Sunday 8 September 2013

I Have A Dream.


I Have A Dream.


I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream . . .
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)[20]


 








On an overcast afternoon, late that sweltering summer, alongside the memorial to a great American statesman, a man stood up to fight for the freedom of people and generations to come. His message was simple, clear and heartfelt, and it carried with it no trace of the hatred meted out against him and his fellow men and women. A man judged harshly because of the colour of his skin and the origin of his parentage. But he had a vision of what could become the greatest force to bond men and women together that has ever been. To include respect and dignity and consideration for both people and their environment. His complete dis-stain for violence led him to make one of the greatest declarations in all of human history when he defiantly yet politely projected this attitude outward that historical day, with these immortal words:

"I Have A Dream".



That incredible man was Dr Martin Luther King Jr. a Baptist minister. The place was Washington D.C. The historical statesman was none other than Abraham Lincoln, who himself fought to create the ideals of freedom for everyone. The date was 28th August 1963.
And the force he had a vision of and was referring to and acting from was of course, LOVE.


"I Have a Dream" Speech

 


I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later,the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the “Unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
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 have 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 tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.  Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. 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. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
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 wrong 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. We must not allow our creative process to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous 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 realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the very victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for white only.”
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until, “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.  Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.  Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, 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 out 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 desert state sweltering with the heat and injustice, 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 color 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 down 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, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains 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. 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.  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.
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.” 
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World, ed. James Melvin Washington (San Francisco: Harper, 1986), 102-106.
Related Documents:


This above transcript was copied from the item posted by TeachingAmericanHistory.org and are the words Dr King spoke that momentus day over 50 years ago.




What saddens me though, is that despite such huge changes that his life affected within the civil rights movement and the freedom for black and ethnic peoples in his beloved United States of America, racism has not been completely left behind as an abomination. This unfortunately is something deeply rooted in mankind and we will be a long time away from complete abstinence. I personally have no idea why one man can hate another because of the colour of his skin, or the place of his birth, or the nationality of his parents. Actually I should better say that I do have an idea, one formed by listening to others, but my heart and my soul do not recognise any just reason why this should be so. 


 
As the wonderfully inspired singer Bob Marley sang,
"One love, one heart, let's get together and feel all right."



As the undisputed genius that was John Lennon sang,
"Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace....yoo hoo.. ooh. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join us, and the world shall be as one!"

What tremendous clarity these warriors knew and shared with others. Like Dr King, they exemplified a true abundance of human spirit and caring. Though I never met Dr King, and am as ignorant as the next person who only has the brief glimpse of history to look at to understand him, I do believe that what he did for the human race and the spirit of agape love, will never die. Not in memory nor in its far reaching effects. I would however like to see more admiration and thoughtfulness put into our world for those that unselfishly challenge the authority and rightfulness of the governance we live by. Surely the struggles that Dr King spoke out against have not entirely been washed away. Despite America having it's first elected Black president, they still appear to have moved slowly towards true and lasting fairness to all people of its nation.
Why even today men such as Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, who have challenged the hypocrisy of their leaders, are not made hero's, but despised as traitors. I for one believe that they are true to many of the ideals that were heralded by Dr King. Freedom of speech, freedom of rights, freedom of pursuits.
"Unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
I see it as very unfair and prejudicial to behave in the way that governments globally do. The supposed ethos of the majority, is to serve the people. In practice what evidently occurs is that they serve themselves and the elite of their nations. Greed and injustice are rife throughout our world. We need more hero's to challenge the rule of oppression. Like Dr King, whom received a huge inspiration from Gandhi, I myself seek to be a warrior for peace, love and justice. Inspired by so many of these people and their unfailing determination for truth to over-ride the hypocrisy, I urge everyone to adopt a manner of non-violent yet non-conformity in all their dealings. Peace and fairness through these actions will echo the examples set by the aforementioned warriors, and we could be on our way to true and lasting equality.
Dr King said something during that speech that resonates with me in a certain way.
"For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom."
I cannot help but admire this thought. Such a simple observation, yet a true and reasonable one. If we could only imagine this, I'm sure we could then act it out and set it as our fundamental belief about equality for all men, women and children. In fact every sentient being on our planet and every element of our world. As I have talked about in other previous articles, what we are doing, have done and potentially will do, shall have enormous consequences for us all, unless we count the true costs of these actions and attitudes. We cannot surely believe that we have no impact on each other by our individual actions and intentions. Blindness is not an excuse. Wake up and see the light of consciousness growing amongst us all, for a more enlightened way of being in the world. Each action we take has an affect. These are some of the most fundamental laws of the universe. A cause creates and affect. No ifs, no buts...
Whilst we reside in this human experience this will be our evidential reality. What we feel about that may change what we do. If we say we feel nothing then that will almost certainly perpetuate no action of significant event to the benefit of us as a collective. Perhaps if we change a tiny part of ourselves, of our thinking, reasoning and beliefs, we could have a significant result towards global changes. It's not rocket science, want less = leave more. Share more and conserve what is available with a longer term viewpoint. In fact act less selfishly and more selflessly and then real and dynamic changes will be seen flooding our world with love.
I have a dream, that each person alive could know happiness and peace. I have a dream that everyone shall come to know brotherhood and forgiveness and compassion and the joy of understanding our true nature. Life is a dream, an illusion, a fake reality if we do not prove our true ability to belong to spirit and oneness. My dream is the same in principle to Dr Kings.


What a legend is he that believes and acts in accordance with this truth.


May the love of your fellow beings and the oneness of this spirit move us all to act accordingly.


Thank you for reading. Please take some time to look at everything that Martin Luther King Jr. did for the world. Its a great story.


Namaste.
Peaceful Warrior.

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