It's been a long road for blacks, whites, and all other people of color since this speech. Yet, that road continues on: full of obstacles (some self-created), full of slippery slopes, full of rocks.
Will it ever end? Will we ever be able to truly say that race doesn't matter? Will we ever be able to feel like the color of a person's skin is NOT the first thing many people notice?
I'm ashamed to say that the answer to these questions lies within the hearts of the American people. Hearts that overruled by greed and hatred for all things different, hearts that are governed by the desire for self, hearts that are blackened from distrust of our fellow man. How can we get past everything that has happened and truly be 'one nation, under God'?
"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 the table of brotherhood." How can this happen when families cannot even sit down at a table together?
"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." We can't pray at all. God has been taken out of schools, courts, events; what's next? No God in churches? How in the world can we stand up for anything together if we can't pray together?
"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." Given the content of some's character, I think I'd rather them be judged by the color of their skin. What's wrong with us? Are we such miserable individuals that the entire group has to suffer? Have we turned into automatons that have been programmed for hatred and non-acceptance?
"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." What is the American Dream? We've lost sight of the core values that once made this nation strong. We've shoved away the ideals of honesty, working hard, making something positive out of oneself and passing that legacy on to children. What is the American Dream today? Watching Jersey Shore or some other trashy reality TV? Exposing everyone's dirty laundry for the whole world to see? Stealing from people and stockpiling their wealth for your own? Denying people healthcare and wondering why Americans are in such bad shape? Letting the rich stay rich while the middle class disappears and the poor grows exponentially? Is that what we've come to? No more owning your own home, having and TAKING CARE of children, working your way up the ladder. That American Dream is now a nightmare of doing the right thing and (gasp) actually working to achieve your goals.
So, I ask you: What would Dr. King think of us today? When the jails are overpopulated with young black men, when white people accuse each other of "acting black" and young black people accuse each other of "acting white", when people who have bi-racial children have to worry about where their child will fit in, when women hold their purses closer as a man with baggy jeans and a hoodie walks by, when all popular music talks about is sex and money, when people are still afraid to discuss 'black' or 'white' issues in mixed company, when 'black' or 'white' issues even exist, when children aren't allowed to be children any more because of all the things that are pushed at them, when parenting has ceased to exist, when middle school students are having babies, when segregation is still alive and well--but it's called something else.
I'm sad to say that I think Dr. King would be embarrassed at what he would see today. I think he would hang his head in shame and wonder how in the world all of his hard work was tossed out the window. I think he would cry out over all the men and women who toiled alongside him to pave the way to racial freedom because their work seemed to be in vain. Dr. King lost his life to make his dream known and to try and make his dream a reality for everyone. Are we so ungrateful that we can't even TRY to make his ideas work? Are we so stupid that we can't even TRY to bring that reality to our children? Are we so slack that we are willing to just let his dream die because it's too hard to uphold, it's too much work, and it's just too sticky to talk about with people? People of ALL races need to get it together; this foolishness has gone on long enough!
