this service ranges from small acts of courtesy to far reaching principles and actions such as those demonstrated by people like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. Most of us do not achieve their kind of broad recognition and impact, but that does not make our smaller acts of service any less important. Even a small light surrounded by darkness can be seen from a great distance. There is so much hate and darkness in the world that no act of Love or Light is insignificant.

The Philosophers

Whether consciously or not, Mary Wollstonecraft, Martha Nussbaum and Peter Singer each advocate, in their own way, the spreading of Light in the world. The heart of their philosophies, though they differ in detail and in focus, is the desire to right some perceived wrong in society, even if society at large thinks it’s perfectly in the right. They believe in and strive for a world broader and better than the one in which they live, by challenging the status quo, largely through the written word, though Nussbaum and Singer are also prominent speakers. Thanks to technological advances, Nussbaum and Singer reach a broader audience today than Wollstonecraft could in her day. Nevertheless, Wollstonecraft’s influence is still being felt 250 years later. Similarly, I do not doubt that Nussbaum’s and Singer’s influence will resonate down future generations as well. I think this is true of most “heavy hitters” in service to Light, a category in which Wollstonecraft’s, Nussbaum’s and Singer’s devotion to justice, equality and humanity definitely places them (even if certain pro-life groups and others consider Singer to be the devil incarnate). Each has struggled or is struggling to enhance the lives of those around them for the betterment of society at large, in spite of, or even because of their own personal foibles.

Wollstonecraft passionately fought against the darkness of inequality, lack of education and mistreatment of women. She also condemned women’s complicity in their own subjugation, no doubt speaking from hard personal experience. Though far from perfect in practice or in her own execution of the Reason she so supported, Wollstonecraft was unwavering in her convictions regarding the equality of men and women and the vital need for women’s education beyond the narrow scope acceptable in her day. She did not pursue this for women’s sake alone. She strongly believed that providing women with equal education would not only enhance their happi