I Have a Dream!
Earl J. Prignitz
January 20, 2006
Yes, dear friends, in the familiar words of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream." My dream is that somewhere out there someone will emerge with the vision of a world living in harmony rather than always being at war. I have a dream that some young man or woman will come out of the woodwork who will have the creativity and imagination to see that the only way for our world to survive is to live in peace. I am ninety years old and have had this dream for many years but I have always been rebutted with the argument that peace will not come until Jesus returns. But I still have my dream.
I believe that the time has come for the people who do the killing to declare how they stand on the question of violence, not the polititians. Everyone who knows me already knows that I oppose all wars, all preparation for war, all uses of weapons and coercion by force, and all military alliances; there is absolutely no end that could ever justify such means in my system of values.
I am a Quaker and Friends have always maintained this testimony to the world for over three centuries. I know that there are many who will argue that we are living in a different world. But that has always been the argument. There have always been excuses for war. But the God that I worship certainly didn’t encourage the use of force when he was here on earth in human form. Jesus admonished his followers to love God and our neighbors. He said to turn the other cheek to those who would smite you and to love your enemies.
And there is another reason for my holding this position. Friends have always maintained that there is that of God in every one which makes each person too precious to damage or destroy. As long as someone lives we believe that there is the hope of reaching that of God within them. So that also motivates my desire to search for a non-violent resolution of conflict.
Again in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’" Yes I have a dream that one day someone will rise up and take Jesus words seriously and proclaim, "It is high time that we live together in peace or we will all perish together." Surely there is someone somewhere with enough imagination and creative ability to carry out such a plan.
Yes dear friends that is my dream!
I believe that the time has come for the people who do the killing to declare how they stand on the question of violence, not the polititians. Everyone who knows me already knows that I oppose all wars, all preparation for war, all uses of weapons and coercion by force, and all military alliances; there is absolutely no end that could ever justify such means in my system of values.
I am a Quaker and Friends have always maintained this testimony to the world for over three centuries. I know that there are many who will argue that we are living in a different world. But that has always been the argument. There have always been excuses for war. But the God that I worship certainly didn’t encourage the use of force when he was here on earth in human form. Jesus admonished his followers to love God and our neighbors. He said to turn the other cheek to those who would smite you and to love your enemies.
And there is another reason for my holding this position. Friends have always maintained that there is that of God in every one which makes each person too precious to damage or destroy. As long as someone lives we believe that there is the hope of reaching that of God within them. So that also motivates my desire to search for a non-violent resolution of conflict.
Again in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’" Yes I have a dream that one day someone will rise up and take Jesus words seriously and proclaim, "It is high time that we live together in peace or we will all perish together." Surely there is someone somewhere with enough imagination and creative ability to carry out such a plan.
Yes dear friends that is my dream!
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