A spiritual basis for unity in the twenty-first century

Olga M. Chaffee

There was a moment, even if too brief, when people the whole world over held their breath together. There was a feeling of unity that transcended national pride or competition or merely personal accomplishment. I'm referring to the night or morning or afternoon—depending on where on the globe one was at that moment—when Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the moon. The President of the United States voiced that feeling of unity for all of us when he talked to Neil Armstrong shortly after the landing and said, in part, "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this earth are truly one." Richard Nixon, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (Washington: United State Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 530 .

What made that moment priceless was not only the tremendous technical achievement but the fact that it proved humanity can experience a deep agreement of sentiment, regardless of politics, religion, or culture. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say there was an expression of love that not many had known before.