The 50 years long dream and unkept promises : America’s debt to itself.

Martin Luther King Jr. turned away from the crowd and handed his original copy of the speech just delivered to George Raveling, a now legendary basketball coach. As he left the stage on the Washington mall, he did not know that less than five years later, he would be dead although he certainly knew that danger loomed over his head. Then again, neither did he know that the very next year, he would be the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

The speech was I have a dream and the day was August 28 1963.

Today August 24th 2013 was the celebration ( on account of it being Saturday and not a standard work day ) of the 50th birthday of that historic speech. And yet, many people, Americans or foreigners alike have never read or heard that speech. Here it is :

http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

Most of those that spoke today expressed concerns that the dream has not become reality. I believe that they are right. I also believe however that it is not solely a Negro problem in 2013 and that the more universal aspects of Dr King speech, as evidenced in some of his references to America’s history and founding documents, are involved in the miles left on the road to the dream’s completion, to America having the moral funds to cash the check the Pastor mentioned then in his second paragraph.

In memory of Martin Luther King, one should be strong and frank, even if that is found blunt by some. Here we go!

Contents :

Martin Luther King spoke for the rights of Negroes as Black americans were known then because of the plight of his people but he expressed himself within the confines of being an American citizen. He mentioned one man : Abraham Lincoln although not by name. He mentioned documents : the Emancipation Proclamation, the American Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, My country, ‘Tis of thee ( the song known as America ) and the old Negor spiritual Free at Last by J. W. Work.

He also mentioned other people than Negroes : White, Jews, Protestants and Catholics.

From this, we can split the speech in two. First a timed call for Rights to end segregation and finally free the ex-slaves for good. Second, a call for the promises of democracy to be made real.

The two are different problems.

Intents :

On the Negro front, racism itself has been vanquished; the For Whites Only signs also mentioned by Dr King have stopped to disgrace American storefronts and schools are desegregated. A Black man is President. So much so that some of those who spoke today spread the fight for civil rights to homosexuals and other minorities. The consequences of slavery and racism are not gone though. If there is a fight for the Negro of 2013, it is against the atavisms of them. I mentioned in past Posts the Vagrancy laws that created a sub-class of citizens for the vast majority of black folks and ruined that community durably. This however is a National problem that should now be mostly addressed by the Blacks themselves even if the Republic is not exonerated from helping them. It is time for the sentence “ We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.” from the speech to strike struggle and replace it with community.

In that light, we can find the link in Martin Luther King’s Dream to an American Duty. When he talked of  the aforementioned documents to contain “ … a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir … “, he meant it; that was the Universal aspect of the Dream Speech. When he talks of “ … insufficient funds … “ to cash it, those are the moral values of the Nation then as now. A simple way to show this is found in the Trayvon Martin case that resurfaced today. It was NOT a racism case. It was a severe lack in the laws and conduct of the American Republic. Please read that past Post to find the explanation.

https://dlofr.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/race-fear-guns-and-law-the-zimmerman-trial-dissected/

Yes, recently the police of N.Y.  was chastised by a judge for its application of the Stop and Frisk directive but they were targeting minorities, not blacks only. America has a problem of living together. It has to live up to the Universality of its inception. As a Nation, it too suffers from the atavisms of its worst moments. To move forward, it too has to aim to conduct itself on the high plane of dignity and discipline … again! Shed the past of isolationism, shed the Imperial attitude and the blind faith in itself and its might that has over the last 33 years led the GOP to near extinction ( the very same Party of Abraham Lincoln, the lone great American mentioned in Martin Luther King’s speech ), accept the multipolarity of the World of tomorrow so that all over Earth its creed might be found true. That is why at times I was so critical of the USA ( and France ). Nations that claim to be shining lights of liberty have to act accordingly. Little is expected of North Korea, much of the US.

And as I share Pastor King’s hopes, “ … a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. … a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning : “We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”’, I call for the internal problems of the country to be seen as mirroring the external ones. Why would America treat other nations well if it cannot be just to its own? Why would America respect its citizens when it thinks itself above other lands? 50 years later, that dream is not yet reality.

It is time to go back to basics and fix the land for all. Make the founding fathers proud. Enter adulthood. Turn the dream and promises to reality?

The good news is : there is time left for it. After all, to paraphrase the founding fathers, Martin Luther King included out of temporality, it was not yet 12 scores years ago that the adventure began? So plenty of time left … but none to lose?

Good luck, Tay.

Additional reading :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_’Tis_of_Thee

http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/free_at_last_from.htm

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/