Here’s where you can help. If you like the idea of celebrating MAPD in your community, please recommend issuing such a proclamation to your municipal or national authorities. And please let me know (see email address below) if you learn that such a proclamation has been adopted. I could use your help in spreading the word about MAPD and the power of a promise to millions of people around the world.
While MAPD is scrupulously non-political, I also suggest that individuals, communities and nations could use MAPD to make a promise to reach an important national goal – such as supporting political candidates and parties that advocate early preparation for future global public health pandemics, or that favour multilateral solutions for global problems, such as addressing the urgent challenge of climate change.
You might be wondering why I selected May 4th. Since Make A Promise Day”is all about helping people empower themselves by turning important goals into heartfelt promises, I wanted to select a day on the calendar that conveyed this message of personal empowerment. An epiphany hit me: Make A Promise Day had to be on May 4th because then I could say the following sentence and it would make sense: May the Fourth be with you!
Yes, it’s a silly pun on the famous blessing from the Star Wars movies (“May the Force be with you!”). And yes, because of this association with that movie franchise some people already think of May 4th as Star Wars Day. But I have to admit I did not know about this so-called Star Wars Day when I first settled on May 4th as MAPD. Nor do I think there’s any reason Star Wars fans and advocates of MAPD can’t share the same date.
