,”Upon reflecting further on King's life, and specifically on his famous, "I have a dream" speech, I believe his ideals and words are just as inspiring as they were in 1963.
In 1963, during his famous speech outside of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King noted that the citizens of America came to realize that "their destiny is tied up with (each other's) destiny, and that their freedom is inextricably bound to (each other's) freedom."
King was referencing a mindset that our country often falls short of holding. A mindset that is held by a person of character who wakes up in the morning, living not only for their own benefit, but for the benefit of all those whose lives are intertwined with their own, solely because of the commonality of being a human being.
For this reason, King believed that not only blacks, but also their fellow citizens, were willing to fight the injustices suffered by the black community. What affects one person affects all, and thus we must be aware of how and what we are contributing to the world.
I like it. I'd like to think I myself live by such a perspective, and I'd like to think I tie my destiny up with yours and inextricably bind my freedom to yours, too.
Though a lot has changed in the fight for equality since King made his speech, when I read through the text of his discourse, I couldn't help but think that his speech could be made today with a few revisions about how people are being mistreated, and it would still evoke similar meaning.
Two things are clear in the United States today. One is that this country is still fighting injustices; groups are not all treated equally and fairly, and not everyone reaps the beefits of the country's successes. The other is that the desire to rid the country of injustices is still very much alive.
We are still a country that "(refuses) to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt . that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation," as King stated more than 45 years ago.
Yesterday, we remembered King and his timeless dreams of justice for all people, but especially for the black population of the United States. Today, we will see the first black president take lead of our country.
We are the young citizens of this country, and we understand our country's history of inequality. We are witnessing our country take great strides toward a mindset of intertwined destinies.
Over and over again during the past few months, we've heard of the bleakness of our country's condition in our struggling economy and relations with foreign countries. But at these crossroads, I see more room for hope than despair.
"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.' "
"This nation" that King spoke of is all of us – every single student in this university has a part of King's dream. When I read his speech with more of an understanding of my personal connection to this mission for justice, the words meant a whole lot more.
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