Forty-seven years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
I listen to it or watch it each year because his message is just as true today as it was in 1963. If you haven’t watched or listened to it in awhile, it’s time for a refresher:
In 1963, racial segregation was the law of the land. It legally changed in 1964 with passage of the Civil Rights Act, but there are still some white people who quietly discriminate against people of color whenever they can get away with it.
Civil rights are still an issue today. It seems every group who is somehow different, by not just race, but religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic class (the poor) is still suffering some form or degree of discrimination.
Every minority group who has succeeded in obtaining their Constitutional rights has not brought other similar groups along with them. Minority groups are still fighting for full civil rights all the way to the Supreme Court. In the land of the free, this is a legal and moral outrage. Our Constitution guarantees equal rights for all, yet most states and the federal government have laws on their books or amendments to their constitutions that specifically deny rights to certain minority groups. The only way to get these laws and amendments overturned is through the court system.
The worst equal rights problem America suffers today is the most insidious, that whites should fear non-whites, whether they are black, Asian, middle-eastern, Hispanic or of mixed race. A vocal minority of white people are beginning to realize that whites are not the majority race in America anymore, and they are scared. The right-wing media feeds this fear as often as they can, which is most every day.
Another disturbing trend is many people don’t understand the Constitution’s language. Tea Party candidates for the upcoming November election interpret freedom of religion to mean their freedom to impose their religion and beliefs on the American people. Others claim the government should stay out of private business completely, that regulations that protect individual Americans are unconstitutional. For example, BP shouldn’t have to pay in full for the disaster they caused in the Gulf of Mexico or help the people whose lives they destroyed.
Then, there is Glenn Beck and his gathering for freedom in Washington, D.C. today. He claims divine providence moved him to schedule his gathering for August 28, on the anniversary of Dr. King’s speech. His group was primarily white. How he can think that white people are somehow being discriminated against is beyond my comprehension. The only thing I can think of is he considers rights a zero-sum game, and when others gain rights, whites lose rights. When everyone has the same rights, those who had the rights while others didn’t lose power. Maybe that’s what he’s afraid of, the loss of white power.
Mr. Beck should heed Dr. King’s words:
In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
Whites who fear other races, religions, sexual orientations and social classes must grow to meet the challenge of a changing America. At present, they are throwing a temper-tantrum that they are not the ruling class any longer. They remind me of toddlers who don’t want to share their toys or play well with others. They remind me of children who would rather take their bat, ball, gloves and bases and go home than play with others on a level playing field.
Many of us have come to realize that every American’s freedom is inextricably bound to every other American’s freedom. We cannot walk alone. Mr. Beck and his ilk must learn the same lesson or be judged negatively by history as the people who fought against equality and progress.
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