...when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up 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."
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr I reread his historic speech given on August 28, 1963. This may well be the best public invocation in our brief history as a democratic brotherhood. I remember the summer when I heard the news of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. As a young man of about 13 that news turned me whiter than a ghost. It conjured up memories of when, sitting in Mrs. Robinson's fourth grade class, we got the news over the intercom that President Kennedy had been cut down by snipers in Dallas. Memories of sitting with my Dad in our basement den watching every minute of the coverage on TV. As a Cub Scout I made an album of newspaper clippings. The first page was a cartoon of the statue of Abraham Lincoln that sits in the monument to him in Washington, DC. That majestic statue sat there with his head in his hands. As a kid I found this image to be the most profound thing I had ever seen.
How can we as brothers and sisters be 'free at last'? How can this country move forward when we are killing each other? Why is it so many young minds are polluted with hatred? A nation of sheep being led by wolves seems to be what the majority of US citizens want, but how long can it last? How can so many people feel comfortable with things the way they are? I grew up with bigotry surrounding me, my dad wanted people to go back to from where they came. My mother never said one bigoted statement that I ever heard. Today all I know is to take care of myself, to be accepting of some things and hope to have the courage to change the things I can. I can live with that. Oh yeah, and some wisdom to know the difference.
About Me
There are two dogs inside, the one you feed is the one that grows.
1 comment:
You write about young minds polluted with hatred.
My peeve: Generally compare the lyrics of today's popular music to the lyrics of the 60's-80's. It used to be about love and friendship; today it's more about hatred and killing.
I wonder if there's a connection?
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