The Dream

In all of my schooling there are two speeches that I will forever hold in my heart. Oddly enough, both speeches respond to the same issue, one that I have never known or can ever know. The first speech is Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," in which he honors the fallen of a war fought for many reasons including slavery. The second speech is Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream," which is more a sermon than a speech lamenting racism and hoping for a bette day.

As we celebrate and honor Dr. King for his unyielding determination, I am struck still by the words he spoke that day. I have a dream that my four 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 that one day every valley shall be exalted, 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. These words are just a few of the many beautiful and honest words spoken, but the meaning still breaks through for all the world. Whether our differences and distrusts rest in the color of our skin or the creeds of our heart, I find it immediatley necessary for all of humanity to look beyond those separations to the content of our hearts. So that we might be able to stand with all of God's children, or Allah's, or Buddha's or whoever else's you might worship or not, and be free together.