In the spirit of brotherhood: are you radical? You should be. (NRPA Perspectives).

Being a radical isn't necessarily a bad thing. Our early park and recreation leaders had radical, even revolutionary ideas about meeting the social needs of their fellow human beings. Like our early leaders, each of us continues to make progress by improving the quality of life for people in our communities through parks and recreation programs and services. A radical person advocates fundamental or extreme social and political changes. Progress comes slowly, but as social radicals, we need to continue to lead the charge for human rights, especially in our own communities.

We'll never agree on the characteristics for a perfect person. As human beings, we're all unique individuals. At the same time, we're all connected; our commonness brings us together. This commonness is the basis for understanding the spirit of brotherhood. It's increasingly critical that we should look for the possibilities in individuals and wonder at the amazing creation of human beings. Yes, we need to acknowledge, tolerate and respect our differences, but we need to be aware of and in control of our preconditioned judgments. Every living thing has value and should be respected. This point is wonderfully made in the following parable.

   It was a warm, bright summer
   day in the forest. In the center of
   this vast wooded land stood an
   enormous oak tree. It was a
   magnificent and proud old tree,
   with spreading branches and
   thousands of leaves glistening in
   the sunshine. Many birds lived
   and nested in its hiding places,
   and dozens of animals rested or
   made their home in the tree's
   hollows.

   A truck had made its way
   through the forest to the old oak
   and stopped. Four men got out
   and rubbed their hands together
   as they examined the great tree.
   Each had his special values and
   prejudices. One said, "What a
   great amount of money I can
   make by chopping this up for
   firewood." Another said, "This
   would make a perfect place to
   build my ranch." The third man
   said, "I could build a freeway
   right over this spot." And the
   fourth man exclaimed, "I could
   use all of these trees to build
   new houses."

   Just as they were making their
   plans, there was a sound of
   laughter, and three children
   came into the wooded glen,
   stopped and stood in wonder at
   the tree's beauty and potentialities.
   Before long they ran around
   this monument and danced with
   innocent joy. They climbed into
   its branches to play in their
   make-believe new fort and
   jumped from limb to limb like
   monkeys.

   The four men watched in awe
   as they recounted their youth
   and considered their values.
   They then moved on to find
   other places to meet their needs.
   Meanwhile, the children looked
   forward to many more seasons
   of joy in their new discovery as
   they rested in the old tree's
   shade and listened to the cool
   breeze blow musically through
   the leaves.

As stewards of maintaining and improving quality of life, we need to be reminded of the necessity of a national commitment to brotherhood and an elimination of all forms of prejudice and discrimination in American society. Here are a few words from President Reagan from 1982 on the subject of brotherhood: "Surely one of this nation's greatest resources is the diversity of a people whose ancestry can be traced to an extraordinary variety of national origins and cultures. Though we differ in many respects, we share a love of this country and the freedom for which it stands. Let us join together as brothers in the family of man and reach across the religious and racial boundaries which unnecessarily divide neighbor against neighbor. Through friendship and understanding, we all stand to gain. Let us work and grow together as one great nation."

I encourage you to be a radical activist. We all carry many years of conditioned attitudes. First, look into your heart and dedicate yourself to the brotherhood of humanity. Second, create forums for your groups, organizations and communities to identify ways to confront problems and overcome discrimination. Make an action plan. Going along in silence comes with a personal cost for everyone.

Jonathan Korfhage, CPRP NRPA President