Nearly 3 score years ago I shared a dream, that like a wave swept over the hearts of these lands.. A wave of goodwill towards all men, be it my black brother or Persian sister. A wave of insight, that we all were created equal, in an image beyond the divisive lines the color of our skins or the nature of our beliefs help us draw in the sand. A wave of Truth, that whispered so softly that we are one, and 'we together', the people, make this beautiful nation what it is, and that 'we apart' would only see this fragile majesty crumble beneath our feet. And as a wave, we all saw fit to draw together and wash away the segregation and disparities and inequalities and hateful thinking that had blighted our lands for so very long.
3 score years later our painstaking labors have since bore fruit. Our black children share this fruit with their white brothren. Our brown-skinned niece cares for the vitality and promise of these branches baring this fruit with no less vigor than her homosexual nephew. Our loved ones of all creed fight overseas to protect this tree from those who threaten the beauty of its promise. And a black man leads in maintaining that promise, tending to the health of its roots to ensure his daughters and your sons fruit to share amongst them for generations beyond us. The Dream has been realized.
Alas, upon opening our eyes the harsh light of reality casts some really dark shadows.. The hatred that I dreamed would dissipate with the power of love has not subsided. The racism we saw once brash and direct has since been scattered.. but now crashes upon the spirit from all angles. Many a white man have grown in their thinking and have stopped murdering our black brothers and raping our black sisters, but in turn we have since allowed money, power, and greed to enslave us, and we commit such atrocities to ourselves. We are now "free at last" to seek our heritage and honor our culture and history, but instead of coming back with a fuller sense of self we return to the present with past hatred and greater despair. And our children, who have more access to the bounties of this world than we could have ever possibly imagined, believe more in a televised stereotype than they ever possibly could themselves. I am ashamed; for this tree that my dream grew, is full to bursting with rotten fruit.
What I see now was my failing is that in a dream, one need not understand a great many things.. and you need understanding in this real, harsh world. Understanding unites us and warms us. Understanding illuminates our way through impenetrable darkness; not just for some, but for all to that revered mountaintop.. And without it darkness is fed.. Cold is amplified.. Uncertainty is born, that grows into fear, that then, too, evolves into hate. For two men to disagree is the result of two working minds and having two separate perspectives, but to understand why one disagrees provides him the path to common ground with whom he quarrels.
I had dreamed a dream of prosperity and good will.. I see now with realistic eyes a beautiful view over the horizon of what can be, if we learn to understand our brothers and sisters. Find the courage and wisdom in your hearts and minds to make your enemy your friend, by seeking the root of his problems, so that he too might come to bare sweet fruit. For you may not agree with his choices, but do you too not hunger for bread? I may not believe as he believes, but if his faith make him a better person for the world, am I better to fault him? You may not share the same shoes nor walk the same path as your brothers and sisters half the world away, but do we not all share the same world, and sky, and breath? I have a vision that one day what had once divided us will exist to unite us.. What had once been hatred will evolve into mutual respect and understanding.. What had once been darkness, will then be light... For no matter your creed, your region, your belief, gender, sexuality, or experience; we all seek such light to guide our way into eternal prosperity...
And we need to walk hand-in-hand if we ever hope to reach the promise land!
Happy MLK Day :)
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