by Marlene Bricker

Created on: April 22, 2009

How does one person's pledge influence humanity? Tremendously! The population of the world is comprised of a collection of all of us. Each of us creates one tiny part. Not every person on the planet needs to make a pledge or change to make a huge difference. There is a point where enough people concentrate on an issue and it grows exponentially.

My personal pledge to humanity is that I will spend my time on this planet cultivating the desire to love my neighbor as myself. This is a difficult task. I have spent years looking at this issue. Do you realize if each of us loved our neighbor as one's self, which means to care for one's neighbor as one's self, we would not need a pledge to humanity! Each person on the planet would be fed, clothed, housed, and have the opportunity to contribute to society. There would be no need to steal or fight for power.

My personal opinion is that this is the only pledge to humanity that truly matters. Every other issue falls under this umbrella. If we loved each other, there would no no war. There would be no torture or ethnic cleansing. We would not care about the color or religion of others. Nor, would it matter if people were gay or straight. There would truly be a new order to humanity. Here comes the difficult part. How can this be achieved?

I have examined my own behavior. I remember how many times I walk faster than the person behind me so that I can get to the counter first. Or how many times have I reached out to take the last piece of food off of the plate. These are just little things. What about the long showers I take or using the dishwasher in the afternoon in the summer? How about the unnecessary car trips I make? There are so many places in my life where I have not considered anyone but me.

This seems to be the state humanity has fallen into. That is the reason that I am pledging that I personally will dedicate my life towards the desire to love my neighbor as myself. I have said I will work towards the desire, because the desire to love one's neighbor as one's self is not natural to humanity. It is something we will have to cultivate. This is not an easy task.

However, for me, it is most worthwhile. I must admit, it is not a beautiful thing to acknowledge about one's self. I surely would prefer thinking I am a wonderful humanitarian. Yet I know in order to change, I must first acknowledge there is a problem. And I have!

Learn more about this author, Marlene Bricker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.