...I hate suffering and discrimination. It hurts me. It saddens me. I cant watch the news about the devastation of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. I don't want to see anymore death and destruction, I've seen too much as it is. For the past 8 years all we hear about on the news is war, death, suicide bombings, child abductions, murder, hatred, suffering and discrimination.
Enough!
I can't help but to think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr today. The man was assassinated for speaking out for what he believes in. Yes, he mainly fought for equality for the African American minority, but he also fought for the equality of all.
"that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!".
The speech he is most well known for is the "I Have A Dream" speech. I've included a link to it. Please take some time to watch it.
While I was watching it again today, I noticed something. Throughout the speech, he looks down at his notes except during the "I Have A Dream" part. That part seemed to be ad lib and spontaneous. He never glanced at his notes, he spoke from the heart and he was sincere. The man truly had a dream, a vision, that one day ALL people would have the same rights and equalities.
There is one part in the speech that always gets me choked up...here it is
"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".
The content of their character.
That reminds me of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. See, when you die, the content of your character is what people will remember the most. Your reputation, your integrity.....the content of your character.
Hatred, bigotry and discrimination have no place in my life. I was exposed to many different lifestyles, religious beliefs and cultures during my childhood.
I grew up in a racially diverse neighborhood.
I Had black friends, Mexican friends, Asian friends and gay friends.
We all had a great time together and it really didn't occur to me that we were all different.
I guess we all judged each other by the content of our character.
Just a few days ago, Teddy Pendergrass died. This song seems appropriate. Take a listen.
The world will get no better if we just let it be....
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Nicely said Scott.
ReplyDeleteonvinced, from personal experience, that we are born color-blind. My kindergarten friend, Alex and I used to sit together on the rug for story time. He would walk me to the car when my parents came to pick me up and open the door for me. He was so dear and I looked forward to hanging out with him every day. Sadly, he left after kindergarten and I didn't see him again until the seventh grade. When I did see him again, I thought, "Oh, Alex is black". What seemed obvious at age 12 was irrelevant at age 5. I wonder if that number will ever get pushed back or maybe even eventually disappear.
ReplyDeleteI think the number gets pushed back a little with each generation and is picking up speed. Despite what some people think, the beginning of the end started with our founding. The founders were men of God and new that God was colorblind and they knew that a civil society must be as well. The Declaration of Independence was not a randomly written document. They were very specific in it’s wording and knew exactly what they were doing. They knew that a nation founded on the self evident truth that ‘all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” could not forever tolerate slavery within its midst. And it did not.
ReplyDeleteAs our society becomes more homogenized with each generation progress will continue. Will we ever hit zero, probably not, man is imperfect, even good men are capable of bad things. That’s why it is crucial that we educate our children and grandchildren by setting an example.