22
JAN
2025
A Beloved Community
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns, to the broader concerns of all humanity.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
As I write this on the birthday(Jan. 15th) of one of the greatest peace activists America has ever known, I can’t help but think that he would be disappointed in the division of our current nation.
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘Birth of a New Age’ speech, he says “I would like to suggest some things that we must do to live in this new world, to prepare to live in it, the challenges that control us. The first thing is this, that we must rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns, with a broader concern for all humanity. You see this is a new world of geographic togetherness. No individual can afford to live alone now.”
Has anything ever rang so true? Obviously the best thing one can do for another, is to have compassion? It sounds so easy right?
Outgoing U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy echo’s this idea in his ‘Parting Prescription for America’, his farewell letter to the American people.
Dr. Murthy says, “That the sense of community has eroded for too many of us, with alarming consequences.” He says that too often he heard, “I don’t have anyone I can count on,” in dispirited and disheartened tones, from people he would meet while traveling the country.
“Through my work over two terms as Surgeon General,” Dr. Murthy says, “I saw the answer to what’s missing is simple, yet profound: Community.” He continues, “The loss of community has become one of the defining challenges of our time. In response, we need a fundamental shift in how we build and prioritize community.”
Time tells us that this is not easy. Tribalism continues to be a major challenge all across the globe. So we must be proactive, and practice daily. When the urge comes to fault others, let’s instead follow Dr. King’s prescription for forgiveness, compassion, and understanding.
Let’s do as our Surgeon General urges, and focus on relationships, service, and purpose. Dr. Murthy tells us that, “When it comes to community, how we approach our relationships, service and purpose matters. Over half a century ago Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that we cannot build a healthy community if we are motivated by hatred toward others.”
In his speech Reverend King continued, ”We must conquer the hate of the old age and the love of the new age and go into the new age with love that is understanding for all people. To have with it a forgiving attitude. It has with it something that will cause you to look deep down within every person and see within them something of Godliness. That something that will cause you to stand up before them, and love them.”
Let us pickup Dr. King’s mission to create a, “Beloved Community.” Where, in the words of the Dalai Lama, “We all are part of the human community and have the responsibility to benefit that community. We should take a more active role in helping society by employing whatever talents and abilities we possess to help others. For if the human community is happy and at peace, we all benefit.”
-MJ Polk
15
JAN
2025
Los Angeles is Burning
We all know that California has wildfires. There seems to be at least one burning all summer, each year. The usual comment from us southerners is something to the effect of, “if they’d do more controlled burns, fires wouldn’t be such a problem.” But this is a bit different.
This time, Los Angeles itself is on fire. At the time of this writing, the California Department of Forestry reports that there are in fact 55 total fires, with 5 considered major, and currently over 27,000 acres burned. Only 2 of the 5 major fires are more than 0% contained, the Lidia fire being the most contained at paultry 40%. The Palisades, Eaton, and Sunset fires all sit at zero.
This morning(Thursday Jan. 9th), the first thing on my X(Twitter) feed was a photo of the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign burning, as a fast moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills late Wednesday night. That photo may be fake, but the devastation of these deadly fires is not. The AP is reporting a confirmed 5 deaths, and more than 130,000 people under evacuation orders. Fire Chief Chad Austin, in Pasadena, says that up to 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the Eaton fire that started Tuesday night. He continued that the city's water system was stretched and further hampered by power outages, but that even without those issues, firefighters wouldn’t have been able to contain the fire due to intense winds fueling the flames.
“Those erratic wind gusts are throwing embers multiple miles ahead of the fire,” Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Austin said, during a Wednesday night news conference.
The Palisades fire, located on the Pacific coast west of downtown L.A. is the largest in Los Angeles County history, with at least 1,000 structures burned. Entire city blocks are being reduced to ashes. Nothing is able to escape the fires' wrath, as the public library, shopping centers, banks, schools, and homes all go up in flames.
Like many environmental disasters, there’s been a perfect storm of events leading to this terrible scene. The major factor being the winds of up to 100mph fanning the flames. The Western Fire Chiefs Association says that those Santa Ana winds, combined with a dryer than normal summer, have combined to cause this unprecedented event. Along with its constant water woes, Southern California has seen less than 0.1 inches of rain since early May.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the citizens and first responders of Los Angeles and the surrounding counties, our fellow Americans, as they continue to battle this horrific disaster.
-MJ Polk
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