the environment. Many non-governmental organizations with humanitarian goals or goals to preserve the environment share a similar focus. The question is: "How far are we willing to go to reverse the threats to life in which people and governments are engaged?"

If people and politicians truly value life as the current outpouring of emotion and rhetoric might indicate, are we ready to passionately and energetically act to eliminate hate and overcome our materialistic addictions? We all must act and leaders must lead to demonstrate a level of sacrifice and cooperation that will save our planet. Our greatest tribute to the dead and dying is to make the future better for the living. "Life is calling." Who is listening?

 

© 2005 Richard Sidy

RELATED ARTICLES:

Standing up for Humanity
Hope for the Future

Series on Leadership
Series on Global Consciousness
World Peace in Less Than a Month?
Can Idealism Solve Problems?

RELATED POEMS:

Disaster Relief
Making Friends

Take Heart
To Our Youth
Meteor

 

 

 

 

 

Archives 2005
Volumn 4
January: "Standing up for Humanity"
February: "The Wake of Disaster" – a poem
March: "Unity in Diversity
April: "Life is Calling"
May: "Entertainment" – a poem
June: "Thought and Imagination" part 1
July: "Thought and Imagination" part 2
August: "Imagination and Healing"
September: "Malice or Neglect? – Lessons of Katrina"
October: "Protecting Children"
November: "Intelligent Design or Evolution?"
December: "Building with one hand, destroying with the other"
Archives 2006
Volumn 5

January: "Conflict, Harmony, and Integrity"
February: "Satyagraha or Soul-force and Political Change"
March: "I Know I'm Not Alone - Wisdom of Michael Franti"
April: "Human Programming and Conflict Part I"
May: "Human Programming and Conflict Part II"
June: "Soccer Diplomacy"
July: "Sustainable Development is Nature's Way
August: "Parallel Universes"
September: "The News is not New"
October: "Legalizing Torture"
November: "Living Without an Enemy"
December: "Fast Food is really Slow Food"

Archives 2007
Volumn 6

January: "State of Fear"
February: Criminal Justice - "The Powerful Over the Weak"
March: "Culture Shock: The Good Life and Survival"
April: "March Madness"
May: "No Child Left Behind" Leaves Many Teachers Behind
June: "Personal Ecology"
July: Criminal Justice - "The Ethic of Custodianship"
August: "Exploring the Mind - part 1"
September: "Exploring the Mind - part 2: The Poetic Mind
October: "How Much Pain Can We Stand?"
November: "When Languages Disappear"
December: "Is it Enough to be Tolerant?"

Archives 2008
Volumn 7

January: "Beyond Ideology: Politics of the Future "
February: "Beyond the Bush Years"
March: "The Imaginary Economy - Part I
April: "The Imaginary Economy - Part II
May: Questions from Prison
June: "iGods and Connectivity"
July: "Energy Independence"
August: "Tribalism and the 2008 Elections
September: "Guilt, Shame and U.S. Justice"
October: "Have We Been Willing Slaves?"
November: "Are We Ready for the Future?"
December: "Are we done learning from pain?"

Archives 2009
Volumn 8

January: "Awakening"
February: "When Sacrifice is no Sacrifice"
March: "The Good New Days"
April: "The Power of Metaphor"
May: "The Conflict of Mythologies"
June: "The Time is Right"
July: "The New Anarchy"
August: "The Art of Living"
September: "Outrage"
October: "Are Women Becoming More Unhappy?

November: "Effect of the manufacturing culture on the American Psyche"
December: Who are the Real Game Changers?

Archives 2010
Volumn 9

January: The Music of Place
February: Earthquakes and Other Awakenings
March: Sense of Place, Sense of Self, Sense of Humanity
April: Why Do People Serve?
May: Decentralizing Food and Energy
June: Beyond Reading and Writing — Ecological literacy
July: Organization or Organism?
August: Fear and Cynicism = “Inter-fear-ance”
September: Are we afraid of our "Better Angels?"
October: Choosing Our Battles
November: Meeting the Need
December: A Living Canvas

Archives 2002: Vol. 1, Numbers 1-12
Read past articles including:
Hope for the Future
Six Part Series on Science and Religion
First Three Parts of the Series on Leadership
Archives 2003: Vol. 2, Numbers 1-12
Read past articles including:
Series on Leadership continued
Avoiding Dictatorship in a Free Society

Art and Politics
Living the Good Life

Teaching Teens
World Peace in Less Than a Month?
Archives 2004: Vol. 3, Numbers 1-12
Read past articles including:
Seven Part Series on Global Consciousness
Is "Liberal" a Dirty Word?
Can Idealism Solve Problems?
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

 

 


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