I decided to listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech today. It's a source of inspiration, because as I think back on the challenges he faced, the persecution he faced, it almost makes the troubles we now face look less intimidating in comparison. (Although, that isn't to down play the troubles we now face: They are very much real.)
Here is an excerpt that I like:
"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. 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."
He tells those listening, those fighting for their equal and civil rights, to go back to the places that they are most persecuted. Go back to those places where they are most hated and stand up to those in charge. To those doing despicable acts of violence and showing nothing but bigotry and hatred. He asks them to go out into that...
...and I see some people here talking about fleeing the Country and I wonder why? We have just as much right to this Country as any one down in a Red State, we have just as much right to this Country as evangelical or born again Christians, despite what they might say or think. Why flee? Why not stand and fight? Why not go marching down into those Red States and trying to reach out to them and bring them over to our side. We *KNOW* we are on the side of Good, we *KNOW* what we stand for are good principles and I believe that many other Americans -- including those who voted for Bush -- agree with our Principles and Values. A Southern Redneck needs Healthcare for his children and his family just as much as a Northern Bleeding Heart Liberal needs it for hers.
We need to go down into those Red States, and tell them of REAL Moral Values, of REAL American Values, of REAL Family Values and then explain to them that THESE ARE DEMOCRATIC VALUES. We need to tell them that we are all connected as one people -- a people who stand under the Stars and Stripes. We need to be the ones who Unite rather than Divide. Division is a trait of Republican Politics, not Democratic Politics. We need to point out that the Republicans can only win through division, that they cannot have a United Country. Bring back the old National Motto of E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one."
View the "I Have a Dream" speech and the audio of the speech here.
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