Conservative commentator Glenn Beck on Saturday drew a sea of activists to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where he championed a religious brand of patriotism and called on the nation to recommit itself to traditional values he said were hallmarks of its exceptional past. King's niece Alveda King, an anti-abortion activist, addressed Beck's rally with a plea for prayer “in the public squares of America and in our schools.” Referencing her “Uncle Martin,” King called for national unity by repeatedly declaring “I have a dream.” On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech, steps away from where it was delivered, Beck and fellow “tea party” icon Sarah Palin staked a claim to King's legacy and to that of the Founding Fathers. They urged a crowd that stretched to the Washington Monument to concentrate on the nation's accomplishments rather than on its psychological scars. Rachel and Ray Thompson, both 29, drove with their four kids from Indiana. Both are fans of Glenn Beck and criticized President Obama for fanning the divisions in this nation. “He does have an awesome power to do something about it, but he is not. He is just sitting back,” said Rachel, a massage therapist. Neither was troubled by the timing of the rally — on the anniversary of King's “I Have a Dream” speech. They said the speech King's niece Alveda King gave was the most uplifting of the day. “There are a lot of divisive issues in this country that need to be addressed in the way Dr. King addressed them and [Obama] has failed to do that,” Ray Thompson, an electrician, said. “From a multi-racial family, I say shame on him.” (Ray is white; Rachel is African American.) added by: congoboy
