Dreams_Our_Work_in_Progress

English 1A 12/7/2009 Dreams our Work’s in Progress In the infamous speech of Dr. Martin Luther King “I have a dream”, he attentively compares the state of African Americans in the U.S. in 1863 to 1963. At that time it was a difference of One hundred years. His speech expressed, to over a quarter of a million people, that the Negro is yet to be free (King). That they are still crippled by discrimination and segregation (King). Now forty-six years later we ask the question again, Has King’s dream come true' I strongly feel that we’ve progressed over the last one hundred and forty-six years and that such dreams take time to fully take on. Martin Luther King’s dream was not a fallacy, just not yet lived up to by the creed for which America was formed which states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” For the first time ever we can all say that we have an African American president of the United States in office. Many people, of all races, never thought they would ever live to see the day. King called for a “revolution of values” that would not simply put new people in power, but would invest a new power in people. One hundred years ago I don’t think Martin Luther King could ever fathom such a thing. “An entire generation will grow up taking for granted that the highest office in the land is filled by an African American. It changes how black children look at themselves. It also changes how white children look at black children.” Obama states. Not only will this generation of children benefit from this but for generations to come as well. This gives us all not only hope but proof that realistically though all issues over racism have not yet gone astray that America has made massive amounts of progress. Dr. King dreamed many dreams, not just one of racial equality but also had a vision to one day see nonviolence, peace, and economic justice amongst blacks and whites. Nonviolence and peace amongst each other is something that wasn’t even happening forty-six years ago. I feel like this to a great extent has come true. I believe that most recently there are probably more black on black crimes of violence then there are of white on black. But one example that comes to mind is the incident that happened at the Bart station last year, where a black man was harassed by a white cop and was shot and killed for no such reason. The black man was not resisting but yet killed. Luckily thanks to the wonderful perks of technology the incident was recorded. Not only did the African Americans come together but even more so the community came together at that time to make sure that the white cop got what was coming to him and wouldn’t let it go unjust. Forty-six years back, cops would beat blacks and no one would stand up but just believe that this was something they went through. So again I believe we’ve made tremendous amounts of progress just in that short amount of time. King also spoke about having love for one another. The love he is speaking of is one in which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. King saw humanity facing a choice—“nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation.” Love should be selfless and, at times, a self-sacrificing service on behalf of the common welfare. Many people believe that Martin Luther King’s speech hasn’t come true yet nor will it ever. Many believe that Racism is still very apparent and causes negative effects. For many this dream is just a dream and will never become a reality in our life time. Do Americans not realize that we have our first black president in office living in the white house right now' He is in fact running our government, making chief executive decisions, and making sure there is peace in this world. Both men and women strongly feel that his dream hits too many issues that will just not ever come to terms. Concluding, I feel that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream has brought hope too so many out there that felt the same dreams as he. He personally struggled and lost his life to see that we are treated equally. I feel that if he was to see our progress and major leaps of progress he would astonished. There is no doubt that not all issues are cured but when will any issue or wound be' America has finally come to a place when we can see past color for just a moment and see that we are all in this together. We all wake up, eat, and work for the same things in life. Martin Luther King brought awareness to not only the quarter of a million forty-six years ago but to people of my generation and future generations for countless years to come.