I have a dream

To celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday - here is part of his famous speech delivered in Washington, D.C. in 1963.  You can find the full text on The Huffington Post web site.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.


I say to you today, my friends, 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, 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. 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.


This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."


And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!


Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!


Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!


But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!


Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!


Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.


And when this happens, 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!"

Wishes for 2012

What I hope for us all is peace, in the deepest sense of the word.


That in your workplace you are seen (and respected) as the complex, gifted, individual you are.

That your family see the beauty in you and the world around them. That you appreciate and support one another. That your love is reciprocated.


That your community acknowledges your wealth in terms of what you contribute to the group - empathy, problem solving, ideas, effort, nurture, critical thinking and patience.


That your hopes and desires are aligned with the reality around you, and your expectations arise from a place of integrated kindness and justice.


That you are able to bridge the disappointments with new goals and aspirations, and that your moments of despair are short, alleviated by your resolve to carry on.


That your pain is met with healing from your own body and mind, and from your family and community.


That shame or guilt, if it must arise, is aligned to the pain we have caused (and not to the superficial crimes of failing to live up to artificial fashion) and will ultimately lead to forgiveness and compassion.


That, once and for all, we learn how power and wealth are irrevocably tied to our capacity to distribute and meet human needs for shelter, warmth, food and community; and that we understand there is no single leader who can provide this without the help and commitment from us all.