Rambles

The Great Speakers

All those who take writing and philosophy to their hearts tell the same tale. They tell you how to defeat evil, they tell you how to conquer your adversaries, how to live a fulfilled life, how to achieve happiness. The encourage the thoughts of carpe-diem, they tell you to humble yourself, to love and cherish the people in your life, to be one with nature and embrace your roots.

They seem to reveal all the secrets to the success of humanity...yet, evil still exists. Yet, procrastination and defeat are heavily prominent feelings. Yet, people reject love or do not put it out into the world. People crush their own dreams. They commit evil and leave a stain on humanity.

Were we not instructed to read Whitman? Were we not made to decipher Dickinson? Have we not been drilled to remember Shakespeare? Did we not learn of Ghandi or Keller? Did we never hear of Frost?
Have we never witnessed the works of Winfrey or Hawking?

Surely one name or another must make some impact. What stops their words from working?What allows this struggle to persist? Do they demand too much of us? Were their words made for select few? Or were they simply wishful thinking?

The Great Speakers have been immortalized. Their words are found on walls, on papers and posters, in art, and on skin. People believe, or want to believe in their words. They want to believe in the human endeavor. Let them.

Perhaps those who have faith in humanity are wrong. They have plenty of reason to be wrong. We live in a world where people murder other people, where people steal from other people, where people lie to other people. Worst of all, we live in a world where people hurt other people. People who have faith in humanity could very well be wrong. Their faith can be useless, their faith can be harmful. But let them have faith.

There is always chance for change, for better or for worst. So let them say "no day but today". Let them say " I love and I am loved". Let them say " I can be the change I wish to see in the world". Let them say " there is hope".

These people put their faith in people, as the Great speaker do.
Maybe their wrong, of course, maybe, but someone believed they were right and someone still does.