As the sun rose on New Year's Day I let my thoughts rise unchecked, and imagined myself looking through an open window onto a brand new world. A world that's a long way from reality as we know it in 2016. It's a world that breaks the bonds of possibilities as we know them, and explodes with a distant dream; a dream of acceptance of one another, a dream of harmony and Peace.
Impossible? Nay! Not only is this not a part of a Coco Cola ad, I believe we can see it happening. The seeds of this new world are germinating.
If we look, we can see the sprouts in every street Cafe all over the world, in every market place and every shopping mall. The face of the world is changing. I know you've seen it. In spite of the wars we wage, on foreign shores, and on each other, the very basic nature of human kind is making change happen all around us, and nowhere is it more apparent than in this melting pot we call the USA.
The faces of the earth are changing. I know you've noticed the earth tones of pale brown and cafe-au-lait complexions that decorate and people our television programs, of people who walk along our city sidewalks, that visit our national parks and monuments. No, these are not tourists. They are us. Where there were once strict boundaries to hurdle, we're now seeing an ever-quickening mixing of races and cultures and the beginnings of a blended society.
Change can be, and usually is, jolting, and there are a few who will never let go of the exclusivity of the races. Not for a very long time anyway. Championing the separateness of humankind, these die-hards come in every shape, size, culture and color. But in the end, the changes that are happening will happen in spite of the urge to keep everything as it was.
I'm okay with that. And, having seen the end result of all these changes, (through my near year's window, of course) I am quite okay with that.
Imagine.
A world full of people colored in the beautiful earth tones of our planet. The pale browns and tans, the deeper rose in someone's cheeks, and, surprise! The light gray of eyes that retain the strains of Scandinavia, in a copper-toned face from Asia. Other eyes, deep brown, that still hold the shape of the orient in an old-ivory colored face that's tinged with the browns of Africa. And the warm Latin blood lines still evident in the golden brown skin hues of a dance troupe from Detroit - or Minnesota.
It's coming. In the face of it, I hope we'll keep all that is good in us. Our music, our dance, our art and our foods, our amazing accomplishments, passing them on to future generations. The blending of different music sounds good to me too. The blended foods - for sure! I also hope that we'll embrace it all with interest, curiosity and excitement!
It's all here. It has begun. The blending of all of us is in full swing and I can't help thinking this is a very good thing. Look at it this way: If we succeed in erasing the color bar by blending ourselves to look more and more alike, I can't help believing we will do away with the biggest bar to harmony on earth. Similar changes to cultural and religious differences will surely follow, and when this world's complete, I think we will have a true brother and sisterhood of men and women. And John Lennon can rest in peace.
Then, because of all the fear being generated from the Middle East, as evil threatens to destroy everything that is good among us all, my thoughts took a leap even further into the future and way beyond any boundaries most of us can imagine. I pictured an airport in Syria.
A young family had just landed from Gaza. They carried a tiny baby, with a head of spikey, silken, jet-black hair and green eyes that were barely opened, sparkling in a face of deep tan and rose colored skin. His mother had the grace and bearing of a Somalie princess with auburn hair. His father bore the dark good looks of his Jewish and Palestinian forebears from centuries ago. And when he spoke, to a grisly old man beside him, I heard the word, "Shalom," and the ancient Beduoin from the Saudie desert replied, "Salaam - Allah O Akbar."
God is great indeed.
I look forward to that brand new earth. It will come, and in the meantime, while the world waits and hopes, I can dream. And in my dream - I'm watching it all unfold, with you.
Peace on Earth and to all of us,
