I have always loved this speech.
For me, it 's one of the greatest speech ever.
Read transcript of this speech here.
Favourite quotes from the speech :
"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."
"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
"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. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."
"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."
Although this speech was delivered almost 46 years ago, it still rings true to this very day. I believe that everyone are created equal, thus it's quite sad when I see even young kids influenced by prejudice and racism.
There's something to be done about this and I doubt we can achieve that just by shoving the responsibility to the education system. Values are created and nurtured not through textbooks, but through interactions within a community. If a community fosters an environment of mutual respect, of course the children will pick up positive values.
Let us all play our part to create an environment of mutual respect for our children (even if the people at the top doesn't seem to be doing it).
Let us do it NOW!
3 comments:
"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."
That's why when the world applauded Obama's victory and rejoiced over the so-called change and declared the man the 1st BLACK Amerucan president, it made me wonder. Why the emphasis on the colour in contradiction to Martin Luther King's words? Has there been any real change when people still has that stigma about colour or creed? Why can't people take him as he is and for what he is capable of?
Me like this speech too. Very forward thinking for its time...
STP:
How true. But at the same time, Obama's victory was something that was unimaginable for so long, maybe that's why they make the whole hoohaa...
Ashraf:
If only everyone in this world would agree that colour nor creed is not important, but the most important thing is the character of a person. Then we'll have none of thos ethings like prejudice or racism.
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