"I Have A Dream"

[4morewars]

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 slaveowners 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. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. 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 when all of God's children will be able to sing with a 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 snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks 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 every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let 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!"

[KT2000]

1. Thank You eom

[4morewars]

3. You're welcome !

I have read and heard this speech at least 1,000 times and it never fails to move me. I still have goose bumps, and I posted it 20 minutes ago. People like our fraud of a president killed this man because he spoke truth to power.

Peace, Joe

[knowbody0]

2. to martin

thanks for your dream

[UL_Approved]

4. I have a dream as well

I have a dream that one day this nation will become aware of all its injustice and internal tyranny. I have a dream that one day the people of color, the people who immigrated within the last generation, the people who embrace lifestyles of homosexuality, and people of poverty will be able to walk steadfast and alongside the privileged classes of our countrymen and be seen as their human equals. I have a dream that the ghettos of Detroit, Michigan, Washington, DC, and in other major cities will be abolished through the monetary liberation of these people from poverty. I have a dream that the religious fundamentalism in this country will give way to an understanding of tolerance and diversity. I have a dream that no color at all, even of our own currency, will be an issue of consideration in our society.

I have a dream that one day, in areas of our nation disposed to racial and lifestyle hatred, thick in the muck and mire of hateful pseudo-religious rhetoric, will one day breathe the fresh air and see the blue skies of understanding and compassion. I have a dream that on this day, our understanding of all tendencies to create an underclass are taught to our children so that they may avoid this terrible and destructive pitfall of humanity. I have a dream that all faiths, regardless of religion, denomination, and creed come to realize that the world is not divided through our differences, but is united through our similarities. Through tolerance, understanding, and education we will come to realize that the message of our creator is the same across all faiths and that the ridiculous dogma we profess to practice is a legacy of ignorance and misinterpretation.

This day, when at long last we have arrived at this juncture of our history, will be the day that every man, woman, and child will be a true American in the definitions set forth in the great works of our forefathers. We will see this day as sure as the sun will rise in the eastern sky, and the moon will follow at its set. This message, this condition, this freedom will be not a mere cry or jubilation, but a heartfelt, sincere, and real understanding and reality for all. From the inner city slums to the marginal poor of rural states, to the immigrants just arrived on our shores with nothing but their lives, to all the people who have already obtained the justice, freedom, and validation as recognized American citizens, this will be so.

Our freedom is in the balance, our freedom is on the rise. This has been true for a thousand years. We will fight for equality, not just token statements of equivalence. As we move toward this day, the last remnants of old prejudice and greed will give way to the masses fed up with such petty and divisive ideas. Recognition of the fact that discrimination is a real part of our society is the first step to moving out of our mess. The second step is to recognize that there is no special discrimination. Oppression or discrimination of one is the oppression and discrimination of us all. To endorse or tolerate any form of class-based society is to understate the value that some members of our society are inherently superior and others inherently inferior. The very belief that any prejudice is real is an admission and approval of them all. Our day of liberty comes when the notions of class, of economic haves and have-nots, of social prejudice and distrust, and general outlook of preference based upon heritage are soundly and thoroughly rejected. When our day comes, we may all stand up and say, in words already spoken, "Free at last, free at last, thank our creator, we are free at last!"