He was a polarizing figure, a controversial man, but he was also a necessary man. He was what the time needed, no, what the time demanded. Regardless of how you felt about him then or feel about him now, he fought for what he believed in and he paid for it with his life.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, 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 a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, 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.Watch it here:
Read it here.
It was a good dream...
It was a good dream...
Too bad few have heeded his statement that we not judge people on the basis of their skin color regarding their worth and abilities.
ReplyDeleteYou're right jib. If we were to judge folks by the "content of their character", there would be a lot of people in Washington who would be looking for new jobs!
DeleteJust sayin'...
King's dream was good. And he articulated it in unifying, poetic, and uplifting language. Unfortunately, many black leaders today have turned that dream bitter, and spew it out in the language of hate and victimhood.
ReplyDeleteYou've got that right Dan, from another portion of the same speech, Dr King said:
Delete"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."
Seems to me that some of Dr King's successors have been drinking very deeply from that "cup of bitterness and hatred."
King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech the day I was inducted into the USAF (08/28/1963)... so I missed the actual speech, bein' otherwise occupied. But I've read it many times since that day and never cease being moved.
ReplyDeleteA LOT of good stuff in that speech. Pity so few remember.
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