User blogs
1. ALEXIS CARREL, Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology
“Jesus knows our world. He does not disdain us like the God of Aristotle. We can speak to Him and He answers us. Although He is a person like ourselves, He is God and transcends all things.” (Carrel 1952, Chap. 6, Part 7).
2. ALBERT EINSTEIN, Nobel Laureate in Physics
Einstein’s attitude towards Jesus Christ was expressed in an interview, which the great scientist gave to the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post (26 October 1929):
“- To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?
- As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.
- Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?
- Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.
- You accept the historical Jesus?
- Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.” (Einstein, as cited in Viereck 1929; see also Einstein, as cited in the German magazine Geisteskampf der Gegenwart, Gütersloh, 1930, S. 235).
3. ARTHUR COMPTON, Nobel Laureate in Physics
“Jesus’ teaching and the example of His life form the most reliable guide that I have found for shaping my own actions. It is because I accept His leadership that I call myself a Christian.
I see Him as the Everest among the world’s many high mountains.” (Compton 1956, 346).
4. ROBERT MILLIKAN, Nobel Laureate in Physics
“The practical preaching of modern science - and it is the most insistent and effective preacher in the world today - is extraordinarily like the preaching of Jesus. Its keynote is service, the subordination of the individual to the good of the whole. Jesus preached it as a duty - for the sake of world-salvation. Science preaches it as a duty - for the sake of world-progress.
Jesus also preached the joy and the satisfaction of service: ‘He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.’ ” (Millikan, as cited in Kargon 1982, 147).
5. FRANCOIS MAURIAC, Nobel Laureate in Literature
“Our hearts remain full of unseen idols until we are stretched on the wood of the Cross with Christ, until we cease trying to nourish ourselves and our desires, and give ourselves completely to the poor, to the needy, to the suffering members of Christ’s body throughout the world.” (Mauriac, Notre Dame, 1964).
6. SIGRID UNDSET, Nobel Laureate in Literature
In her article “Catholic Propaganda” (1927), Sigrid Undset wrote: “There is no room in the Catholic Church for different concepts about the being of God or about the divine-human nature of Jesus Christ or about the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; because Christ himself is the way to God’s kingdom and because his death on the Cross is the secret which opens God’s kingdom to the descendants of Adam, his blood truly cleanses the sinner from all his sin, his body is truly the food which is the life of believers.” (Undset 1993).
7. T.S. ELIOT, Nobel Laureate in Literature
“Christ is the still point of the turning world.” (Eliot, as cited in Castle 2002, 219).
“The division between those who accept, and those who deny, Christian revelation I take to be the most profound division between human beings.” (Eliot, as cited in Yancey 1999, 88).
8. MOTHER TERESA, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come - today, we have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered, etc. Today - do not to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow might not come. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today.” (Mother Teresa 1991).
“Christ has come to bring the good news for you and for me. And as if that was not enough - it was not enough to become a man - He died on the cross to show that greater love, and He died for you and for me and for that leper and for that man dying of hunger and that naked person lying in the street not only of Calcutta, but of Africa, and New York, and London, and Oslo - and insisted that we love one another as He loves each one of us.” (Mother Teresa, as cited in Thee 1995, 499).
SIR FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626), founder of the scientific inductive method
1. “There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error; the first, the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the creatures, which express His power.” (Bacon, as cited in Morris 1982, 13-14).
2. “It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them, confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity.” (Bacon 1875, 64).
3. In the first chapter “Of Truth” of his Essays (1601), Lord Bacon wrote: “The first creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the sense; the last, was the light of reason; and his sabbath work ever since, is the illumination of his Spirit. First he breathed light, upon the face of the matter or chaos; then he breathed light, into the face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light, into the face of his chosen.” (Bacon 1875).
ERNST HAECKEL (1834-1919), German biologist, the most influential evolutionist in continental Europe
1. In his major philosophical work Monism as Connecting Religion and Science: The Confession of Faith of a Man of Science (1892) the pantheistic monist Ernst Haeckel wrote:
“The monistic idea of God, which alone is compatible with our present knowledge of nature, recognises the Divine spirit in all things.
God is everywhere. As Giordano Bruno has it: ‘There is one Spirit in all things, and no body is so small that it does not contain a part of the Divine substance whereby it is animated’.” (Haeckel 1895, 78).
2. “Of the various systems of pantheism which for long have given expression more or less clearly to the monistic conception of God, the most perfect is certainly that of Spinoza.” (Haeckel 1895, 79).
3. “Ever more clearly are we compelled by reflection to recognise that God is not to be placed over against the material world as an external being, but must be placed as a ‘Divine power’ or ‘moving Spirit’ within the cosmos itself.” (Haeckel 1895, 15).
4. “The charge of atheism which still continues to be levelled against our pantheism, and against the monism which lies at its root, no longer finds a response among the really educated classes of the present day.” (Haeckel 1895, 80-81).
5. “I conclude my monistic Confession of Faith with the words: ‘May God, the Spirit of the Good, the Beautiful, and the True, be with us’.” (Haeckel 1895, 89).
SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727), founder of Classical Physics and Infinitesimal Calculus
1. At the end of his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (London, 1687) Newton wrote:
“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of His dominion He is wont to be called Lord God.” (Newton 1687, Principia).
2. “From His true dominion it follows that the true God is a living, intelligent and powerful Being; and from His other perfections, that He is supreme, or most perfect. He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, His duration reaches from eternity to eternity; His presence from infinity to infinity; He governs all things, and knows all things that are or can be done.” (Newton 1687, Principia; see also Caputo 2000, 88).
3. “God made and governs the world invisibly, and has commanded us to love and worship him, and no other God; to honor our parents and masters, and love our neighbours as ourselves; and to be temperate, just, and peaceable, and to be merciful even to brute beasts. And by the same power by which he gave life at first to every species of animals, he is able to revive the dead, and has revived Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who has gone into the heavens to receive a kingdom, and prepare a place for us, and is next in dignity to God, and may be worshipped as the Lamb of God, and has sent the Holy Ghost to comfort us in his absence, and will at length return and reign over us.” (Newton, as cited in Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir David Brewster, Edinburgh, Thomas Constable and Co., 1855, Vol. II, 354).
4. “Opposite to godliness is atheism in profession, and idolatry in practice. Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind, that it never had many professors.
Can it be by accident that all birds, beasts, and men have their right side and left side alike shaped, (except in their bowels); and just two eyes, and no more, on either side of the face; and just two ears on either side of the head; and a nose with two holes; and either two forelegs, or two wings, or two arms on the shoulders, and two legs on the hips, and no more? Whence arises this uniformity in all their outward shapes but from the counsel and contrivance of an Author?
Whence is it that the eyes of all sorts of living creatures are transparent to the very bottom, and the only transparent members in the body, having on the outside a hard transparent skin, and within transparent humours, with a crystalline lens in the middle, and a pupil before the lens, all of them so finely shaped and fitted for vision, that no artist can mend them? Did blind chance know that there was light, and what was its refraction, and fit the eyes of all creatures, after the most curious manner, to make use of it? These, and suchlike considerations, always have, and ever will prevail with mankind, to believe that there is a Being who made all things, and has all things in his power, and who is therefore to be feared. We are, therefore, to acknowledge one God, infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, the Creator of all things, most wise, most just, most good, most holy. We must love him, fear him, honour him, trust in him, pray to him, give him thanks, praise him, hallow his name, obey his commandments.” (Newton, as cited in Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir David Brewster, Edinburgh, Thomas Constable and Co., 1855, Vol. II, 347-348).
5. “And when you are convinced, be not ashamed to profess the truth. For otherwise you may become a stumbling block to others, and inherit the lot of those Rulers of the Jews who believed in Christ, but yet were afraid to confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue. Wherefore, when you are convinced, be not ashamed of the truth, but profess it openly and endeavor to convince your Brother also that you may inherit at the resurrection the promise made in Daniel 12:3, that ‘they who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.’
And rejoice if you are counted worthy to suffer in your reputation or any other way for the sake of the Gospel, for then, ‘great is thy reward’!” (Newton, as cited in The Religion of Sir Isaac Newton, Frank E. Manuel – editor, London, Oxford University Press, 1974, 112). 6. “The supreme God exists necessarily, and by the same necessity He exists always and everywhere.” (Newton 1687, Principia; see also Caputo 2000, 88).
7. “Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.” (Newton, as cited in Tiner 1975).
8. “I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.” (Newton, as cited in Tiner 1975).
9. “I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.” (Newton, as cited in Morris 1982, 26).
GIORDANO BRUNO (1548-1600), Italian philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, founder of the theory of the infinite universe
1. “Wisdom is most manifest on the surface and body of all created things, for everywhere Wisdom crieth and on all sides her voice is heard. For what are all those things which we see, stars, animals, bodies and the beauty thereof, but the voices and echoes of Wisdom, the works of the Divine Being that shew forth his lofty providence, in which as in a book may be read most clearly the story of Divine Power, Wisdom and Goodness? For the invisible things of God are discovered through those things which are understood. This thou hast from Scripture.” (Bruno, as cited in Singer 1950, 60-61).
2. “God, that most fertile Mind, will indeed send Wisdom, but what sort of Wisdom? Only such as can be adapted to our mental vision, in the shadow of light; as from the Sun who cannot be reached nor apprehended, who in himself continueth mysteriously and steadfastly in infinite light, yet his pervasive radiance descendeth to us by the emission of rays and is communicated and diffused throughout all things.” (Bruno, as cited in Singer 1950, 59-60).
3. “The One Infinite is perfect, in simplicity, of itself, absolutely, nor can aught be greater or better. This is the one Whole, God, universal Nature, occupying all space, of whom naught but infinity can give the perfect image or semblance.” (Bruno, as cited in Singer 1950, 61).
4. “The Universal Intellect is the innermost, most real and essential faculty and the most efficacious part of the world-soul. It is the one and the same thing, which fills the whole, illumines the universe, and directs nature in producing her species in the right way. It plays the same role in the production of natural things as our intellect does in the parallel production of rational systems.” (Bruno 1962, 81).
DAVID HUME (1711-1776), Scottish empiricist philosopher, historian, and economist, founder of modern skepticism
1. In 1745, in his famous letter to John Coutts (Lord Provost of Edinburgh), David Hume wrote:
“Wherever I see Order, I infer from Experience that there, there hath been Design and Contrivance. And the same Principle which leads me into this Inference, when I contemplate a Building, regular and beautiful in its whole Frame and Structure; the same Principle obliges me to infer an infinitely perfect Architect, from the infinite Art and Contrivance which is display'd in the whole Fabrick of the Universe.” (See Hume 1977, 120; A Letter From a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh).
2. In the Introduction to his book The Natural History of Religion (1757), Hume stated: “The whole frame of nature bespeaks an intelligent Author; and no rational enquirer can, after serious reflection, suspend his belief a moment with regard to the primary principles of genuine Theism and Religion.” (Hume 1956, 21).
3. In The Natural History of Religion (1757), Hume wrote: “Were men led into the apprehension of invisible, intelligent Power by a contemplation of the works of nature, they could never possibly entertain any conception but of one single Being, who bestowed existence and order on this vast machine, and adjusted all its parts, according to one regular plan or connected system. …All things in the universe are evidently of a piece. Every thing is adjusted to every thing. One design prevails throughout the whole. And this uniformity leads the mind to acknowledge one Author.” (Hume 1956, 26).
4. “The order of the universe proves an omnipotent Mind.” (Hume 1978; Treatise, 633n).
IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804), one of the greatest philosophers in the history of Western philosophy
1. In his chief philosophical work Critique of Pure Reason, Kant wrote:
“I inevitably believe in the existence of God and in a future life, and I am certain that nothing can shake this belief, since my moral principles would thereby be themselves overthrown, and I cannot disclaim them without becoming abhorrent in my own eyes.” (Kant 1929, 856).
2. “In other words, belief in a God and in another world is so interwoven with my moral sentiment that as there is little danger of my losing the latter, there is equally little cause for fear that the former can ever be taken from me.” (Kant 1929, 857; Critique of Pure Reason).
3. In his Lectures on Philosophical Theology, Kant stated:
“God created the world for His honor’s sake because it is only through the obedience to His holy laws that God can be honored. For what does it mean to honor God? What, if not to serve Him? But how can He be served? Certainly not by trying to entice His favor by rendering Him all sorts of praise. For such praise is at best only a means for preparing our hearts to a good disposition. Instead, the service of God consists simply and solely in following His will and observing His holy laws and commands.” (Kant 1978, 142-143).
4. “God is the only ruler of the world. He governs as a monarch, but not as a despot; for He wills to have His commands observed out of love, and not out of servile fear. Like a father, He orders what is good for us, and does not command out of mere arbitrariness, like a tyrant. God even demands of us that we reflect on the reason for His commandments, and He insists on our observing them because He wants first to make us worthy of happiness and then participate in it. God’s will is benevolence, and His purpose is what is best.” (Kant 1978, 156; Lectures on Philosophical Theology).
A Call for Transformation of America
A Proposed Declaration of American Dream
(First published in Scientific GOD Journal)
Dated: October 23, 2011
Drafted by: Huping Hu, Ph.D., J.D.
You can support/sign this Proposed Declaration by loging-in at 2012 Daily and write in the Comment Section the date, your full name & place of signing which will be collected, compiled and listed/published.
In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., we call all Americans to rise up in the pursuit of the American Dream of the 21st Century under the Laws of GOD – equality, liberty, justice and civic duty in all aspects of American life, guaranty of basic necessities of food, medicine and shelter, and the pursuit of happiness and World Peace. It is noted that these sacred pursuits are hindered by excessive capitalism and individualism and the state of our own consciousness. Thus, the transformation of the consciousness of all Americans from the rich to the poor is the key to accomplish these sacred pursuits and transform America. By transforming our consciousness and transcending ourselves, we shall transform greed to compassion, hate to love, wealth possession to wealth sharing and war to peace. GOD Bless America!
Key Words: American Dream, 21st Century, transformation, declaration.
Over 230 years ago, our founding fathers brought forth on America, a new nation conceived in liberty, civic duty and the pursuit of happiness and dedicated to the ideal of equality under the Laws of GOD.
Today we hold these rights, duties and their extensions to be applicable to all Americans in all aspects of our lives - spiritually, physically, financially, environmentally, scientifically and politically - that to secure, advance and perform these rights and duties and thus perfect our Union, our Constitution may be amended time to time, if necessary, and successive governmental, social and corporate structures and institutions shall be established, deriving their just political, social and economical powers and duties from the consent of the people - that whenever any structure or institution becomes inadequate of these ends, it is our duties to modernized it or to abolish it, and to establish new ones, laying the foundation on such principles and organizing the structures in such forms, as to us shall seem most likely to reflect our understanding and knowledge of the evolving Nature and Life under the Laws of GOD.
As a country, we are now facing the greatest challenge both domestically and internationally, testing whether our public and private institutions can be transformed and work in harmony for the benefit of all Americans and whether we can still be a Great Nation on Earth and lead the World.
As a people, we are now engaged in a great struggle, testing whether our rights and duties so conceived and dedicated at the birth of our Nation, so implemented, protected and extended through out our history as a Nation can be sustained and be further advanced. Some of us are also engaged in a silent struggle in our hearts testing whether our yearning for love and compassions for fellow Americans and mankind at large can conquer our own shortcomings – selfishness, arrogance, hypocrisy, intolerance, or excessive capitalism, individualism, rivalry and commercialism.
So, at this critical moment, it is appropriate that we Americans from all walks of life – the rich and the poor, the executives and the workers, the professionals and the laymen, the religious and the non-religious, Americans by birth and new immigrants– and indeed all who loves America and Her people - reflect on the status of our Nation and our own moralities and conducts as individuals with the great hope of achieving the American Dream of the 21st Century and usher Americans and the mankind at large into a new era of unprecedented progress, prosperity and enlightenment.
Before the advent of our Nation, our people were under the colonial rule and tyranny of a European monarch. Oppressed and exploited by a tyrant, early Americans rebelled. The Declaration of Independent drafted by Thomas Jefferson became the great beacon of light to early Americans, who under the leaderships of George Washington and his generals, bravely fought the Revolutionary War and gave birth to our Republic.
However, a great injustice, slavery, remained and divided our people almost a century later as South and North. Again, as a people we fought and overcame slavery through Civil War and saved our Union under the leaderships of Abraham Lincoln and his generals.
Our people then ushered in the great Industrial, Scientific and Economical Revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries together with the remaining World which brought us and rest of the World unprecedented materials wealth, scientific knowledge and technologies and thrust our Nation to the World Stage as a Great Power and Leader.
As a Nation and a People, we have fought in World Wars and defeated evil powers, endured and overcome the Great Depression, endured and overcome racial segregation and injustice under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Cold War and oversaw the collapse of Godless Communism around the World.
Since September 11, 2001 terrorists attack on our Nation, we are again at a critical moment in our history.
No doubt that it has been the creativity, productivity and entrepreneurship of our people and the advances of sciences and technologies fueled by capitalism and individualism that brought our Nation unprecedented material wealth, prosperity and a world-influencing pop culture.
But, the very wealth is now concentrated in the hands of so a few wealthy individuals and big banks and corporations and has displaced many among us into poverty and despair. The very wealth has created a deep gulf between the rich and the poor and among the political parties as reflected by increased hostilities and seemingly irreconcilable differences among Americans and in our Congress. The very wealth and prosperity have not stopped hunger and disease in the World and might have produced our arrogance and intolerance in the eyes of the rest of the World along with our Nation’s positive image. The very pop culture might have both positively and negatively influenced the young generations worldwide. On the other hand, many Americans are unable to cope with or adapt to the new environments.
Thus, after all the recent revolutions, many of today’s Americans are not better of than the Americans of yesterday.
After all these revolutions, young generations of Americans are at peril of not being able to realizing their American Dream as their parents did.
After all these revolutions, the spiritual lives of many among us are sadly crippled by the manacles of mechanical view and the prisons of random chance and chaos.
After all these revolutions, some among us including some children still go hungry daily and without shelters at night in the midst of mountains of food and vacant homes.
After all these revolutions, many among us cannot afford medical cares in the midst of a vast ocean of medical advances and modern medicine.
After all these revolutions, many of our educated people cannot find a decent job and is suffocating under the piles of educational debts.
Indeed, after all these revolutions, the moralities of many among us are degenerating, many among us become selfish, mean- spirited, non-collaborative and too commercial, and some among us even become hypocritical, untruthful and are solely driven by money, power and fame.
As a People, many among us are unemployed, our homes and investments have drastically decreased in values, our bank accounts have dried up, our individual and family debts are overburdening us.
As a Nation, our financial system almost collapsed, we are still at war abroad and facing unprecedented economical crisis, national debts and economical inequality at home in the backdrop of a World foreshadowed by the turbulence in the Middle East and the rise of China, India and other countries.
So, at this critical moment, we dramatize these depressing and shameful conditions.
In a sense, it is high time that each American makes a pledge to our fellow Americans – A pledge that each of us shall rise above ourselves and shall work and struggle together with fellow Americans for equality in all aspects of our lives, guaranties of food, medicine and shelter to all Americans and opportunities of cost-effective education and employment afterword through our Constitution, legislations or other meanings.
Each American shall further promises to do his/her best to contribute to American Society. The rich may pay more taxes, if necessary, and shall pledge more of their wealth to help and assist the less fortunate. The less fortunate shall work hard to realize their American Dream.
Each American corporation shall promise to be a moral corporation to American Society. The executives shall strive for common good instead of excessive profit at the costs of the workers and the society and the workers shall strive to contribute their best productivity to the corporation.
Each American educational institution shall promise to be the best American Dream making institution. The administrators and teachers shall strive for producing the best students instead of collecting excessive tuitions and endowments and the students shall strive be the best students and future American Dream makers.
The three respective branches of our Federal and State Government shall promises to all Americans and their respective State Citizens that they will work in harmony for the prosperity and common good of all Americans and the advancement of this cherished Nation and Republic under GOD, not the interests of a few or self-interests. The executives, representatives and judges shall strive to carry out the businesses of our Nation and the respective States in their best abilities and the supporting staff shall strive to provide the supporting services to their best abilities. Let us remember that our Government is of the people, by the people and for the people as Lincoln declared.
It may be said that today some among us in America would have defaulted on these Sacred Pledges if made earlier. Instead of honoring these obligations, some among us would have given Americans bad checks, checks which would have come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the banks of this Great Nation would be bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there would be insufficient funds in the great vaults of America. So all American Citizens, corporations, institutions and Governmental units should make good on these Sacred Pledges — Pledges that will in the long run give our people the security of basic necessities of food, medicine and shelter, riches of the economy and the fulfillment of happiness under GOD.
Finally, as a Nation and a People, we pledge to the World that we shall always work for World Peace, eliminations of hunger and diseases, economical stability and prosperity and mutual benefits of all nations on Earth.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. once did, let us remind ourselves the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to keep our silence or hope others to take action. Now is the time to make transformational changes in America. Now is the time to rise from the darkness and despair of an excessively capitalistic and individualistic society to a compassionate and morally just society. Now is the time to lift America from the quick sands of corporate greed and personal financial gains at call costs to the solid rock of glorious path under GOD to prosperity and happiness for all Americans. Now is the time to make equality in all aspects of American life a reality for all our people.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. would warn, it would be fatal for American corporations, the financial and educational systems, other social and economic establishments and the wealthy individuals to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering heat of many Americans’ discontents will not pass until there is an invigorating atmosphere of transformational changes, economical equalities and job opportunities in America. This is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that we needed to release our angers and will soon be content will have a rude awakening if the establishments of America return to their businesses as usual. There will be neither silence nor rest in America until all Americans have regained their hopes of American Dream. The whirlwinds of protests and non-violent struggles will come to shake the establishments and current status quo of America until the bright day of transformational changes, economical equalities and job opportunities emerges.
There is something else that we must say to all Americans who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the glorious path to American Dream of the 21st Century. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for transformational changes, economical equalities and job opportunities by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our protest and struggle on the high ground of dignity and discipline as Martin Luther King, Jr. did. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence or worse. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting economical inequality and other injustice of excessive capitalism and individualism with positive forces. The marvelous new struggle which may engulf the establishments of America and the World must not lead us to a distrust of all the wealthy individuals, corporate executives and representatives in the establishments, for many of them, as evidenced by their sympathy or silence, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their yearning for love and compassion to fellow Americans is inextricably bound to our struggles. We cannot walk alone.
At this critical moment, we must also ask ourselves the soul searching question: Are we really fighting the benefit of all Americans or our own self-interests? And do we want to go down in history as hypocrites or equality-seeking men and women? And so, as John F. Kennedy would urge: My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you but what can you do for your country.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead as King would do. We cannot turn back. There are those who ask, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the majority of Americans are short-changed by the minority and disadvantaged by the establishments of America. We can never be satisfied, as long as our hard work cannot feed our families nor provide them with medicine or shelter. We can never be satisfied as long as young generations of Americans, loaded with heavy burden of educational debts, cannot find decent jobs and robbed of their American Dream by signs stating "for the rich only." We cannot be satisfied as long as an American wanting to work cannot find a job and another American who has a job feels insecure and is in despair. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until economical equalities roll down like waters and job opportunities rain like a mighty stream.
We are not unmindful that some among us have suffered great trials of unemployment and financial difficulties. Some among us are still in the suffocating environment of hopelessness and despair. Some among us have been battered by the storms of corporate greed and staggered by the winds of layoffs. Some of us have been the veterans of unearned suffering. Continue to hope with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to your work, go back to your study, go back to your business, go back to your place of worship, go back to the backwaters of undesirable jobs, go back to the forgotten paths of entrepreneurship knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair but turn to our family to help each other and pray to GOD for comfort, inner strength and salvation.
We say to you today, fellow Americans, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, we still have a dream in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream of the 21st Century and the struggle for the advancement of our Republic and the mankind at large under the Laws of GOD.
We have a dream that one day all Americans will be better off than today, secure in basic necessities of food, medicine and shelter, prosperous in all aspects and happy in our lives.
We have a dream that one day all wealthy Americans will be compassionate and giving, sharing their wealth with the less fortunate and the Nation.
We have a dream that one day all American corporations will rise up and live out the true meaning of an ideal corporation: morality before profit, employment before dividend, collaboration before monopoly and cooperation before competition.
We have a dream that one day Wall Street will not be a “greed” street but a “moral” street: orderly market, honest investment banking, transparency in financial reporting and no manipulation of market and no insider trading.
We have a dream that one day all educational institutions will provide educations to their students at reasonable costs, use their endowment generally and ensure their students employment opportunities after graduation.
We have a dream that one day even a bigot, sweltering with the heat of anti-immigrants, sweltering with the heat of racism, will be transformed into an oasis pursuing equality for all.
We have a dream that one day, the three respective branches of our Federal and State Government will always work in harmony for the prosperity, common good and advancement of all Americans and this Great Nation under GOD.
We have a dream today. We have a dream as that of Martin Luther King, Jr. “that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of [GOD] shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
So, we have a dream today. We have a dream that one day we will be live in a Paradise on Earth and a peaceful World under GOD for a thousand years to come.
This is our hope. This is the faith that we go on in the pursuit of the American Dream of 21st Century. With this faith as that of Martin Luther King, Jr. “we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of [American economy and finance] into a beautiful symphony of [harmony and prosperity].” With this faith we will be able to work together, to struggle together, to pray together, to stand up for America’s future together, knowing that we will be truly happy one day. This will be the day when everyone will be able to sing as Rumi “I am so tipsy here in this world, I have no tale to tell but tipsiness and rapture."
No doubt that our pursuit of American Dream of the 21st Century is hindered by the state of our own consciousness from the rich to the poor. Thus, the transformation of our consciousness under GOD is the key to accomplish this sacred pursuit and transform America. By transforming our consciousness and transcending ourselves from the rich to the poor, we shall transform greed into compassion, hate to love, wealth possession to wealth sharing and war to peace.
So, let transformation of consciousness begin in each of us from the rich to the poor! Let transformation of consciousness begin in corporate America! Let transformation of consciousness begin on Wall Street! Let transformation of consciousness begin in all places of business, schools, churches and all institutions!
But not only that, let transformation of consciousness begin in the respective three branches of our Federal and State Government! Let transformation of consciousness begin in the corporations, businesses and government of every nation! From every corner of Earth, let transformation of consciousness begin!
When this happens, when we allow transformation of consciousness to begin, when we let it to ring from every individual, every corporation, every business and every governmental unit, we will be able to speed up that day when American Dream of the 21st Century shall be realized under the Laws of GOD.
Let us now pay tribute to those who have greatly contributed towards the birth, endurance and advancement of our cherished Nation and Republic. But, as Abraham Lincoln would declare, in a larger sense we cannot compose anything proper to honor those heroes. The brave men and women of America, living and dead, who struggled, have already done so, far above one’s poor power to add or detract. The World may be little notice what we say here, but it can never forget what they have done. It is for rest of us, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored we take increased devotion to the cause for which they have given their full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dedicated shall not have fought in vain, that our Nation shall have a new birth, and that American Dream shall endure and advance and shall not vanish in the 21st Century.
GOD Bless America from Sea to Shining Sea!
Acknowledgements:
The layout of this Essay “The American Dream of the 21st Century: A Call for Transformation of America” is based on Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s speech “I have a Dream.” The Essay is also fused with languages from the Declaration of Independence the
chief drafter of which was Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It also contains a quote from John F.
Kennedy and a verse from “GOD Bless America.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL – NOBEL LAUREATE IN LITERATURE
Nobel Prize: Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.”
Nationality: British
Education: Churchill was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College in Sandhurst, England, 1895
Occupation: Writer, historian, and Prime Minister (UK)
1. In his speech “The 20th century – Its Promise and Its Realization” at the MIT Mid-Century Convocation, Boston (March 31, 1949) Sir Winston Churchill said:
“Here I speak not only to those who enjoy the blessings and consolation of revealed religion but also to those who face the mysteries of human destiny alone. The flame of Christian ethics is still our highest guide. To guard and cherish it is our first interest, both spiritually and materially. The fulfilment of Spiritual duty in our daily life is vital to our survival. Only by bringing it into perfect application can we hope to solve for ourselves the problems of this world and not of this world alone.
United we stand secure. Let us then move forward together in discharge of our mission and our duty, fearing God and nothing else.” (Churchill 1974, Volume VII, p. 7807ff).
2. “We must indeed be vigilant, we must indeed be firm in upholding the principles we believe to be just, but let us resolve with patience and with courage to work for the day when all the men in all the lands can be brought to cast aside the dark aspirations which some have inherited and others have created. Then at last together we shall be able to strive in freedom for the enjoyment of the blessings which it has pleased God to offer to the human race.” (Churchill 1974, Vol. VIII, p. 8607).
3. “Above all, we have our faith that the universe is ruled by a Supreme Being and in fulfilment of a sublime moral purpose, according to which all our actions are judged.” (Churchill 1974, Vol. VII, p. 7650).
4. “There is another element which should never be banished from our system of education. Here we have freedom of thought as well as freedom of conscience. Here we have been the pioneers of religious toleration. But side by side with all this has been the fact that religion has been a rock in the life and character of the British people upon which they have built their hopes and cast their cares. This fundamental element must never be taken from our schools.” (Churchill 1974, Vol. VII, p. 6762).
5. In his Harvard Address (September 6, 1943) Churchill stated:
“If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail.
Let us rise to the full level of our duty and of our opportunity, and let us thank God for the spiritual rewards He has granted for all forms of valiant and faithful service.” (Churchill 1974, Vol. VII, p. 6827).
6. “The flame of Christian ethics is still our best guide. Its animation and accomplishment is a practical necessity, both spiritually and materially. This is the most vital question of the future. The accomplishment of Christian ethics in our daily life is the final and greatest word which has ever been said. Only on this basis can we reconcile the rights of the individual with the demands of society in a manner which alone can bring happiness and peace to humanity.” (Churchill 1974, Vol. VII, p. 7645).
LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895), founder of Microbiology and Immunology
The French biologist Louis Pasteur proved the germ theory of disease and the Biogenesis Law. According to the Biogenesis Law, “All living organisms arise from pre-existing living organisms.” This law overthrew the materialistic theory of spontaneous generation (i.e. the theory that life can arise from non-life). Louis Pasteur performed pioneering researches in stereochemistry; he also invented “pasteurization” (partial sterilization) and the vaccines against anthrax, chicken cholera and rabies.
1. “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God.” (Pasteur, as cited in Lamont 1995; see also Tiner 1990, 75).
2. “In good philosophy, the word cause ought to be reserved to the single Divine impulse that has formed the universe.” (Pasteur, as cited in Geison, 1995, 141-142).
3. “Little science takes you away from God but more of it takes you to Him.” (Pasteur, as cited in Guitton 1991, 5; see also Yahya 2002).
