I remember the special feeling that came over me as I watched a very special women's gymnastic team. They were the 1996 Olympic champions from America. They had come from a very special land that was different in many ways. Such a land must be special in that anyone can possess an opportunity to plant the seeds of their potential and bring to harvest that talent into the realm of an appreciative humanity. Their faces could only have come from America. I was so very proud for my country that all of these people had been given a chance to demonstrate that they could be a team, and that they could grow together to become winners under our flag. ***************************************************************************************************** I also recall a man named Martin Luther King who in one day, the day that did go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation, had this to say: 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 recall the eyes of my own mother, who I did not regard as the greatest champion of the civil rights movement. As a small child I had asked her about the KKK, and in her response I could see the tears well up in her eyes as she described to me the racist acts that had gone on for many years. She described to me how some people had received unjust punishments, and that there had been a procession of targets through they years. They were the Irish-Americans, the were the Jewish-Americans, they were the blacks, and the browns, and the peoples of all colors and races and religions and previous homelands. For me, when I see our proud flag, I see the country that has overcome more and more of its problems and has progressed to a nation that stands for this freedom without reservation for color of skin, or religion we were born under. What matters today is that we stand united and true, with the love of freedom and the love of standing united. Still today there are American people who must be given only the back rows and catch freedom as it becomes available to them. When it comes to Ground Zero they must worship God from a distance. Their holy books are burned and it is debated whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. I was reminded yesterday, that some of America is not truly allowed to become theirs as well as ours even though our own rhetoric expresses that as much it should. When one can advance political gain by denying those rights, greed takes over, the usual forces of division are applied, and the minority loses its right to become fully free Americans. The rest of America sleeps while rights disappear, and acts of offense are questioned, but the questions are turned away. Should all of America be allowed into our hearts without regard for where they come? I am reminded of my own experience. I had once asked the Democratic National Convention if this band that I knew could be considered for their convention. I provided them with links. This band could present to America the lighter, brighter side of the world in which Barack Obama once lived. They hailed from a city that neighbors Jakarta where Barack Obama had gone to school. The DNC seemed pleased and replied optimistically to me. I forwarded that response to the band, and they responded optimistically, wanting to know more. I asked later, in one liberal forum, when they were not called, and a reply came to me that this band was not American, and did not deserve to be in the Denver show. The responder failed to notice that Bono and Shakira were given invitations and did appear. It became painfully obvious here, that Bono and Shakira had entered their hearts as Americans and given special status because the media would allow it. People from Muslim countries could not gain this status because… well… they could not become Americans in their heart, or the hearts of the people. VERBOTEN! Is this America yet? I know that America is just beginning, and the ideals, and the hopes, and the values will spread to other lands when the world looks to America and can see the real thing. I still believe we are dawning, but now is the time to look and see the sun rising over the horizon. I have a dream that all God's children will one day live in nations where they will be judged by the content of their character. I love America. This is our time to let it dawn. added by: thedirtman
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