[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HUMANITY'S GREATNESS IN A TIME OF PERIL

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                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2001

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention to my 
colleagues, a thoughtful article by Frank Kelly that appeared in the 
Santa Barbara News-Press, entitled ``Humanity's Greatness in a Time of 
Peril'' on November 25, 2000.
  Mr. Frank K. Kelly has been a journalist, a speechwriter for 
President Truman, Assistant to the Senate Majority Leader, Vice 
President of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, and 
Vice President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the following article:

           [From the Santa Barbara News-Press, Nov. 25, 2001]

            Voices--Humanity's Greatness in a Time of Peril

                          (By Frank K. Kelly)

       In a time of trouble and sorrow, with fears of terrorism 
     shadowing the future, 500 human beings gathered in Santa 
     Barbara on Nov. 9 to honor two young leaders who have shown 
     courage and compassion in lives of high achievement. The 
     gathering was described as ``An Evening for Peace,'' but it 
     was far more than that. It was a celebration, a tremendous 
     manifestation, of the creative powers of humanity.
       Two Peace Leadership Awards were presented that evening by 
     the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. One went to Hafsat Abiola, 
     founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, a dauntless 
     advocate for human rights throughout the African continent. A 
     beautiful young woman with a delicate face, she spoke of the 
     struggles she had endured and the triumphs that had been 
     achieved. When she finished, the people in the banquet room 
     rose to their feet in a spontaneous ovation.
       The second Peace Leadership Award was given to Craig 
     Kielburger, founder of the Free the Children organization, 
     who initiated a movement that led to the release of thousands 
     of children from conditions of labor enslavement. He created 
     it when he was 12 years old, stirred by the tragic fate of a 
     boy from Pakistan who was sold into bonded labor and killed 
     when he protested against the treatment of children in his 
     country. When Kielburger, now 18, completed his speech, he 
     also received an ovation.
       Bursts of affection and admiration flashed around that 
     enormous room in wave after wave. When the two young leaders 
     expressed their confidence in humanity's future, it was 
     evident that their experiences had increased their awareness 
     of the goodness and generosity existing in so many members of 
     the human species. They had a glow of love and respect around 
     them.
       There were hundreds of students in that huge room, students 
     from high school and colleges, students with a wide range of 
     gifts and ambitions, students from many ethnic backgrounds. 
     Their faces were shining with excitement. They were clearly 
     inspired by the two young leaders who were being acclaimed.
       I was among the hundreds of older persons who participated 
     in that gathering of glorious beings. I lived through four 
     wars and I had witnessed terrible sufferings. Yet I also 
     witnessed noble acts in many places. In spire of wars and 
     other calamities, in spite of terrorism and all the threats 
     that existed, I was sure that human beings would go from 
     height to height, achieving more in each generation.
       The celebration on Nov. 9 convinced me again that Thomas 
     Merton was right when he asserted in one of his books that it 
     is ``a glorious destiny to be a human being.'' I saw the 
     light of that glory in the faces of the young and the old 
     when they leaped to their feet to respond to a Nigerian woman 
     and a Canadian man.
       I was grateful for the privilege of being in that room on 
     that marvelous night. I was grateful for the work of the 
     Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in bringing so many wonderful 
     persons together. I was grateful for the fact that I had 
     participated in founding it and supporting it for 20 years.
       I felt an exultance, which reminded me of the surge of joy 
     I had felt when I took part in the liberation of Paris in 
     August of 1944. I had never expected to ride into that city 
     as a member of a victorious army. I had never expected to be 
     embraced by so many people, to be hailed as a liberator. It 
     was an ecstasy I had not earned. It was one of many gifts 
     showered upon me in a fortunate life.
       On the night of Nov. 9, I felt the exaltation that comes 
     when many people are celebrating the mystery and the wonder 
     of being human. We rejoiced together, we felt the endless 
     possibilities for greatness that can occur when people 
     acknowledge their unity in the spirit of love. We became 
     fully aware that hatred and cruelty can be overcome, and 
     there can be peace and justice in this world for all.
       I strongly believe that every one who was in that room that 
     night will carry the starburst of that celebration in their 
     lives through all the pains and problems of the coming years. 
     I thrill to the hope that a tremendous Age of Fulfillment is 
     dawning for the whole human family.

     

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