UNITY
Around this Yuletide time of each year we tend to think a great deal about something we call “international”, “religious” or “racial” unity. We are emboldened with the Christmas-time fervor of Love-all-around and we think of how it might solve so many of our problems. It hides away in a corner of our Christmas wish box, or perhaps we make it a spoken part of our New Year hopes that something might come along which would bring about unity for all of Mankind- enabling us to live in peace.
Many years ago, I read a science-fiction piece which attempted to reach a solution for the problem. You may have read the same story. I think it was in the magazine called “Blue Book”- a rather long thing in the days when our magazines started setting forth “novellas”, as they were called. I don't remember the writer's name but he wrote a great deal of materials lot of the “pulp fiction”. If I had to guess it would be “H. Bedford-Jones”. It was in the mid 1930's and it had the somewhat unpleasant sounding title of “ The Gray Sickness”.
Scientists had found a strange silvery, metallic ball which had seemingly landed in our western desert regions. They took it under special care, thinking it to be something sent to us from outer space.
Wisely, they did not try to open it. Other such mysterious spheres were found and no one seems to know which might have in some way, shattered or opened one of them and released on Earth a fungus type dust, according to the news media of the time. Years went by and the sensational item fell out of the news awareness of Americans - like the Roswell, New Mexico, alien visitations did year's later to city a more recent on oncident, you may remember.
Gradually people came to be aware of the fact that newborn children were of a gray hue and that anyone who have suffered and had recovered turned gray. It soon became obvious that in the areas where the strange spheres had been opened – everyone was becoming gray. The theory of the story was that if we could eliminate the barrier of color we could live in absolute peace and unity. The scientists who had retained the first sphere by careful procedure, withdrew a portion of the contents of that ball and it was found that and advanced civilization far away in space, viewing our warlike self-deconstruction sent the continers of grey fungus to us with their best wishes for peace. Forget about color. Live as one and enjoy peace. It did not work.
The plan did not suceed as the space super nation though it would. In fact, we went to the extreme opposites quickly. New hatred, division; large segments of each color setting up protective enclaves, putting up walls to protect their culture - that sort of thing. I don't remember if scientists saved us all from destruction by created a anti-something substance, but the story was a thriller.
Isn't it odd how, even today, that when anyone brings forth an idea whereby we might find unity in the manner in which we live, that the very people who say they seek it readily are among the first to oppose it, by being unwilling to work together.
How sincerely do you really want and seek genuine, enduring Peace? There's a great deal more to it than simply going marching along waving a banner and screaming vocal tokens of your cupidity.
A.L.M. December 17, 2004 [c602wds]
