“One love, One heart
Let’s get together and feel all right
Hear the children crying (One Love)
Hear the children crying (One Heart)
Sayin’ give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right
Sayin’ let’s get together and feel all right…
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
There ain’t no hiding place from the Father of Creation.”
– Bob Marley “One Love”
If we’ve learned anything from the first year of the Obama presidency, it’s that we can’t afford to sit around and wait for Washington to address the pressing problems of the poor. The Nobel Peace Prize-winner in the White House’s flowery, rhetorical flourishes notwithstanding, never-ending campaign speeches are doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of the many millions of Americans who are unemployed, uninsured, losing their homes, or simply stuck in the slums. And you can also forget about that morally-bankrupt Congress which only answers to the corporatocracy.
Just because American society is conveniently structured in such a fashion that you never actually have to see the unfortunate folks living in the ghetto or in shelters or in the homeless camps sprouting up all over the country doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The question remains: Are you your brother’s keeper?
Take a moment to reflect before you respond because, believe it or not, the way you answer is likely to be answered in the same way by most people like you. And if you don’t embrace Christ’s calling to get out of your comfort zone to care for the least of your brethren, neither will others who are similarly situated. For apathy on an individual level manifests as insanity on a mass scale.
As the country’s infrastructure quietly crumbles, the “haves” continue to rationalize remaining in denial, and living beyond their economic, ecological and emotional means, as if the poverty, pollution or hopelessness wreaking havoc on the “have-nots” could never reach their idyllic suburban oases. However, in truth, hope for humanity rests in each of our accepting our responsibility to do our part and by embracing the selfless ideal suggested by the sage, spiritual adage, “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.”
To hear One Love performed by street musicians all over the world, visit:
