Happy Martin Luther King Day and why we must keep on dreaming
Happy Martin Luther King day! I wrote a piece for The Guardian – “King dream meets Obama’s reality” - on Obama’s first year in office and what it means for Martin Luther King’s vision for America.
The crux of the piece is that one person cannot singlehandedly change everything, particularly in the space of one year. We all need to be involved and take responsibility for having the dream come to life, not just the President. I also wrote that MLK’s vision – part of which was that America would hold “self-evident, that all men are created equal” - will not be totally fulfilled until “…the notion that “all men are created equal” come[s] to life as an integral part of American beliefs, such that all America’s systems – educational, economic and the rest – continue to change to reflect that.” Have a read!
Dr King’s focus on equality is very important. We can change healthcare policies, education policies, change laws and adopt new practices, but if they are changed on top of an already-existing notion that people are inherently unequal, the same issues will be perpetuated and continue.
Why we must keep on dreaming
What really inspires me about Martin Luther King is that he created and spoke a dream and a vision that bore little or no resemblance to the circumstances that he was faced with at the time. His dream – and the way that it continues to live on – tells us a lot about the power of one’s word, and the power (or lack thereof) of circumstances.
I have no doubt that when Dr King gave his “I have a dream” speech, he had no idea how exactly the dream would be achieved. He probably didn’t know the details nor the exact steps that needed to be taken. He also had a reality which was not at all in line with what he believed to be possible. His circumstances – the America of 1963 – were of oppression, denial of rights, conflict, violence and inequality not of the freedom, peace, connection and equality of which he spoke. Yet, he believed that his vision could become reality and took steps – in the face of the most horrendous of circumstances – to make that real.
We can all learn a lot from that act alone. Often we have dreams or visions that we do not express or do not act on because we look at our circumstances and believe that our dreams cannot come true in the light of circumstances. Often we feel stopped, resigned, beaten down or victimized by our circumstances. And if we do decide to go ahead and take action, we become stopped when we aren’t sure exactly which steps we need to take.
What I have learned from Dr King is that circumstances do not matter. There will always be circumstances to deal with. If you have a dream for your life, or for the world, speak it. Share it. Talk about it. Believe in it. Act on it. And if you don’t know the exact steps, do it anyway. Once you commitment to something and share your commitment with others, doors will open.
Martin Luther King was an incredible man who didn’t allow himself or his vision for his country to be hindered by what was going on around him. Today I commit to the same, for my life and for the world.
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