One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people
fail to remain awake through great periods of social change.
Every
society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities
of the
indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.
But
today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake,
to adjust
to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face to the challenge
of change.
The large house in which we live
demands that we transform this world-wide
neighborhood into world-wide brotherhood. Together we much learn
to live as
brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools.
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are
confronted with
the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life
and history there
is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the
thief of time.
Life often leaves us standing bare,
naked and dejected with a lost opportunity.
There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our
vigilance or our
neglect.
'The moving finer writes, and having
writ moves on...' This may be
mankind's last chance to choose between chaos and community.
-Martin Luther
King, Jr.
