"Beloved Community" in honor of MLK ATC

Paraphrased from the King Center web site (http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-philosophy#sub4)

“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. popularized the term and invested it with deeper meaning. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Dr. King’s Beloved Community was not devoid of interpersonal, group or international conflict. Instead he recognized that conflict was an inevitable part of human experience. But he believed that conflicts could be resolved peacefully and adversaries could be reconciled through a mutual, determined commitment to nonviolence.

My personal interpretation: in a beloved community, community members take responsibility for themselves, each other and for their community. It's not an easy thing to do, to listen to others and care for others with viewpoints and perspectives that differ from my own. But it is what I must do in order to make my community a better place for everyone to live in.

In honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision, I would like to invite you to share your vision of a "Beloved Community" with an ATC (2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, with artist name, date, title of card, and signature on the back) made with any media that you care to use, and a lot of love and heart.

I will make this a newbie-friendly swap, as mutual trust seems to fit in with the theme. This would be a really awful swap to flake on, though, so I would ask that participants have a high commitment level to making and sending this ATC. I will angel this swap.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. The Swap-bot community has a lot of creative energy and ideas to share!