This is the backstory. Bobby Kennedy gave a speech at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He spoke about the parallels that exist between America and South Africa. Bobby could make his point in many ways. His speech begins by causing his audience to think he was merely giving his South African audience a brief history of their country.

This speech included a litany of professors and administrators at the university. However, the audience Bobby wanted to grasp his message was a much younger generation. He wanted the students at the university who were celebrating the Day of Affirmation, a celebration of liberty, to leave, understanding how they need to live their lives.

Liberty encompasses freedom of speech and the freedom to achieve their dreams regardless of race, ethnic background, and how humans have been discriminated against. Nonetheless, Bobby spoke about ripples of hope.

The ripple effect

Bobby offers the younger generation an option, an either/or choice. The ripple effect works either for good or for evil. Kennedy wasn’t preaching to the older generations. Only the youth aren’t tainted by decades of evil, prejudices, and shortcomings. If humans are to survive on our pale blue dot in the cosmic sea of galaxies, the younger generation is our only hope.

Look at the world in which we live. The emissions from fossil fuels pollute the air we breathe. We have polluted the water that we drink. The rich get richer, which causes most of the world to live and die in poverty.

This chart shows the highly vulnerable 3.4 billion who live in Asia, Africa, and the rest of the world. These figures represent half of the population of the world.

Those living in poverty

The lack of food and medicine is the only thing that is killing people. No matter where we look in neighborhoods in Lewiston, Maine, and any town or city in America. Young and old die or are wounded.

Look beyond our borders to countries like Ukraine or Israel. Additionally, there is a litany of lesser-known wars.

Map of ongoing armed conflicts (number of combat-related deaths in current or past year):

Global Conflicts

The issue of the ripple effect allows either the youth who want equality to spread throughout the world, or the ripple effects will continue the issue of inequality, whether it is racial, sexual, or putting down of others by wars or killings. I’m in my twilight years, and what is happening on this pale blue dot is clear.

Look around and think. Each of us sends out ripples in our world. That isn’t the issue. It is what types of ripples we are creating. Bobby Kennedy is the most influential mentor to me. He spoke to my generation in the 60s by motivating them toward a higher calling than merely repeating the mistakes that our parents or grandparents made.

Bobby wrote, “Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.” Remember, we will either assist the next generation by helping them or make their lives worse by replicating our mistakes. Finally, Bobby also said, “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.”

Choose wisely regarding your type of ripple.