Our Unwritten Commandment
A few weeks ago, an image of a drowned Syrian toddler, lying motionless on the shores of a Turkish beach reverberated across the world. It was a grim reminder of the bleak hope, utter despair, and senseless violence that children around the world face, from the slums of Kolkata to the refugee camps in Darfur to yes, even the streets of Los Angeles, areas where the rays of light cannot penetrate the vast darkness. The dreams of doctors, writers, engineers, lawyers, and reformers, who would not only plant the seeds of progress but continue its nurturing for future generations lie within these lost candles.
These seeds are lost, carried away in the midst of a cruel wind. We must accept this with not only a heavy sigh but also an imposed duty. For is it not incumbent upon us to consecrate the memories of those souls that are lost in the dimness of this word? Are these not our fellow brethren? Doesnāt our conscious require us to carry their dreams and their legacy? Consider, for just a minute, the following statistics: for the first time in American history, the largest group of people living in poverty is children; one in five American children currently live in the most gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, unimaginable poverty that any one of us can ever imagine. Perhaps even scarier is the fact that the next generation of Americans is expected to live shorter lives than the previous generation of Americans. It doesnāt end there. The leading cause of death among African-Americans below the age of thirty-five is homicide. Nearly $200 billion dollars are required to improve public schools, while nearly 4 million kids attend schools that are crumbling at their very seam and even after the passage of Affordable Health Care, 33 million Americans still do not have adequate health insurance.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, but it serves to illustrate how grave the situation is. When we look at these numbers, we find that quite possibly the burdens that weigh upon our shoulders will tear our flesh and muscles. We may recognize that our fall has been perpetuated by the sin of idleness. We may crumble because hope seems infinitely far away from us, a distant point on a road that is too frightening to even step upon. Yet, this is the road that we should not shy away from but instead strive to venture across. The human spirit has this distinct quality; that each time we feel as though we have reached the limits of our progress, we are reminded that perhaps this limit does not exist and the human desire for advancement may, in fact, be limitless.
It is time we admit that you and I, as future high school and college graduates, are about to inherit a broken world. We have not invited such a world upon us and we have definitely done nothing to deserve it. Yet, the true measure of a personās strength is their ability to overcome these moments when they knock at our doorstep. Now is the time for each of us to rise, to reach for the heavens, and find within us the extra ounce of strength that will carry us. For if faithfulness to our civic code requires honesty and integrity; then surely, faithfulness to our humanitarian code requires an earnest desire to make this world a better place and give a future to our children which was better than we received.
Perhaps this entire narrative is about being too idealistic in a world that constantly reminds us not to be. But, if we think for just a moment, this is the idealism that is more substantial than blind faith. It is the faith that is inside each and every one of us, the idea that if we earnestly engage the issues; that if we apply our efforts to combat the pointless quarrels, maintain peace, and secure prosperity for all, then surely progress will be inevitable. This is when we forget our petty squabbling. A myriad of issues seek to enclose us, attempt to make us admit defeat. It will never be easy. Now, more than ever, our destiny cannot be written only for ourselves but also for others around us, on the ideal of selflessness rather than selfishness, on an ideal for glory in a time of worldwide strife. This is where the sacred oath must be made, to carry the lost dreams of all so that the future does not contain any lost dreams. This is our greatest battle, our most difficult aim, but it is also, without a doubt, our unwritten commandment.
- Ali Hameed