James C. McCormick's Last Speech For "Dallas Acts Kind Week"

Today would've been my beautiful Father, James C. McCormick's, 87th birthday.  It's hard to believe he has been gone for almost 17 years! 

With the recent passing of our beloved Carlos Morales, I've been thinking a lot about my Dad.  The last week of Dad's life, he was in charge of the huge undertaking of "Dallas Acts Kind Week."  Cassidy was just 3 days old when my father passed away...she was very lovingly referred to as 'The Kindness Baby."  My sweet Mom was with David, Avery (17 months) and me in West Palm Beach, eagerly awaiting Cassidy's arrival...she was a few days beyond her due date.  My Dad strongly encouraged my Mom to go be with us for this blessed occasion.  Of course, my Mom had no idea the end was so near or she would've never gone to Florida.  Although, now looking back, I think my Dad knew exactly what he was doing by sending my Mom away.  I believe he sensed his passing was near and wanted to spare my Mom all of that trauma.  My sister, Patti was left to help my Dad at home and she and Mike were with him until the very end....God Bless them all!  My Dad was determined to get through "Dallas Acts Kind Week," which he did and with so much grace and dignity.  

I miss Dad so much each and every day!  In honor of his Birthday today I post his last positive message of many that he delivered to hundreds of people only a couple of days before his passing.  What an inspiration he continues to be to so many!  Here's the last speech my Dad wrote...

DALLAS ACTS KIND: February 12-19, 1995

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ... BE KIND TO EACH OTHER 

                                                                  -- James C. McCormick

I BELIEVE THAT DEEP INSIDE EVERY HUMAN BEING THERE IS A GNAWING, UNQUENCHABLE THIRST TO LEAVE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE BY VIRTUE OF HAVING LIVED.  I KNOW THAT THIS HAS BECOME AN OVER- RIDING PASSION IN MY LIFE -- SINCE I CAME FACE TO FACE WITH MY OWN MORTALITY.  THOSE WHO KNOW ME, KNOW THAT I AM, BY NATURE, AN INCURABLE OPTIMIST. A SIGN ON THE BACK OF MY WHEELCHAIR PROCLAIMS, "LIFE IS TERRIFIC". BUT IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, I HAVE BEGUN TO HAVE DEEP CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR BELOVED COUNTRY.  WE SEEM TO BE DESCENDING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO A SINK- HOLE OF CRIME, FALLING MORAL STANDARDS, SENSELESS VIOLENCE, DRUGS, STEADY ERADICATION OF THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY -- DEBASING OF OUR LANGUAGE, A COARSENESS OF LIFE, A PERVASIVE MEDIOCRITY.  WHERE IS INTEGRITY, CHARACTER, UNDILUTED HONESTY, FIDELITY, STYLE, GRACE?  WHERE ARE HEROES?  WHERE IS SIMPLE KINDNESS?  THE STREETS OF SOME OF OUR MAJOR CITIES ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA.  THERE ARE MANY REASONS, I'M SURE, FOR ALL OF THIS, BUT I BELIEVE THERE IS ONE OVER-RIDING REASON THAT WE SEEM NOT TO BE
FOCUSING ON.  IN THE MID 1960'S OUR ELECTED LEADERS DECIDED THAT THERE WERE MANY INEQUITIES IN OUR SOCIETY.  THEY WERE CORRECT.  BUT ONE OF THE GREAT TRAGEDIES IS THAT IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE WAY TO CORRECT THE UNFAIRNESS WAS THROUGH LEGISLATION.  IN SHORT IT WAS BELIEVED THAT GOVERNMENT COULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM.  ONE OF THE REAL IRONIES OF OUR CENTURY IS THAT MOST OF THE STEPS THAT WERE TAKEN TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS ACTUALLY EXACERBATED THEM.  SOME OF THE LEGISLATION, LIKE VOTING RIGHTS AND DESEGREGATION LAWS, WERE BADLY NEEDED AND LONG OVER-DUE.  A SIGNIFICANT SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION HAD BEEN DENIED THE BASIC RIGHTS THAT WERE GUARANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION.  THIS WAS SHAMEFUL AND IT WAS WAY PAST TIME TO DO WHATEVER WAS NECESSARY TO CORRECT IT.  THE CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION WAS IMPERATIVE, MORAL AND GOOD, BUT OUR SOCIAL LEGISLATION WAS DIFFERENT.  WHAT WE DID, I THINK UNWITTINGLY, WAS TO "INSTITUTIONALIZE" KINDNESS.

ALLOW ME TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THE WORLD WAS LIKE IN THE 1930'S AND EARLY '40'S WHEN I GREW UP IN ENNIS, TEXAS.  I LIVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE RAILROAD SHOPS, THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN TOWN.  THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE NATION WAS MORE THAN 30% - IN ENNIS, EVEN LARGER.  IN THOSE DAYS FAMILIES HAD ONLY ONE WAGE-EARNER. WOMEN DIDN'T WORK UNLESS THEY WERE WIDOWED.  THIS MEANS THAT A THIRD OF ALL HOUSEHOLDS HAD NO INCOME.  THE DIRE ECONOMIC STRAIGHTS WERE DRAMATICALLY EVIDENT IN OUR END OF TOWN.  EVEN AS A YOUNG BOY I WAS A WITNESS TO THE HORROR AND PAIN ALL AROUND ME.  A PALPABLE HOPELESSNESS HUNG HEAVY IN THE AIR.  OUR SECTION OF TOWN - "THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS" - WAS HALF WHITES AND HALF POVERTY STRICKEN BLACKS.  THE WHITES WERE BARELY, IF ANY, BETTER OFF.  THERE WERE UNSPEAKABLE HARDSHIPS.  EACH FREIGHT TRAIN THAT CAME THROUGH WAS FILLED WITH HUNGRY HOMELESS HOBOS - MEN, WOMEN, AND EVEN BABIES.  THEY WOULD JUMP FROM THE TRAINS AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKING FOR WORK.  

"IS THERE SOMETHING I CAN DO FOR A PIECE OF BALONEY BETWEEN TWO SLICES OF BREAD--?  CHOP YOUR FIREWOOD--,!  WEED YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN--?  CLEAN UP YOUR WOODSHED--,?" THEY WOULD ASK.  

I'VE SEEN MY DEAR MOTHER ALLOW HOBO FATHERS TO BUILD CARDBOARD SHELTERS BEHIND OUR HOUSE AND TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES WITH HALF OF WHATEVER SHE HAD IN HER CUPBOARD.  I'VE SEEN HER TENDERLY MINISTER TO THE CHILDREN'S OPEN SORES WITH "CLOVERINE" SALVE.  HER GENTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS WERE NOT UNIQUE.  EVERY LADY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DID THE SAME THING.  I'VE WALKED BAREFOOT IN THE HOT SAND BESIDE MY MOTHER AS SHE TOOK SIX POTATOES AND DISTRIBUTED ONE TO EACH OF OUR POOREST NEIGHBORS WHO HAD NOTHING TO EAT.


THERE WERE NO GOVERNMENT SOCIAL PROGRAMS.  THE CHURCHES DID WHAT THEY COULD BUT IF A NEIGHBOR HAD A PROBLEM...HUNGER...ILLNESS...SORROW OF ANY KIND...THE ONLY HELP HE WAS LIKELY TO GET WAS FROM ONE OF HIS NEIGHBORS.


SOME OF THE BLACK HOMES HAD DIRT FLOORS.  NO HEAT--IF THERE WAS NO FIREWOOD.  IN THE BLACK AS WELL AS THE WHITE HOMES THERE WAS ONE THING THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM TODAY.  PRACTICALLY EVERY HOUSE HAD A LIVE-IN FATHER WHO SEEMED TO FIND INGENIOUS WAYS TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE -- JACK RABBITS, OPOSSUM, BIRDS, AND SQUIRREL FOR MEAT -- WEEK-OLD BREAD FROM SCHINDLER'S BAKERY AND DISCARDED VEGETABLES FROM BEHIND THE STAR-CASH GROCERY STORE.  BUT YOU COULD FEEL THE PARENTAL KINDNESS WHEN YOU ENTERED THE LITTLE UNPAINTED SHACKS.  THERE WAS LOVE.  THE CHURCH WAS THE CORNERSTONE OF PRACTICALLY EVERY FAMILY.  FATHERS WERE AWARE OF THEIR AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY.  CHILDREN WERE CAREFULLY TAUGHT THE BASIC VALUES...HONESTY...RESPECT...WORK FOR WHAT YOU GET.  THE "GOLDEN RULE" WAS IN EVERY CLASSROOM..."DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU."  CHILDREN WERE NURTURED AND LOVED.  I NEED NOT TELL YOU THERE WAS NO TELEVISION.  

THE SOCIAL LEGISLATION OF THE SIXTIES WAS ENACTED, IN AN HONEST BELIEF BY THE LIBERALS OF OUR COUNTRY, THAT SWEEPING NEW LAWS COULD WIPE OUT THE NEED, THE HARDSHIP, THE HUNGER OF ALL THE UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE ACROSS OUR LAND. 

INNOCENTLY AND UNKNOWINGLY WE INSTITUTIONALIZED CARING!  WE INSULATED OURSELVES FROM OUR NEIGHBOR'S PAIN.  IF THE NEIGHBOR HAD A PROBLEM-- IT WAS NO LONGER OUR PROBLEM.  THERE WAS A GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO FIX IT.  WE QUIT BUILDING FRONT PORCHES TO SIT ON AFTER SUPPER AND GREET THE NEIGHBORS WHO WALKED BY.  WE LOCKED THE DOORS, PULLED DOWN THE SHADES, WENT INSIDE AND WATCHED TELEVISION, THE NEWFOUND INTELLECTUAL SEDATIVE.  THE WORLD WAS STILL GOING ON OUTSIDE BUT OUR VIEW OF IT BECAME WHAT WE SAW ON "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER". 

THE WHOLE FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY HAD BEGUN TO GO TO HELL BUT WE
STILL BELIEVED THAT IT WAS AN "OZZIE AND HARRIET" WORLD OUT THERE.  LATER OUR EIGHTEEN INCH WINDOW ON THE WORLD BEGAN TO MAKE US BELIEVE THAT MOST BLACKS WERE CRIMINALS-- THAT ALL BLACK CHILDREN WERE DOPE HEADS -- THAT ALL JOBLESS WHITES WERE JUST SHIFTLESS - THAT ALL WHITES WERE RACIST IN THEIR HEARTS.  THE INSULATION FROM OUR NEIGHBOR'S PAIN WAS GROWING THICKER AND THICKER. AND HATRED OF ONE GROUP AGAINST ANOTHER GREW AND GREW BECAUSE WE HAD ONLY A TELEVISED OR NEWSPAPERED VIEW OF WHO "THOSE PEOPLE" WERE.  THE GREAT IRONY WAS -- THAT WE AT THAT TIME, WERE STILL BLIND TO AND LARGELY IGNORANT OF THE FACT THAT THE MASSIVE LAWS WE HAD CREATED TO ERADICATE SUFFERING NOT ONLY WERE NOT WORKING, THEY WERE SUBSTANTIALLY ENLARGING THE PROBLEMS THEY WERE DESIGNED TO CURE.  FOR A LONG TIME WE FELT WE WERE JUST NOT SPENDING ENOUGH.  WE ENLARGED AND EXPANDED THE PROGRAMS AND THE PROBLEMS GREW IN DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT WE WERE SPENDING TO CORRECT THEM.  THE ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH RATE, DIVORCE, CRIME, DRUG USE, VIOLENCE, SPOUSAL AND CHILD ABUSE WERE GROWING AT AN ALARMING RATE AND NOT JUST MINORITIES-- THE WHOLE SOCIETY.  THOSE WHO COULD AFFORD IT INSTALLED ALARM SYSTEMS - MANY BOUGHT GUNS FOR THEIR HOUSE AS
WELL AS THEIR CAR. WOMEN BOUGHT PISTOLS AND MACE.  MORE RECENTLY, WE HAVE BEGUN TO REGRESS TO THE MIDDLE AGES BY BUILDING WALLS AND GUARD GATES AROUND OUR COMMUNITIES.  WE SEEM TO BE GROWING EVER-CLOSER TO THE TIME WHEN OUR WALLS WILL HAVE GUARDS WITH MACHINE GUNS.  HOW LONG BEFORE ALLIGATOR-FILLED MOATS AND DRAW BRIDGES?  WE CLOSED OUR DOORS, WINDOWS, AND HEARTS, EVEN TIGHTER TO SHIELD US FROM THE MEAN AMERICA THAT WE SAW ON THE "TUBE" AND
IN OUR NEWSPAPERS.  WE SAID..."LET'S GET TOUGHER, LET'S BUILD MORE PRISON CELLS, LET'S ELECTROCUTE MORE PEOPLE."  THE HATRED OF GROUP AGAINST GROUP GREW, BECAUSE THE ONLY VIEW WE HAD OF OUR NEIGHBOR WAS WHAT THE MEDIA PROVIDED US WITH. THIS NEW COLLECTIVE ATTITUDE CREATED POLITICIANS WHOSE NUMBER ONE
7 PLATFORM PLANK BECAME, "I CAN BE A HELL OF A LOT TOUGHER AND MEANER THAN MY OPPONENT," AND GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES WHO FEEL COMPELLED TO MAKE MEDIA EVENTS OUT OF GOING OUT WITH SHOTGUNS ON OPENING DAY OF DOVE SEASON OR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HURL ANGRY, MEAN-SPIRITED INVECTIVES AT EACH OTHER IN CITY HALL MEETINGS.  WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD JAIL CELLS UNTIL WE BLEED OURSELVES INTO BANKRUPTCY AND WE CAN ELECTROCUTE PEOPLE UNTIL OUR NATION BECOMES UNIQUE IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS A MONSTROUS KILLING MACHINE, AND THE PROBLEMS WE ARE TRYING TO CURE WILL GROW FASTER THAN WE CAN CURE THEM.


WE HAVE GOTTEN FAR AWAY FROM THE BASIC, IRREFUTABLE PREMISE THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS.  THIS IS ONE OF OUR MAIN PROBLEMS.  WE HAVE CREATED A NATION IN WHICH MANY OF US ARE CONVINCED THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS TO BLAME FOR OUR ABERRANT BEHAVIOR..."MY PARENTS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ME"..."I AM POOR"..."IT'S SOCIETY'S FAULT".  THIS ATTITUDE HAS BECOME PERVASIVE THROUGHOUT OUR CULTURE--POOR, WEALTHY, BLACK, WHITE, BROWN, YELLOW, RED.  IT IS REFLECTED IN JURIES WHO MAKE THREE MILLION DOLLAR AWARDS TO SOMEONE WHO CARELESSLY SPILLS HOT COFFEE ON THEMSELVES.  OR JUDGMENTS AGAINST COMPANIES WHOSE SKYLIGHTS ALLOW BURGLARS TO FALL AND INJURE THEMSELVES.  IT SOMETIMES SEEMS WE HAVE EVOLVED INTO A STATE OF NATIONAL INSANITY.  

WE MUST SHOW EVERY CITIZEN THAT HE OR SHE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.  BUT MOST IMPORTANT, WE MUST FACE HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE...WE MUST BEGIN AGAIN TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN WHAT MY PARENTS TAUGHT ME, THAT IF I SOAKED MY BRAINS WITH ALCOHOL OR DRUGS - IF I REFUSED TO GET AN EDUCATION - IF I HARMED SOMEONE, THAT I WOULD SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.  THAT TEACHING MUST BEGIN VERY, VERY EARLY IN A CHILD'S LIFE.  IT MUST START IN THE HOME.  A HOME IS NOT JUST A HOUSE.  A HOME IS A FAMILY, WITH AT LEAST ONE LOVING PARENT, WHO RECOGNIZES THEIR SACRED RESPONSIBILITY WHEN A CHILD IS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD, TO DEDICATE THEIR LIFE TO NURTURING AND TEACHING THAT CHILD TO BE A DECENT AND HONORABLE HUMAN BEING, TO TEACH THAT CHILD THERE ARE BASIC, UNCHANGING VALUES OF RIGHT VERSUS WRONG.  THE SCHOOLS CANNOT DO THIS, GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS CANNOT DO THIS, AND ABOVE ALL JAILS CANNOT DO THIS.  IF A CHILD IS NOT TAUGHT THESE BASIC VALUES AT HOME, AT A VERY TENDER AGE, AN UNPARDONABLE CRIME IS COMMITTED AGAINST THAT INNOCENT CHILD, AND THAT CHILD WILL - AS A PARENT - CLONE HIMSELF, AND HIS CHILDREN WILL CLONE THEMSELVES.

HOW DID WE TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER?  WHAT CAN WE DO TO SHOW OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEING THAT WE CARE ABOUT HIM?  WE USED TO CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. I REMEMBER WHEN WE DID.  I SAW IN MY GROWING-UP DAYS -- THAT IT WAS IN MOST MEN'S GOD'S-GlVEN INNATE SOULS TO BE DECENT -- NOT MEAN.  TO LOVE, NOT HATE, EVEN IN THE FACE OF THE MOST UNSPEAKABLE SUFFERING AND NEED.  POVERTY IS NOT THE REASON FOR OUR CRIMES AND VIOLENCE TOWARD EACH OTHER.  MY GOD, IF POVERTY WAS WHAT CREATED OUR PROBLEMS WE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN TOTAL ANARCHY IN THE 1930'S!  WE DIDN'T EVEN LOCK OUR DOORS IN THOSE TRAGIC TIMES OF HARDSHIP.


YES, THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR OUR EVER-GROWING SOCIAL CHAOS, BUT THE MOST OVERLOOKED REASON IS THAT, THREE DECADES AGO, WE DECIDED WE COULD ELIMINATE OUR PROBLEMS THROUGH GOVERNMENT ACTION.  AND NOW WE DESPERATELY NEED TO GO BACK TO MAN'S INHERENT HEART...KINDNESS.  WE HAVE TO RELEARN TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, TO INDIVIDUALLY CARE ABOUT OUR BROTHER'S AND SISTER'S PAIN.  GOVERNMENT, IN A SINCERE DESIRE TO HELP HAS INADVERTENTLY CREATED A CRUEL MONSTER WHICH CAUSES MILLIONS OF YOUNG WOMEN TO HAVE MORE AND MORE BABIES OUT OF WEDLOCK, PARENTS TO DIVORCE OR TO NOT MARRY BECAUSE GOVERNMENT WILL REWARD THEM TO NOT LIVE TRADITIONAL LIVES, AN I.R.S. CODE THAT PUNISHES COUPLES WHO MARRY, FORCING SOME TO SIMPLY LIVE TOGETHER.  MEN AND WOMEN WHO FIND IT MORE PROFITABLE TO REMAIN IDLE RATHER THAN WORK.


BEFORE THE BROAD NEW SOCIAL LEGISLATION IN 1960 ONLY SIX PERCENT OF WHITE BABIES AND TWENTY-TWO PERCENT OF BLACK BABIES WERE BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.  THERE WERE ONLY A FEW THOUSAND ABORTIONS AND CONTRACEPTIVES WERE NOT YET WIDELY AVAILABLE.  ONLY TWENTY-FOUR PERCENT OF MARRIAGES ENDED IN DIVORCE.  TODAY MORE THAN TWENTY PERCENT OF WHITE BABIES AND SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF BLACK BABIES ARE BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.  NEARLY TWO MILLION WOMEN HAVE ABORTIONS EACH YEAR AND HALF OF ALL MARRlAGES END IN DIVORCE. 

THIS INSANE SYSTEM HAS HURT US ALL--BUT NO ONE MORE THAN THOSE IT WAS DESIGNED TO HELP. EACH OF US, IN OUR HEART, KNOWS THAT THERE IS RIGHT AND THERE IS WRONG...THAT THE OLD TRADITIONAL VALUES OF HARD WORK, HONESTY, AND HONOR ARE RIGHT AND GOOD.  SURE, THIS IS THE NINETIES, NOT THE THIRTIES, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE UNCHANGING THROUGH TIME.  NO ONE NEEDS TO TELL US WHEN WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WRONG.  WHEN WE LIVE OUR LIVES CONTRARY TO WHAT OUR HEART TELLS US IS RIGHT WE COME TO DESPISE OURSELVES.  WHEN A HUMAN BEING IS ROBBED OF THE DIGNITY OF SELF- RELIANCE, PRIDE IN HAVING A JOB, THE JOY OF LEADING A DECENT, HONORABLE LIFE, HE IS ROBBED OF SELF-ESTEEM, THE MOST IMPORTANT POSSESSION HE HAS IN LIFE.


DOES WHAT WE ARE SAYING SUGGEST THAT THERE IS NO ROLE FOR GOVERNMENT IN SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS?  OF COURSE NOT.  BUT WHAT GREATER EVIDENCE DO WE NEED THAN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE - THAT THE PATH WE HAVE BEEN ON FOR THREE DECADES IS THE WRONG PATH - THAT WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING HAS GEOMETRICALLY ENLARGED OUR PROBLEMS. 

WE MUST PAUSE, REEXAMINE GOVERNMENT'S ROLE.  WE NEED TO START ANEW -- COMPLETELY REINVENT GOVERNMENT'S ROLE. 

BUT WE MUST REALIZE, THAT NO ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT ALONE WILL WORK!  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL WORK UNTIL WE CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND OUR ACTIONS TOWARD EACH OTHER.  IT HAS TO START WITH EACH AND EVERYONE OF US.  IT HAS TO DO WITH OUR ATTITUDES, AND STARTS WITH OUR THOUGHTS.


WE HAVE TO RELEARN HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE EACH DAY TO COMMIT GENTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS TOWARD OUR FELLOW MAN.  WE HAVE TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT WE ARE ALL GOD'S CHILDREN, WHETHER WE ARE DIFFERENT COLORS...WHETHER WE ARE BAPTIST, CATHOLIC, MUSLIM, HINDU, JEW, OR BA'HAI.  LOVE IS DEEP, SOMETIMES ALMOST HIDDEN, IN THE HEART OF MANY OF US AND WE HAVE TO START AGAIN TO SHOW OUR BROTHER AND SISTER IN GOD THAT WE CARE ENOUGH TO ERASE THE MALIGNANCY OF HATE FROM OUR HEARTS.


IT IS MUCH EASIER THAN YOU THINK.  WATCH THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES YOU HAVE THIS VERY DAY TO COMMIT RANDOM, BUT PURPOSEFUL, ACTS OF KINDNESS. LITTLE BITTY THINGS...A KIND WORD...A HELPING HAND.  WE'VE GOT TO CHANGE OUR ENTIRE ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE...AND THE MAGIC OF IT ALL IS THAT IT IS UNBELIEVABLY INFECTIOUS.  EVERY KINDNESS YOU SHOW IS LIKE THROWING A PEBBLE INTO A STILL POND, IT IS RECIPROCATED AT INFINITUM.


THERE ARE BEGINNING TO BE WONDERFUL SIGNS OF HOPE ALL AROUND US -- THE COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE FAILURE OF COMMUNISM AND THE FALL OF THE EVIL BERLIN WALL - RABIN AND ARAFAT SHAKING HANDS (WHAT A COURAGEOUS ACT ON THE PART OF EACH) - NORTHERN IRELAND'S CEASE FIRE - THE CRUMBLING OF FREEDOMLESS CUBA - SCORES OF RADICAL NEW ATTEMPTS BY INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS ACROSS THE NATION TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE.  HERE IN DALLAS, DR. BOB SMITH'S GENEROUS GIFT OF A MILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD "BETTER KIDS - A BETTER DALLAS" - A CHRISTIAN MEN'S MOVEMENT WHICH BEGAN IN COLORADO (THAT OUR SON IS INVOLVED IN) WHICH HAS AS ITS OBJECT THE REDISCOVERY OF THE MALE ROLE AND SACRED OBLIGATIONS TO HIS WIFE, HIS CHILDREN, AND TO SOCIETY.  ALREADY THIS YEAR THIS NEW GROUP HAS FILLED TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND STADIUM SEATS WITH EAGER, CHEERING, DEDICATED MEN; FARMERS IN OVERALLS, STOCKBROKERS IN THREE-PIECE SUITS, ALL COLORS, ALL RELIGIONS.


IT IS INTERESTING THAT MOST OF THESE ZEALOUS DISCIPLES OF CHANGE ARE PRODUCTS OF THE YUPPIE, THE POT SMOKING, THE DROP-OUT, "GOD IS DEAD" GENERATION.  NO SINGLE GROUP IS AS PASSIONATE AS DEDICATED TO TURNING THIS WORLD AROUND AS IS THAT GENERATION OF AMERICANS. 

I HAVEN'T SEEN IT AND DON'T PLAN TO, BUT THE REVIEWS SAY THAT OLIVER STONE'S NEW MOVIE, "NATURAL BORN KILLERS" REPRESENTS AN ABSOLUTELY NEW LOW IN VIOLENCE AND HUMAN DEGRADATION.  BUT HOW ENCOURAGING IT IS THAT "FORREST GUMP", A HIGH-RISK PICTURE OF KINDNESS AND VIRTUE, IS CLIMBING TO AN ALL-TIME MOTION PICTURE BOX OFFICE HIGH.


THERE IS EVIDENCE ALL AROUND US THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO PASSIONATELY SEARCH FOR A BETTER WORLD -- THAT WE ARE REDISCOVERING OUR INNATELY GOOD INSTINCTS -- THAT WE ARE FINDING GOD IN OUR LIVES.  WE ARE YEARNING TO CHANGE.  THE SIGNS ARE ALL AROUND US.  THE EARTH IS BEGINNING TO QUAKE WITH CHANGE.  THERE IS A DISTANT AND GROWING RUMBLE OF HOPE.


I REMIND US ALL THAT PRACTICALLY EVERY GOOD THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF MAN BEGAN WITH A SINGLE, SIMPLE IDEA.  MY ALL-TIME HEROINE (ASIDE FROM MY OWN MOTHER) ROSA PARKS, DECIDED IN 1955 IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, THAT SHE WOULD NOT MOVE FROM HER SEAT IN THE FRONT OF THE BUS - NOT GO TO THE BACK WHERE TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF TRADITION DEMANDED THAT SHE SIT.  SHE WAS NOT BELLIGERENT - JUST A GENTLE, SWEET, BLACK LADY WHO DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO CHANGE - TO TAKE A STAND.

MRS. PARKS WAS SIMPLY SEEKING EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS.  SHE KNEW IN HER HEART THAT IT WAS WRONG FOR SCHOOLS, RESTAURANTS, PUBLIC TOILETS, AND EVEN WATER FOUNTAlNS TO BE SEGREGATED.  SHE WANTED THE RIGHT TO SIT WHERE IT WAS CONVENIENT ON PUBLIC CONVEYANCE. SHE WAS MERELY SEEKING THE BASIC CIVIL RIGHTS THAT OUR CONSTITUTION GUARANTEED HER.  I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT SHE WAS ASKING FOR THE SOCIAL LEGISLATION THAT CAME IN THE WAKE OF THE SORELY NEEDED CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION.  SHE WAS NOT SEEKING SPECIAL TREATMENT.  SHE SIMPLY AND WITHOUT RANCOR SOUGHT FAIRNESS AND EQUALITY.


LET ME SHARE WITH YOU SOMETHING I HAVE LEARNED IN JUST THE PAST FEW YEARS.  I SPENT THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS OF MY ADULTHOOD SO IMMERSED IN MAKlNG A LIVING AND BUILDING A CAREER, THAT I DIDN'T DEVOTE MUCH TIME TO THINKING ABOUT ANYONE EXCEPT MYSELF AND MY OWN FAMILY.  I HAVE LEARNED IN RECENT YEARS THAT THE HEART HAS A FINITE CAPACITY.  I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO FILL THE HUMAN HEART SO FULL OF LOVE THAT THERE IS NO ROOM FOR HATE.  I STILL SEE CIRCUMSTANCES AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR THAT IN THE PAST, WOULD FILL ME WITH ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE.  WHEN I DO, HABIT TEMPTS ME TO FIND A PLACE IN MY HEART FOR HATE TO RESIDE AND FESTER AND POISON MY SOUL.  BUT THERE IS NO SPACE LEFT -- NO PLACE IN MY HEART FOR THAT HATE TO OCCUPY.  I DO NOT FEEL HATE ANY MORE.  I FEEL SORROW AND COMPASSION.

I HAVE EXPERIENCED A CHANGE IN MY OWN LIFE THAT HAS ALREADY AFFECTED MY WHOLE FAMILY AND MANY OTHERS WITH WHOM I COME IN CONTACT, EVEN STRANGERS. IN THE PAST YEAR I HAVE BEEN THE GIVER OR RECEIVER OF HUNDREDS OF SIMPLE, EVERYDAY ACTS OF KINDNESS.  IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE AND I BELIEVE THAT MY NEW ATTITUDE HAS ALREADY MADE, AT LEAST, A TINY DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.  IT HAS BECOME A WAY OF LIFE FOR ME.  IT CAN WORK FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US.  DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT IT --- DO IT!  NO ONE WILL BE REWARDED MORE THAN YOURSELF.


RESURRECT YOUR HOPE.  IT ALL MUST BEGIN WITH EACH OF US. GOD IS BEGGING US TO DO IT.


REFLECT ON WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR WORLD EACH DECEMBER AS THE HOLlDAY SEASON BEGINS.  WE CHANGE OUR ATTITUDES TOWARD EACH OTHER.  WE BECOME MORE CARING, KINDER -- NOT ONLY TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS, BUT TO PEOPLE WE'VE HELD GRUDGES AGAlNST, AND STRANGERS WE PASS ON THE SIDEWALK.  OUR FACES CHANGE FROM A SCOWL TO A GENTLE SMILE.  WE LOOK FOR WAYS TO BE FRIENDLY TO OUR FELLOW MAN. DO I NEED REMIND US HOW INFECTIOUS IT IS?  WHY DOES ALL OF THAT HAVE TO CHANGE ON JANUARY FIRST?  LET'S MAKE THIS JANUARY 1ST DIFFERENT.  LET'S DECLARE A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION...TO BE KIND TO EACH OTHER.


MAYBE THIS ALL SOUNDS TOO SIMPLISTIC, PERHAPS EVEN NAIVE. LIKE A, "HAVE A NICE DAY" OR PUT ON A "HAPPY FACE" CAMPAIGN.


I DON'T MEAN TO SUGGEST THAT WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IS A FORMULA TO SUDDENLY END WHAT SEEMS TO BE A STEADY SLIDE OF OUR NATION INTO A SINKHOLE OF HATE, VIOLENCE, AND UNCARING.

WHAT I DO SUGGEST (TO BORROW FROM ANOTHER OF MY HEROES, WINSTON CHURCHILL) IS THAT - WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, "MAY NOT REPRESENT AN END TO OUR PROBLEM, PERHAPS NOT EVEN THE END OF THE BEGINNING.  BUT IT CAN BE THE BEGINNING OF THE END."

BEFORE ANYTHING IMPORTANT CAN HAPPEN THE HEARTS OF MAN MUST CHANGE, AND IT MUST START TODAY WITH YOU AND ME.  WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE.  WE NEED EACH OTHER.  WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE...WE MUST MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.  LET'S BEGIN TO BE DECENT AND KIND TO EACH OTHER...