Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

Friday, I discovered I had Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech on my ipod, courtesy some podcasting shenanigans. I listened to it while i was at work. And then again. And then again. And then again. I've never heard the full length and breadth of this speech, and it is truly oratory for the ages.

But where any politician can have oratorical skills to marvel at, there is something much more potent in this glimpse of the past. There is a strength of character, an ironclad assurance of the justice of the cause of freedom, and the persist, unfaltering appeal for this nation, for these United States of America to live up to its promises to its Citizens.

Yes, its long, but it doesn't actually start until 1 minute in.




The saddest part about this whole event? that it was necessary, that it was required for hundreds of thousands of Americans to gather at once to cause a change in freedoms.

The next saddest part?
How far the decedents of this movement have fallen since.

3 comments:

Sra. Madera said...

Well said, Those who worked with MLK Jr. have since worked for their own good, not the good of their people. It is a tremendous speech and he really did have a vision that is much different then what took place after his death. The even sadder thing is that even his own family followed the lead of the others rather than fighting to keep his vision in focus.
God has a purpose for the life of each individual and He had a great purpose for MLK Jr. It is the small minded, selfish, power seeking ones who led the movement astray.

Solameanie said...

One does wonder what Dr. King would have said to the "Reverends" Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton if he were alive today.

RobertDWood said...

Sra, thanks for commenting. I agree.

Sola, I think it would have been a scathing rebuke of some kind, if had even taken notice. The small fry of Jackson and Sharpton and Wright may not even show up on the political radar if King was still with us.