In taking down our Fathers’ Day message, we gave great thought to what our next message should be. And in face of the increasing hatred, violence, and disrespect sweeping across our nation and communities we choose to post a message that speaks our inability as human beings to effectively co-exist and live in harmony and peace with one another: True human progress is made when the lives of people are improved internally through moral and ethical practices, not externally through manmade machines, inventions or material achievements.
Our message is not intended to disregard the creative genius of human beings that have allowed man to escape the boundaries of the earth and walk on the moon; develop medicines, prosthetics and other devices that not only save lives but extend life, too; and other science and technological advancements that increase our intelligence, improve our overall health and memory, and power our perception to new heights never imagined. However, in spite our many external achievements, we have not found a cure for the internal issues that cause us to hate, disrespect, and hurt each other.
In our research on the subject, we came across Dr. Martin Luther King’s Noble Peace Prize acceptance speech in which he addresses this issue better than we ever could. Dr. King’s speech is worthy of a complete reciting, but for the purpose of our message, key excerpts are provided below.
“Modern man has brought this whole world to an awe-inspiring threshold of the future. He has reached new and astonishing peaks of scientific success. He has produced machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. He has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. His airplanes and spaceships have dwarfed distance, placed time in chains, and carved highways through the stratosphere. This is a dazzling picture of modern man’s scientific and technological progress.
Yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
Every man lives in two realms, the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live. Our problem today is that we have allowed the internal to become lost in the external. We have allowed the means by which we live to outdistance the ends for which we live. So much of modern life can be summarized in that arresting dictum of the poet Thoreau: ‘Improved means to an unimproved end. This is the serious predicament, the deep and haunting problem confronting modern man. If we are to survive today, our moral and spiritual ‘lag’ must be eliminated. Enlarged material powers spell enlarged peril if there is not proportionate growth of the soul. When the ‘without’ of man’s nature subjugates the ‘within.’ dark storm clouds begin to form in the world.
This problem of spiritual and moral lag, which constitutes modern man’s chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man’s ethical infantilism. Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated is inextricably bound to the other. I refer to racial injustice, poverty, and war.
The solution of these problems is in turn dependent upon man squaring his moral progress with his scientific progress and learning the practical art of living in harmony.”
Today, as we consider the state of our country and the issues confronting our families and communities, Dr. King’s words are timeless and remain relevant.
Helping Fathers serve as Role Models to their Children and Family, and Positive Viable Assets to Their Communities.
Nothing is more important than the love of family; not money, silver, or gold – no material thing made is its substitute. In today’s world of uncertainty, turmoil, mayhem, and perplexity it’s imperative that the love of family take its place at the top of our priority list and in the center of our hearts.
That’s why it is extremely important that all communities find ways to strengthen and support the love of family and encourage men who are in many ways the progenitors of family, to be positive viable role models to their children, providers and protectors of their family, and responsible respected members of their community.
From the very beginning of human existence, people have found ways to come together to enjoy the benefits of emotional, physical, economic, and shared support. There may be no relationship where you can enjoy those benefits more then with members of your family. It is through family that we learn the generosities of the spirits of tolerance, accommodation, forgiveness, and trust. Through family we learn to love ourselves and others; to help another in need; find meaning in our life and give purpose and support to the lives of others; and feel the value of being part of something beyond ourselves.
Over the years the concept of family has evolved as a result of family separations, divorce, cohabitation and the choice to not have children – the traditional two-parent family has seriously declined and families have gotten smaller as a result of the growth of single-parent households. But, the importance of family to the well-being of children cannot be stressed enough. From birth, children depend on parents and family for protection and their needs. Their mere existence and ability to live meaningful and prosperous lives depends of their mother and father, family, and the benevolence of those in the communities in which they are nurtured.
However, family is not just important to the growth and development of children, it is also important to the well being of fathers and mothers and extended family, like grandparents and long-term friends and acquaintances that find themselves welcomed, comforted and loved in a family without any biological relationship.
For all those who understand the importance of family and are actively seeking to encourage and sustain it, please know that it is a responsibility and calling from the highest authority and for that reason you deserve the utmost regard and consideration.
FATHERS INCORPORATED PROGRAM GOALS
Conduct the “Father of the Year Award” in urban communities throughout the USA.
Implement and conduct a “Returning Citizen Program” to assist formally incarcerated nonviolent fathers in their desire to reconnect with their children, families, and communities and live viable and productive lives.
Conduct an Intergenerational Program that bring the elderly and youth together for the common good.
Conduct a Scholarship Program that encourages males to become nurses to address the nursing crisis that’s impacting the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable communities.