Today we celebrate the birth of a man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who dared to dream what many thought were impossible dreams.
On August 28, 1963, before a crowd of over 200,000, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King, spoke words that would reverberate around the world, but would not truly be heard by all, nor fully understood, nor their intent be realized until 45 years later.
King had a dream.
He said, “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.”
Yesterday, when President-elect Barack Obama, stood on those same steps and addressed thousands who had gathered for the ‘We are One’ concert, King’s vision became reality when Obama said, “Anything is possible in America.”
The promissory note that King once said was marked “insufficient funds” will finally be cashed tomorrow, January 20, 2009, when Obama takes the solemn oath of office assuming the mantle as our nation’s 44th President.
Tomorrow, our nation, joined as brothers representing every color of humankind, will not, as King said, “walk alone” but together we will be making a down payment and an entrance fee for what he envisioned as “the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”
It will finally be the fufillment of King’s dream that will “make real the promises of democracy,” which were set forth in our Declaration of Independence – “that all men are created equal.”
If this dream could come to pass, imagine what our collective futures hold even in these troubled times?
Standing on the Memorial steps yesterday Obama said, "Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead, I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure ... that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time."
From another plane and through the passage of four decades we still hear the guiding voice of Dr. King - “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”
I too, have a dream.
What about you?
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5 comments:
This is the first MLK day that I really feel what he was trying to say. Thank you, Martin Luther King and Barack Obama!
Yes we can! :)
You betcha! :)
Paula and Barry! I finally found you again! Remember L.A. and "Nicolandra"? I don't know how to get my contact information to you other than by snail mail because today (February 11th, 2009) I just unpacked some old documents which had been in storage and found a V------- H-ve- address for you but don't know whether it's current or not. Oh, well, I'll venture posting SunnyRainbowHeart@gmail.com.
So great to hear from you!!!! Snail mail won't work so I've sent you a PM.
Hugs all round - can't wait to catch up!
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