Executive Summary
Purpose and Thesis Statement
This is a paper that explores how two persons made their lives count in the historical accounts of generations in which they existed. John Wesley who lived in the 18th century engaged in actions that many look back to and this seems to have motivated actions of later persons ready to learn from his endurance and diligence with enthusiasm as did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The paper argues that most of the significant changes that people desire in society can be achieved through dedicated efforts of few rather than uncommitted ones of many.
Problem
Issues of taking initiative and leading a movement that brings change seems to have ended with the reformist lives of such persons as Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, Jim Collins and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., among others. In this day and age, people who commit themselves to become the point men in important causes, laying down their efforts, sweat and blood do not exist. While there are many issues that can pose challenges to the order of life and welfare of humanity, people are not prepared to stand up in the old fashion of John Wesley, defying all odds to ensure they change the course of things. This is a paper that learns lessons from the heroism of John Wesley and martyr-like life of Luther Jr.
Solution
People have got to learn from their predecessors who gave everything in their power to see to it that what they stood for did not end in futility. The lives of people who shook and moved hurdles and what seemed insurmountable challenges broke stalemates and achieved victory for all have to be seen in the sense of models that can inform movements of this day and age. The masterminds of social, human and other movements have to dedicate themselves unreservedly to them if the change can be realized in their lifetime.
Conclusion
The persons that are subjects of historical accounts due to their initiatives to change bad regimes, oppressive statutes and to force a break from tormenting lifestyles for people when everyone else had resigned of their duty to fight for change tell future generations that change can only be achieved when everything is given up for it. Just like did Wesley and Luther Jr. giving up self-interest, personal comforts and standing up for the greater good is the way to achieve the so much spoken about and little acted on change in the current generation.
Proposal
Introduction
There are certain people who ever stood up on unpopular grounds and succeeded in making a popular impact on the course of history. These are people who little focused on what they cannot do and saw possibilities in narrow opportunities to initiate action that in the end attained phenomenal results for generations to hold in heritage. Historical books are written of people who became the point around which the destiny and fate of generations they lived in and those that succeeded them changed for the better. This is what it means by standing for an important course by being committed to being the change that one wants to see. For people to have become legends whose memories spur moments of celebration and for having been the root to the fruits that are enjoyed by later generations, it drives an important fact home, that change on this planet, impact on society, mobilizing significant actions does not hinge on many but on few who, with commitment, stand up to count. This is what many heroic and brave acts of such persons as Joan of Arc hold in them, to tell the world that in 1% of the population could mean an entire destiny and eternity for 99% who sit back idly and do nothing. The paper argues that most of the significant changes that people desire in society can be achieved through dedicated efforts of few rather than uncommitted ones of many.
Purpose
There are many issues that bedevil societies in the global sense today. The world is currently faced with many issues that are of particular interest to the welfare of human beings on this planet. While there is significant progress towards alleviation of such extreme injustices as racism, they have not necessarily been completely wiped out. Colonialism, slavery and racism composed the world’s most loathed evils that ever did attract vehement denunciation. In America where Luther lived, all these aspects were experienced either together or separately in time and space. Reading the manner in which Wesley who in, assessment appears to have greatly influenced Luther’s doctrine, it comes out clear that only with mental, spiritual as well as psychological preparedness to face all can a cause be identified and pushed to a significant end (Sitkoff 2008). Wesley cast caution at the winds and dedicated to taking the Anglican doctrine to another level even when it he knew his life would be at peril for it (Hurst 2003). The concept of self-mortification for the sake of an interest that has a positive impact outside self is what most needs to be learned about creating an impact on changing evil practices in society. Wesley an Anglican apologetic took the perilous step of appointing evangelists that were not ordained to spread the Christian doctrine in England as well as North America. His was a dedicated itinerant that wanted to achieve more than just spread the word (Hurst 2003). Unlike many of the present-day church priests and pastors who confine themselves to issues about their ministry only, he was a vital participant in the abolitionist movement in the United Kingdom, which culminated to the abolition of slavery. He had to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, sacrificing the comforts of the family and the warmth of friends traversing through strange areas to achieve the impact he did. This is something that would later be borrowed a leaf of by Luther Jr. In his civil rights struggle. He did not just sympathize with the predicament of the marginalized Negro community but that he could use all the abilities he could master to turn the situation around. While there are many who shared his sentiments, not a good number of them had the will to take up his cause (King & Carson 2001). When it begun, the challenges were too many, animosity from the white authorities abounding yet he chose to face it all. An exploration of the influence of these figures on the situations that existed in their times has vital lessons for the many causes that stair in the eyes of people today with no one ready to act decisively. There is still evidence of racism that Luther fought against still continuing in many places; cases of colonialism guised in less fierce forms of neo-colonialism perpetuated through trends of dependence among states and evidence of instituted moral degradation.
There are no longer any latter day replicas of Luther Jr. or Wesley, who can stand up against these and cause change. The current denunciations of these are haphazard, purposeless and lacking in commitment and will. The lack of structured and well-organized initiative by people to exorcise these situations, advocate for equality with breathe and life is what has supplied good soil for them, to thrive. This is the reason as why in facing the challenges of the contemporary global society, people have to look back to the route that got the human race here and the initiatives that people had to take.
Problem Statement
In a world bedeviled by many challenges that are shaking its stability socially, politically, economically as well as morally, must people to stand up for positive actions more than ever. There are significant achievements that were realized through the efforts of past heroes that history celebrates such as Luther Jr. and John Wesley. However, the progress that they achieved has not been advanced ever since they died as no people have taken after them to lead initiatives of safeguarding societal welfare as they did. It is a problem of the leaders of this age not to learn from the lives and works of predecessors such as those that are subjects of this proposal’s study. They are concerned about protecting personal interest yet claim to be social activists, are involved in corrupt deals and are not stern in their actions. This has seen racism continue to thrive with no specific person taking responsibility to advance the fight against it. Not even those in the spiritual quarter of society have stood up to fight the political forces against passing enactments that are instituting immorality as was the case in the days of John Wesley who stood up and clearly stated his position as an advocate of Christian perfection (Hurst 2003). The current figures on the global scene are those who are known for having hit the most lucrative jackpots ever. Those that are making multibillion dollar deals are the subjects of focus in this day and age, and this is what seems to be all that life is. Everyone concerns themselves with their narrow personal concerns rather than the greater good of society.
The pro-homosexuality campaigns are going unchallenged and are attaining increasing popularity among the masses. Gay marriages are even solemnized on the altar and corruption conspiracies are being struck and implemented every new day. The activist stream of blood seems to have dried out. What people do about this is merely complain about them and leave it at that. There is no motivation that seems to have been inspired by the equality people enjoy now, the freedom and expression of will as having been earned rather than given through struggles for which others paid the ultimate price of death. And that is the way it is today, that as long as everything is fine with an individual, what becomes of others in no longer a communal concern (Bernstein 2011). This is how injustice, white-collar fraud, colonialism, racism, and marginalization continue to thrive and with no breaking point imaginable as long as no one is bothered.
Solution
The solution is for society to look back to the old good and how it has been thriving until when concern for common greater good has been let loose. That is how historical figures achieved in stamping their contribution to the welfare of all; it is only by looking at the heroism and courage of previous heroes of human service (Bernstein 2011). This is what Luther Jr. did in choosing to take up the civil rights cause. He articulated it as not being his own, but a heritage he took up from fallen heroes of the past. This include John Wesley, who chose to ensure that he adds his contribution in upholding universal good for all by standing up for the weak and, together with the efforts of a minority he managed to mobilize, influenced the majority to accept the fact that slavery was inhuman and society needed to be rid of it. He did not just speak about them in favorable weather but in times when it was despicable to do so. He did this and spread the good news of Christian perfection even to America where for the first time his efforts became material through the existence of the Methodist Church as independent for the Anglican Church (Outler & Heitzenrater 2002). Luther looks back to this in the similar fashion chooses to be a mastermind and commander of a non-violent civil rights movement that turned revolutionary. He picked up the spirit of Wesley and in just an ascetic way as did Wesley chooses to lay his life his hopes his aspirations and nearly his eternity to see to it that what he stood for, the course he was leading realizes beneficial good that will uphold goodness that everyone seems to have been keen to stray nowadays.
This is an important fact about the current problems that are at the core of the created order. The issues of morality that are being advanced by rightists politicians interested in exciting masses can be challenged by minorities who standup in an articulate way and offer injunctions (Bernstein 2011). It is historically evident that 1% of the population can influence the actions and the destiny of the remaining 99%. This is a fact that can be learned from Wesley, who, through his evangelism that was received with disapproval by a majority of the Anglican fraternity in the UK (Outler & Heitzenrater 2002). He was insightful about the fact that it all begins with one before it gets to all. Luther Jr. picked his share of inspiration from Wesley’s initiative, gave a large part of his life for others and through it, he cruised from being popular among minorities to becoming popular among the majority (King & Carson 2001). This is what should be of current activists, clergymen, and leaders. They should get over individualistic concerns and see the ordeal of the human race by taking individual responsibility. By giving themselves to this cause, they become point men of important causes that eventually will earn society justice, goodness, and morality.
Conclusion
The world is currently grappling with major issues that could erode the justice, uprightness and overall order as may have been meant by providence. While people in the past concerned themselves to see the good of all perpetuated and any marginalization of sections of the population limited, this concern seems to have died out. As can be learned from the attainments of Wesley and Luther King, justice is not easy to achieve and maintain. It takes boldness and preparedness to stand up and articulate justice and righteous amid perversion and popular evil. This is a fact that has lacked in the society today as people get pre-occupied with narrow individual concerns. Issues of moral decay can be handled by persons who stand up and draw initiatives to fight it to their last. After death of Luther and his likes, there have been no figures that have taken over to fight the remaining vestiges of racism, colonialism, and injustice. They now change from one form to another and are even finding institutionalization in populist legislative enactments. This means that in a situation where everyone seems to have retreated to individualism and do not favor the good of all, a few can rise, create a movement that sells ideas of common good. These few will attract the many who share similar sentiments, but have no will to act and through this, it becomes a formidable movement that eventually finds regard. Wesley did it, stood up for slaves and prisoners, evangelized at his peril and was even expelled from the Anglican Church. But the more hurdles he encountered, the more he was dedicated to surmount them. This would make him a figure worthy celebrating. This is the only breaking point to the raging immorality, corruption and perversions that are being embraced by many. To get over individualistic concerns is the way to address pervasion, moral decay, corruption racism and part of the solution to the global terror pandemic. It has been done in the past, and if people would repeat it, it can happen again.
References
Hurst, J. F. (2003). John Wesley the Methodist. Kessinger Publishing, p. 103-136
King, M. & Carston, C. (2001). The autobiography of martin Luther King Jr. New York: Interlectual Property Management, p.329-359.
Outler, A. & Heitzenrater, R. (2002). John Wesley’s Sermons and Anthology. Nashbille: Abingdon Press.
Sitkoff, H. (2008). The Struggle for Black Eqauality: Hill and Wang.
Bernstein, S. (2011). Bridges of reform: Interracial civil rights activism in twentieth-century Los Angeles. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
