250th post: Declaration of Principles

In the series Babylon 5, a number of characters underwent a transformation from selfish to selfless, but perhaps none more so than those of G'Kar of the Narn Regime and Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic. Londo would one day give up his freedom to even move his own body without the consent of a slavemaster race in order to save his people, and G'Kar would go on to become something of a prophet among his people. It was in this later stage that he was asked to draft a Declaration of Principles for the newborn Interstellar Alliance.

The Universe speaks in many languages,
but only one voice.
The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri,
or Gaim or Minbari.
It speaks in the language of hope
It speaks in the language of trust
It speaks in the language of strength
and the language of compassion
It is the language of the heart
and the language of the soul
But always, it is the same voice
It is the voice of our ancestors,
speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors,
waiting to be born
It is the small, still voice that says:
We are one
No matter the blood
No matter the skin
No matter the world
No matter the star
We are one
No matter the pain
No matter the darkness
No matter the loss
No matter the fear:
We are one.
Here, gathered together in common cause,
we agree to recognize this singular truth
and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another
because each voice enriches us and ennobles us
and each voice lost diminishes us
We are the voice of the Universe,
the soul of creation,
the fire that will light the way to a better future
We are one
We are One.

We are one people, no matter the skin color and no matter the beliefs my friends. We are made in the likeness of God, and we are called to be His children. We are called to embrace His Son as our Savior, we are called to be humbled and made holy through His Grace.

In this Lenten season we are called to be repentant and to engage in prayer and almsgiving. Let us help those who cannot help themselves. Let us pray not only for our own wickedness, but for those who care not for their own souls. Let us recall as we move to curse others, that we are no better for we share the same frailties, the same darkness, the same fears and pain and that we should treat them as we would wish to be treated, with love.

Let us stay strong in He who is Love itself, let us gather together and give Him our hopes and dreams, our hearts and our souls, and allow Him to do with us what He will. May He use us for compassion and may He use us for truth. May He use us to spread the word of His Son as was commanded. And may He use us to remind even ourselves, that we are made for something more than this; long after we are gone from this mortal coil our descendants will remain and we will be fortunate to share in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Perhaps my last thing I want to say this evening will come of little shock to those who know me elsewhere, but remember the words of this fictional character, "We are one". One people. We are what divides us, not Him.

We are one. As we look at the images of those stricken by natural disaster in Japan, we should feel nothing of anger, but instead feel compassion. How can we help, we should ask ourselves. How can we try to make a difference for those who have suffered so greatly?

We are one. As we look to the people dying in a fight for their freedom in nations like Libya, we should mourn each voice that is lost. Does not the Quran say that he who takes a life destroys a world entire? So many have been put to the sword, a number of them for refusing to do so to their countrymen.

We are one people. No matter our skin. No matter our politics. No matter our socio-economic status. We are one, made in the likeness of God.