Weekly THIS AND THAT for May 27, 2007: Brittany Martin on "My Greatest Challenge"

This and That:
Brittany Martin on “My Greatest Challenge”

During the month of April the Hereford and Jacksonville Optimist Clubs selected sixteen participants from all sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students to participate in each of their local competitions. As a result of their local competitions, three students from Our Lady of Grace School were chosen. Brittany Martin and Scott Novak were to represent Jacksonville and Gillian Vincent was to represent Hereford at the Cockeysville area competition. Scott is in our seventh grade; Brittany and Gillian are in our eighth grade. This weekend and the two following I will be printing their speeches here in the weekly bulletin to share the marvelous skills our boys and girls have developed at Our Lady of Grace School. Congratulations Brittany, Gillian, and Scott, we are very proud of you!

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato

My greatest challenge is understanding how I can make a difference towards the goal of world peace. World peace is such an overwhelming goal, how can an ordinary person, like me, matter. First, I have to establish what world peace means to me. Is it a world without war, gangs, or weaponry; is it a world with no boundaries; is it a world with no poverty; is it a world without discrimination of race, religion, or ethnicity? To me, it’s all these things. We can face this challenge by overcoming the obstacles to world peace, recognizing the achievements of people who have influenced world peace, and figuring out how each of us can be a factor to world peace.

Obviously, the most severe obstacle to World Peace is War. From the expansion of the Roman Empire, to the present Iraqi conflict, war has been around for centuries. It seems to me, that both sides believe their cause will create peace. And yet, in each and every instance, peace was never sustained. War achieved very little and therefore, in my opinion, is a misguided means to their end. As I experience the current Iraqi War, it’s sad to watch, and listen, knowing how past wars never really ended. In Ronald Reagan’s Address on United States-Soviet Relations, he said, “To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.”

Race, Religion, ethnicity, more wealth, more land, and more power have all started these wars. But, history provides us with many great people who rose above these barriers to world peace. They are an inspiration to me in their personal acceptance of the responsibility to make a difference. They give me reason to believe that, in being like them, I, too, can make a contribution.

Born to uneducated parents on a farm in Kentucky, lost his mother at age nine, Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union and abolished slavery. Living as a peasant with parents unrightfully sentenced to prison, Mikhail Gorbachev created peace between Russia and Japan and also contributed to the ending of the Cold War. Growing up under American segregation of blacks, Martin Luther King rose above the racial inequalities that got in the way of a peace-loving world. Pope John Paul II became known as the "Pilgrim Pope" for traveling great distances. According to John Paul II, the trips symbolized bridge-building efforts between nations and religions, attempting to remove divisions created throughout history. While history describes those individuals as great, some even to be Nobel Peace prizewinners, they began life as ordinary people, just like me. But they accepted the challenge to be responsible for achieving world peace.

I can contribute towards world peace as well. Any ordinary person can help the world if they recognize that every good deed no matter how small makes a world of difference. This reminds me of a movie I saw called “Pay it Forward,” where an 11-year-old boy comes up with the idea that if one person does a good deed for three people, then each of those does a good deed for another three people, and those nine people do a good deed for three more, and the chain continues, it can have an incredible impact. This requires an extreme act of faith in others. This movie makes the point that it is hard for people, who are so used to the way things are, to change, that they just give up, and everyone loses. The prominent Greek statesmen and orator, Demosthenes, said “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” So seize every opportunity because, I believe it can make a local, national, or even global difference towards the goal of world peace.

Brittany Martin
February 13, 2007