Dr. Martin Luther King was an amazing person no doubt about it. But most amazing, was his ability to understand and project himself into the future, what it would look like if we all believed in each other and if we all instead of racing to the next finish line, tried to find more meaning in getting there in the first place.
In the race to the “buttom line”, we have pitched nations against nations, workers agains workers, businesses against each other, and in the process, we have created one of the largest gaps between the rich and the poor. We allow corporations and individuals to shift large amounts of wealth from country to country and create policies so that they can keep gaining the most value for their money, but we prohibit the poor from moving accross border lines chasing higher value for the only wealth they posses, themselves. We transfer the wealth from villages into corporations and CEO’s but do everything to force people back into the “economic corrals” that we have created around free trade zones and other so called “free trade and globalization” policies. These settings create blind spots for people in search for opportunities with the illusion of a better tomorrow that never materializes but it is too late when they realize and can’t turn around or build a future anymore. We promote through our consumer choices systems that lower the value of the contributions of of those who’s only resource they own and can invest for a return is their labor. In the process of course the buttom line for corporations is improved and somebody somewhere else ends up wealthier.
Understanding these issues is not enough, doing something about it is not popular, and sometimes equivalent to “political suicide”, but those out there who believe in Dr. King’s dream, I hope will understand that it is not only important for all of us that we change the ways we do business and become more responsible towards people and natural resources, but it is also in our own interest and for the benefit of our own children to do so.
In the upcoming 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s death, there are many things happening, but the most amazing I believe is the rebirth of a dream based on new technologies and business ventures that represent a new generation of thinking and innovation portrayed in the video recently posted on you tube about the coming celebration of this important anniversary. I hope you find it as interesting.