I Have A Dream And Martin Luther King
Without Prejudice
I have a Dream remains one of the most famous speeches of all time. A diminutive figure of a man, Martin Luther King became a giant of a man, that day, 50 years ago on the 28th of August, as he urged the U.S A to stop vilifying the Negro. That all men, regardless of colour were created equal. As the Father Of Freedom, Abraham Lincoln gazes down from his stony statue as King delivers the speech that changed a nation.
No one expected the numbers of people, black and white, that showed up that day. From thinking that they would barely make a 100,000 at the rally, the organisers were stunned at the 250,000 turnout. Stunned that a simple song "We shall overcome " would become an anthem. They could not foresee that a simple baptist minister would be crowned a Nobel Peace Winner within the year.
That the same simple man, this Martin Luther King was to become one of the greatest if not the greatest orator of all time. His simple words delivered with belief and passion. But at the urging of Mahalia Jackson who said in the background, Tell Them The Dream ! Martin. He used his I Have A Dream Speech at the end of his oration.
He had a dream that all men, regardless of colour, would sit down together one day at the same table, that there would be no more discrimination, no more segregation, no more cruel racism. That his 4 little children would hold hands with other children, black or white. That all his children would be regarded for their strength of their character and not for the colour of their skin.
Any human that watched or listened to a radio that day, saw the humble man that asked for Freedom for the negro, was forever changed. A peaceful man that believed in justice and equality for all men and women. That lead the march on the nations capital to be heard. Coupled with the brutal footage of protestors being beaten, Negros treated like animals, his speech moved a nation and the world.
The civil rights movement took a leap forward that day. The rumblings beginning in the previous decade. The woman that refused to give up her seat for a white man. The little girls that marched from a bus to enter an all white school. Looking back it seems bizarre, inhuman that the Negro was made to sit at the back of a bus. That famous black entertainers were not allowed to use the same facilities in clubs that the white man could use.
Things had to change, then, and still do now. At Uni we were asked to write our own, I Have A Dream speech and here in part is mine as I would write it today.
I Have A Dream........
I have a dream that all men and women one day are treated as equals. That education is available to all and that a brave little girl of twelve is not shot by grown men for wanting to be educated. I have a dream that women will raise their standards and demand equal rights for pay, for promotion, for equality in a world of mainly Men's Rules.
That no woman is brutalised by rape, sexual assault or lives in fear. That good men do not stand by in silence as any woman is berated, tortured, hit, punched or kicked or discriminated against, simply for the fact that she was born female. That baby girls are not killed at birth simply because of their gender.
And that my four daughters are never subjected to discrimination by anyone and are judged on who they are, what good they do in the world and are not subjected to domestic violence. That domestic violence is reported more, believed in more and does not remain a hidden silent crime and the
perpetrators are vilified, and brought to Justice, jailed, educated and rehabilitated.
I have a dream.............that the disaffected are housed and not left homeless, give them a flat of their own, not subject to bad landlords and high private rent. Give them back their dignity and they will rise up, give them affordable rent in a safe secure environment in this land of great wealth. That wrong doers are punished properly for their crimes. And removed from normal society so that they are no longer a danger to the rest of us.
That mental health is addressed properly and comes out of the dark ages. A society where the elderly feel safe, the young are not allowed to be bored enough to commit crime, that war and fear are not a reality. That all religions that promote peace are allowed to flourish and religions that promote hatred are banned.
I have a dream that there is less of a gap between the haves and the have nots. A world where communities come together in helping their neighbours, feeling that they belong to a bigger group of people that help and not hide behind the curtains looking out. That everyone helps in some way another human being, not just to be a " Do Gooder " but to feel the wonderful emotion that comes from being human and helping another human to " step up ".
I have a dream that we evolve from being merely mortal and realise that we are here for a purpose. That we have the ability to both love and hate, but prefer to love. That we no longer use as an excuse the dogma that we are " only human " and excuse bad behaviour because of that reason.
We have the ability to not kill, not lie, not abuse, that all men see females as their Mother, their Sister, their friend and put paid to low living behaviour.
That women also step up and do not see men as just a meal ticket, marry the right one and do not berate him endlessly for what he isn't. That they praise him for what he is however, and make marriage easier and divorce harder so it is not just a knee jerk reaction for people who do not want to do the work. Marriage is hard and it's daily, so should be supported in so many ways as people that are married are calmer, happier, more fulfilled, so we should do everything we can to support that.
Divorce should be harder becausea if you ask anyone, divorce is a nightmare, death being easier by comparison.
I have a dream.......
I have a Dream remains one of the most famous speeches of all time. A diminutive figure of a man, Martin Luther King became a giant of a man, that day, 50 years ago on the 28th of August, as he urged the U.S A to stop vilifying the Negro. That all men, regardless of colour were created equal. As the Father Of Freedom, Abraham Lincoln gazes down from his stony statue as King delivers the speech that changed a nation.
No one expected the numbers of people, black and white, that showed up that day. From thinking that they would barely make a 100,000 at the rally, the organisers were stunned at the 250,000 turnout. Stunned that a simple song "We shall overcome " would become an anthem. They could not foresee that a simple baptist minister would be crowned a Nobel Peace Winner within the year.
That the same simple man, this Martin Luther King was to become one of the greatest if not the greatest orator of all time. His simple words delivered with belief and passion. But at the urging of Mahalia Jackson who said in the background, Tell Them The Dream ! Martin. He used his I Have A Dream Speech at the end of his oration.
He had a dream that all men, regardless of colour, would sit down together one day at the same table, that there would be no more discrimination, no more segregation, no more cruel racism. That his 4 little children would hold hands with other children, black or white. That all his children would be regarded for their strength of their character and not for the colour of their skin.
Any human that watched or listened to a radio that day, saw the humble man that asked for Freedom for the negro, was forever changed. A peaceful man that believed in justice and equality for all men and women. That lead the march on the nations capital to be heard. Coupled with the brutal footage of protestors being beaten, Negros treated like animals, his speech moved a nation and the world.
The civil rights movement took a leap forward that day. The rumblings beginning in the previous decade. The woman that refused to give up her seat for a white man. The little girls that marched from a bus to enter an all white school. Looking back it seems bizarre, inhuman that the Negro was made to sit at the back of a bus. That famous black entertainers were not allowed to use the same facilities in clubs that the white man could use.
Things had to change, then, and still do now. At Uni we were asked to write our own, I Have A Dream speech and here in part is mine as I would write it today.
I Have A Dream........
I have a dream that all men and women one day are treated as equals. That education is available to all and that a brave little girl of twelve is not shot by grown men for wanting to be educated. I have a dream that women will raise their standards and demand equal rights for pay, for promotion, for equality in a world of mainly Men's Rules.
That no woman is brutalised by rape, sexual assault or lives in fear. That good men do not stand by in silence as any woman is berated, tortured, hit, punched or kicked or discriminated against, simply for the fact that she was born female. That baby girls are not killed at birth simply because of their gender.
And that my four daughters are never subjected to discrimination by anyone and are judged on who they are, what good they do in the world and are not subjected to domestic violence. That domestic violence is reported more, believed in more and does not remain a hidden silent crime and the
perpetrators are vilified, and brought to Justice, jailed, educated and rehabilitated.
I have a dream.............that the disaffected are housed and not left homeless, give them a flat of their own, not subject to bad landlords and high private rent. Give them back their dignity and they will rise up, give them affordable rent in a safe secure environment in this land of great wealth. That wrong doers are punished properly for their crimes. And removed from normal society so that they are no longer a danger to the rest of us.
That mental health is addressed properly and comes out of the dark ages. A society where the elderly feel safe, the young are not allowed to be bored enough to commit crime, that war and fear are not a reality. That all religions that promote peace are allowed to flourish and religions that promote hatred are banned.
I have a dream that there is less of a gap between the haves and the have nots. A world where communities come together in helping their neighbours, feeling that they belong to a bigger group of people that help and not hide behind the curtains looking out. That everyone helps in some way another human being, not just to be a " Do Gooder " but to feel the wonderful emotion that comes from being human and helping another human to " step up ".
I have a dream that we evolve from being merely mortal and realise that we are here for a purpose. That we have the ability to both love and hate, but prefer to love. That we no longer use as an excuse the dogma that we are " only human " and excuse bad behaviour because of that reason.
We have the ability to not kill, not lie, not abuse, that all men see females as their Mother, their Sister, their friend and put paid to low living behaviour.
That women also step up and do not see men as just a meal ticket, marry the right one and do not berate him endlessly for what he isn't. That they praise him for what he is however, and make marriage easier and divorce harder so it is not just a knee jerk reaction for people who do not want to do the work. Marriage is hard and it's daily, so should be supported in so many ways as people that are married are calmer, happier, more fulfilled, so we should do everything we can to support that.
Divorce should be harder becausea if you ask anyone, divorce is a nightmare, death being easier by comparison.
I have a dream.......
