... Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. ...
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, 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, 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 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... 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 that one day... the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. ... 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 stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day...
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. ...
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 that old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last."
Rev. Martin Luther King
Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.
Posted to the UglierMarylanders blog 1/17/11 by ChristopherK2
I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, ...and greed.
ReplyDeleteIf you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
ReplyDelete~Martin Luther King Jr.~
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
ReplyDelete~"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King, Jr.~
Eyore4129: lol
ReplyDeleteBonnieisback58: ya and there are still some people that feel that way
PRETTTYONE319: still not bedding down with a black person
NO TO BIGGUMS: bonnie come over here let me see that pillow case you got on your head
Eyore4129: ou know the saying..."I have lots of black friends"..lol
Bonnieisback58: hey it aint my saying
PRETTTYONE319: some things you just don't
Amazing quotes, but I think the closed minds that peruse this blog have permanent hatred in their hearts. To the open hearts that try to bring light into this world via this blog with posts like that, thank you thank you thank you. I appreciate your kind words.
ReplyDeleteFor all you closed minded idiots, can you just find a short pier and walk off of it? For those who are landlocked, any tall building will do.
Thank you.
Thank you for posting that great speech Christopher. I have not read it line by line for some time. I wish others would take the time to read it and really think about the meaning behind it.
ReplyDelete<< Thank you for posting that great speech Christopher. I have not read it line by line for some time. I wish others would take the time to read it and really think about the meaning behind it. >> RedSky
ReplyDeleteThanks darling. I try to post it somewhere every year on MLK day.
To some extent, I believe that awareness of and respect for what MLK did is a generational thing. People my age (I was about to start 11th grade when he made that speech) were profoundly affected by the civil rights era and the many other changes in society that occurred throughout the sixties. It's impossible to ignore such things when you see on the evening news the horrible treatment of black people that was happening at that time.
Dr. King was also an incredible public speaker. His words of peace and love--despite what was happening throughout society--were very powerful, especially for the young.
And later there was the shock at his assassination. I was just 16 when John Kennedy was assassinated, and 21 at Bobby Kennedy's and Dr. King's. Those were extremely difficult times for many of us... not just the historical footnotes that later generations read about.
<< To the open hearts that try to bring light into this world via this blog with posts like that, thank you thank you thank you. I appreciate your kind words. >>
ReplyDeleteYou're most welcome. You may want to sometime go to YouTube and watch a video of that speech, especially one with commentary and video to put it into context of the time.
<< For all you closed minded idiots, can you just find a short pier and walk off of it? For those who are landlocked, any tall building will do. >>
You might want to reread Dr. King's opening words, above: "Let us not ... drink... from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."
Peace...