President Kennedy spoke these words during his inaugural address on January 20th, 1961. This Memorial Day, we revive his words to promote the simultaneous consideration of three basic concepts:

1. That the common enemies of man are tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
2. That those who make peaceful revolution impossible continue to make violent revolution inevitable,
3. That all citizens of the world should heed the command of Isaiah, to "undo the heavy burdens . . . and let the oppressed go free."

Today, however, there are too few Citizens of the World who are even aware of the methods of their own oppression, let alone the oppression of peoples in remote corners of the planet. If we collectively remain distracted and ignorant of the details in the most basic issues such as air quality & toxic emissions, health & nutrition, graft & corruption, education & occupation, or intolerance & prejudice, how can we possibly serve as responsible stewards of the Earth and fulfill Kennedy or Isaiah's request?

Spin abounds everywhere. Is the health impact of a besieged environment to be considered a serious threat on par with the global reach of terrorism? Could we be inadvertently and thoughtlessly terrorizing ourselves, our children, or others with population growth and conspicuous consumption?

Before anyone could make God's work his or her own, the state of the world would need to be objectively assessed and a multi-dimensional course of improvement defined.