I Have a Dream...

          Today, our country celebrates the life and accomplishments of a great man-- Martin Luther King, Jr.  I admire Dr. King, not because he was black when that fact alone should have condemned him to a life of repression (which he rose above and became very well-educated and successful).  I don't admire him because he was a minister (although his faith and service to God is an admirable quality).  Nor, do I admire him because of his beautiful speeches (however, the "I Have a Dream" speech gives me chill bumps every time I hear it). 
          Although all of those things would be reason enough to admire this man, the main reason that I count him as a personal hero is because of his self-sacrifice.  It is the one quality that he (along with many admirable others throughout history) posessed that I realize I may never attain.  Yes, I am well-educated and successful (I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Collaborative Education from the University of Alabama & am working on a Master's in this from Jacksonville State).  I may never be a minister, but I do have faith (large quantities of it, as well as a passion for studying religion).  And, as for words and speeches, while I may never have the chance to share my thoughts on such a large stage, I do have a way with words (I love reading & writing, and have written my own poems, songs, papers, reflections, blog entries, etc.).  However, despite all of these accomplishments, the quality of self-sacrifice is still out of reach.  Perhaps it is only something that can be understood if one becomes the champion of a cause they feel is greater than themselves (perhaps this is why this quality is present in many parents as they advocate for their children, or why it was evident in Dr. King and others as they marched across the South inspiring people to change their world for the better).  Whatever the reason, it is a quality that I year to posess.  It is something that all my heroes held in common-- my Gran, my parents, MLK, Jesus, America's Founding Fathers, etc...--and yet I haven't yet discovered how to embrace this admirable trait.

But, I have a dream....a dream that I, along with many others in this world, will take up the cross of self-sacrifice.  A dream that we will discover how we, individually, can each do our part to change the world for the better.

I leave anyone who reads this post with a few questions...In what ways could you sacrifice something in your life for the greater good?  Dr. King had a talent for oration and inspiration that gave an entire people and generation a voice.  What are your talents?  How can you "dream" for the world?

Excerpt from "I Have a Dream"

By: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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."

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.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, 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 there 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, and 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, and 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.

And 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.

And 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 to 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!