Where Do We Go From Here?

“All men are interdependent.  Every nation is an heir of a vast treasury of ideas and labor to which both the living and the dead of all nations have contributed.  Whether we realize it or not, each of us lives eternally “in the red.” We are everlasting debtors to known and unknown men and women.  When we arise in the morning, we go into the bathroom where we reach for a sponge which is provided for us by a Pacific islander.  We reach for soap that is created for us by a European.  Then at the table we drink coffee which is provided for us by a South American, or tea by a Chinese or cocoa by a west African.  Before we leave for our jobs we are already beholden to more than half the world.  In a real sense, all life is interrelated.  The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich.  We are inevitably our brother’s keeper because we are our brother’s brother.  Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chapter 6 of his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)