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Every morning I wake up to a new day and I hope that the world has changed overnight. I hope that the world has thrown down its weapons and its prejudices. But every morning my hopes are dashed when I turn on the radio and I hear that the news is bad. Every day I see the images of war on the buzzing television screens and the cries of millions screams through the metallic loud speakers on the radio.

Should I turn away and ignore the starved faces, should I give up without a fight? Should I carry on my life without a care, should I destroy the television, should I smash the radio, should I burn the newspapers?

Or should I care?

Everywhere I look I see pain, everywhere I go  I feel pain. And I know the world is crying out for help, I hear the pain. The world’s mothers tell their children not to cry, they tell their children that one day all this will be different, one day there will be peace, one day the people will be singing in one voice, one day every person will be free.

But today. Today the world is dying.

It is my job. It is your job. People. Today we must rise up to make our dreams come true. Today we must be compassionate to our neighbours everywhere. Today we must respect people who are different from ourselves, today we must acknowledge individuals, today we must break down the barriers and boundaries that divide the us, today we must throw down our weapons, we must kick away our prejudices. And today we must stamp out  the hate that divides us. 

And tomorrow I will wake in the morning, I will open my eyes with hope. And I will turn on my radio and my hope will be fulfilled.

Martin Luther King said “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”.” And then the country accepted all men equal.

Nelson Mandela said “Together we can build a society free of violence. We can build a society grounded on friendship and our common humanity – a society grounded on tolerance..” and then he marched into the future to free the country from apartheid.

Now I say “Let the world experience your love, channel your peace into the hearts of the world, and let a new day of harmony dawn over all the earth so that future generations may look back with joy.”

And what will become of this?

It is time for change today.