The World House Project

In Don't Think of An Elephant!, George Lakoff speaks of the need for progressives to organize around vision and values and to use metaphors to communicate their ideas. He also talks of the significance of 1964 to the radical right — the overwhelming defeat of Barry Goldwater — and the 40 years it took for conservatives to find their way out of the wilderness to achieve dominance on the American political scene.

The year 1964 was of enormous significance in another way. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize and first articulated his World House vision, a metaphor that embodies the vision and values of most faith traditions. Dr. King had a dream for America, conveyed so eloquently in his "I Have A Dream" speech on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC. He also had a dream for the world that he described in his Nobel lecture, delivered at the University of Oslo on December 11, 1964.

The World House is a metaphor for all people, all nations, and all religions.

The World House. God's house. From time immemorial, mortal men have tried to make it their house — Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler (we needn't speak of contemporary leaders) — but it’s God’s house. This house does not belong to any nation or any religion. It’s not America’s house. America is one room in the house. We are one world under God, not just one nation under God. It’s arrogant and dangerous for the human species to believe that we're in charge. The results of that belief are evident over the centuries. The World House is God-given. The metaphor affirms a higher authority, however we refer to it. The metaphor works for all people, all nations, and all religions. It transcends political parties and the liberal/conservative divide. We can choose between chaos and community within the World House. We can choose or not choose to build what Dr. King called the Beloved Community (the Kingdom of God on earth).

The World House. The solid foundation (the rock) on which the World House is built is Mother Earth. We must take care of the foundation, or it will crumble and the house, with its inhabitants, will be washed away. The World House is the ultimate in "green" construction and should serve as a model for how we build and how we carry out our activities. Unless we take care of the environment and address the serious problem of global warming, we desecrate God's creation and seal our own doom. Like Noah, we will find ourselves trying to fashion an ark

The World House. We are one human family. God made us that way. We divided ourselves up into nations. We are our brothers' and sisters' keeper, because we are our brothers' and sisters' brothers and sisters.

The World House. As Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. We must transcend tribe, race, nation, and religion and develop an overriding loyalty to humanity as a whole and an unconditional love for people everywhere.

The World House. The rules of the house are that we seek to beat our swords into plowshares, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, periodically forgive debt, welcome the stranger (for once we ourselves were exiles), take care of the widow, and visit those in prison. We are to observe the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. We are not to kill or exploit each other.

The World House. The United Nations is the family meeting place, where we try to work out differences and solve problems.

The World House. The structural problems of racism, poverty/materialism, and militarism must be fixed or the house is in danger of collapse (cf. termites, carpenter ants, and dry rot).

The World House. The whole house must be maintained, not simply the rooms where the wealthier, industrialized peoples live. The integrity of the house is compromised when resources are concentrated in a few rooms and the rest of the house is allowed to deteriorate. Long-term, it doesn't work for the 4.6% of the world's population living in America's room to control nearly 30% of the world’s wealth. Understandably, others in the family will clamor to move into this room or resent and be hostile about the economic disparities in the house.

The World House. Whatever the problem, it is prudent to focus on prevention and not simply on treatment. We immunize children so they won't become disabled or die from disease. We fund fire prevention programs as well as firefighting to save forests, buildings, and the lives of firefighters and civilians. It makes sense to launch terrorism prevention initiatives to address the root causes of terrorism if we value the lives of soldiers, try to love our enemies, and are concerned about civilians who might be killed or injured in military actions.

The World House. God's prophets cried out for justice, not for charity. Charity stops when the needs of the giver are met. Justice is not achieved until the needs of the poor and oppressed are met.

The World House. The vision is not fulfilled with the sword, which inflicts suffering and instills fear, but with justice, which relieves suffering and allows people to live in peace and unafraid.

The World House. The American dream is to own a house. The World House is a metaphor Americans can understand. In the World House, however, stewardship, not ownership, is the operating principle.