THE PRESIDENTIAL UN ADDRESS

When you listen to the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., something stirs inside. I have been in attendance at speeches by Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Maya Angelou, and Spike Lee. When they spoke, and shared the understanding that life has placed in their beings, you feel the warmth, the cleansing, and the inspiration of truth. They are not perfect, as they are people. Yet, even with their flaws, it is as if there are moments - glory to God - that their willingness to be vessels of love, light and God's glory, and their seeking of a better life for people, opens up something bigger than any one person; a potent globe changing potential that resides in us all.

I listened to the speech that the President of the United States of America, George Bush gave to the United Nations General Assembly. I listened to what he had to say and I watched his face, his eyes, and his expressions. I could not only hear, but I could also feel his tones.

As I did this, I began to wonder some things and the words came to my heart.

Who is inspired by your words?
Who believes the lies that you tell?
Who can not see the shadow of deception in your eyes?

I did not feel inspired by what he was saying.

I really care about what is going on in the world. It was beyond my understanding that a few years ago, when the conflict in the Sudan began to consume lives like vacum of death, that I could not find any news reports or details on the net. They talk and talk, but innocent people are dying everyday there; no legality takes precedence over that.

I think about the amount of people that are exposed to malaria everyday.

It rocked my sensibility when young woman named Tanya told me of the way that AIDS has effected the prospects and hope in life for young girls in Swaziland.

The fact that apartheid in South Africa was designed from the Canadian reserve system, which is still effective in the horrendous objective that it is was established for disturbs me.

I really do care about the state of the globe. The prospect of having a successful career in the beautiful country of Canada (which I can easily go to, while millions who would love to go there, find the passage to be near impossible), does not comfort me enough to ignore what is going on. If it is happening to people, it is happening to me.

With that said, if one of the most powerful empires in human history was committed, from the head on down, to the challenge facing our generation, I would be celebrating and prepared to give everything that I am and all that I can be to that cause. The task of our generation is ensuring that everyone is feed, that disease is reduced to near nothing. That debt is wiped out. That technology makes life easier and better for all people. That sweat shop labour (modern day enslavement) is wiped out. That we halt and reverse the damage being done to the earth, and curb the momentum of extinction of various lifeforms. These are the challenges facing our generation.

As I watched his speech, I began to grow sleepy from the tasks of the day. I don't recall if I heard his closing words, but as I began to drift I started to imagine that what he was saying was really true. My mind was pretending that he really wanted to face that challenge, and rally the nations of the globe towards that goal. It was an exciting feeling.

When I woke up, the words that were in my heart returned:

Who is inspired by your words?
Who believe the lies that you tell?
Who can not see the shadows of deception in your eyes?