"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation...It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966.
A scientific answer. Every cell in the human body is bathed in a salt solution that is the same as the ocean of hundreds of millions of years ago. We are here because of evolution and a product of Darwin's Survival of the Fittest
A religious answer. The Protestant Work Ethic. We are here to work and work hard. Most of us are defined by our work.
My answer. Because we have this capability, to see beyond ourselves, we are here for a higher purpose. We have the ability to get outside of ourselves, to have empathy, to care for and raise up our fellow man, the ability to make this world a better place for ourselves and our ancestors. This is why I like the Robert Kennedy quote so much. Individual acts of goodness in the stream of life can create a current for the good.
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