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I have a Dream
Posted Thursday, August 28, 2008, at 4:06 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
On this day we should once again focus on one of the greatest American who ever lived. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech 45 years ago today. This speech was and is among the very few greatest orations ever offered since recorded history on this planet. Too bad the events in Colorado today will overshadow this great accomplishment by some who owe their very abilities to function as they do to Dr. King.
Dr. King's simple admonition to judge, if judge you must, people only on the "content of their character" is all too often ignored by many, if not most, in all strata of society. Such a poetic statement in its simplicity and brevity, yet so powerful in its philosophical import. No leader has emerged that remotely has the moral and intellectual integrity to carry the banner of Dr. King. Unfortunately, not only have none of his ilk risen but most have bastardized his most precious and ingenious message as stated above. Dr. King's message was intended to convey his position that all ethnic peculiarities are superficial. They count for naught in a persons potential and right to liberty. Yet leaders since have insisted these oft pejoratively treated parameters do in fact define a person and they alone are enough. Being black alone, as an example, is all that's required not only to command respect and equality, but to demand preferential treatment. They insist on inequality in the name of equality. Leaders who espouse this position of exclusion, and most do, guarantee their own aggrandizement and insure Dr. King's most heartfelt plea will be ignored. So as long as those burdened with oppression in this great Country are informed by their self-appointed leaders they need not try to take advantage of obvious opportunities since their skin color alone will inhibit them, do great injustice to the memory and legacy of Dr. King. The very simple solution is to insure by governmental fiat no institutional ethnic prejudices exist. This the government can do and has done. The government cannot mandate the actions nor emotions of the hearts and minds of citizens. Just listening to and adhering to Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech can. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Near lifelong resident of Bedford County. Will comment on the issues of the day in, hopefully a cogent and certainly an honest manner. Will propose discussions not usually fully addressed in the mainstream media.
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"....But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilising drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
...Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment....But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.
....The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realise that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realise that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of 'interposition' and 'nullification' -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; 'and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.'
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Martin Luther King
Very strong words spoken. Alot of Pain and Suffering in those days, which still leaves an impact in the present days. But Gods' Will, will be done one way or another. Whether it was spoken through Martin Luther King, or Elvis Presley. Like it is told, that when prayers go up, Blessings will come down. To ask and ye shall recieve. Many prayed to be freed from these evils. God is STILL in the Blessing Business.
nice blog!
There are many points of contrast between the Democratic ticket and the Republican pairing of John McCain plus "I haven't made up my mind" (points like intelligence, competence, and common sense), but few differences as stark as the gulf between John McCain and Joe Biden when it comes to public transportation.
It's becoming well known that Joe Biden commutes 100 miles a day by Amtrak. He pays for the service like anyone else, and appreciates it so much that he not only throws an annual Christmas party for the crew on his train, he stopped in to say goodbye to his "Amtrak family" before heading for Denver.
Biden's son serves on the Amtrak board, and Biden has been a consistent supporter of passenger rail service.
He is an original co-sponsor of the Amtrak Reauthorization Bill (National Defense Rail Act), S.104, introduced on January 7, 2003. Introducing an earlier version of the bill with Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) on March 6, 2002, Biden stated, "For 30 years, I have witnessed Congress dangling a carrot in front of Amtrak's eyes, funding it just enough for it to limp along. And I'll tell you, this has to stop. Now is the time to commit politically and financially to a strong, safe, and efficient passenger rail system."
If you want an expanded passenger rail network, having Joe Biden in a place to impact national policy is a good bet.
And now, John McCain. Not only has John McCain been part of the Republican attack crew trying to dismantle Amtrak, John McCain has been the leader of this effort. When it comes to passenger rail, Trainwreck McCain is public transportation enemy number one. He's worse than Bush. And though the "Straight Talk Express" has a Get on board the McCain Train banner, that's just another example of how McCain's talk is anything but straight.
In 2000, when he was chairman of the Senate Science, Commerce and Transportation committee, McCain killed $10 billion in capital funding for Amtrak. He denounced Amtrak as a symbol of government waste, claiming, "There's only two parts of the country that can support a viable rail system - the Northeast and the far West."
While pouring on the public funds for highway construction, Trainwreck McCain insisted that Amtrak be privatized by having its assets torn apart and sold piecemeal.
With Amtrak ridership soaring, and interest in more interstate rail high, Trainwreck McCain is seriously out of step with the demands of the public.
Thank you mayberry for hijacking my blog. I believe this may be a world record for being as far as possible from the subject of the blog.
Carl, maybe you should research this topic a little further. Maybe its a possibility that Dr. King rode a train to Washington to make this speech. Therefore, if McCain destroys Amtrak we may enter a time warp where there would be no rail transportation at all in 1963 and he would not have been able to make the speech. Can't believe you didn't make the connection. :)