Saturday, June 06, 2009

I have a dream

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still
have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

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."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia,
the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to
sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one
day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an
oasis of freedom and justice.

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.

I have a dream
today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious
racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of
"interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little
black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have
a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain
shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places
will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith
that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew
out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able
to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of
brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom
together, knowing that we will be free one day.

-martin luther king jr