Adapted from “Behind the Dream” by Clarence B. Jones and Stuart Connelly, WaPo has the following recounting of how Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech came to be crafted. Excerpt:
As I stood some 50 feet behind the lectern, march Chairman A. Philip Randolph introduced Martin, to wild applause, as “the moral leader of our nation.” And I still didn’t know how Martin had pulled the speech together after our meeting.
After Martin greeted the people assembled, he began his speech, and I was shocked when these words quickly rolled out:
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check.
Martin was essentially reciting the opening suggestions I’d handed in the night before. This was strange, given the way he usually worked over the material Stanley and I provided. When he finished the promissory note analogy, he paused. And in that breach, something unexpected, historic and largely unheralded happened. Martin’s favorite gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, who had performed earlier in the day, called to him from nearby: “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin, tell ’em about the dream!”
Martin clutched the speaker’s lectern and seemed to reset. I watched him push the text of his prepared remarks to one side. I knew this performance had just been given over to the spirit of the moment. I leaned over and said to the person next to me, “These people out there today don’t know it yet, but they’re about ready to go to church.”
Read the rest.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Has America lived up to its Declaration?
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
Although a beautiful and inspiring passage from the Declaration of Independence – it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Clearly not all men (or women) are created equal. How is anyone equal? Whether you are born in a rich household or a poor one, whether you are disabled or not – there is plenty of inequality (plenty of which cannot be eliminated) in the US and all around the world from the moment of creation. And that includes opportunity. To pretend otherwise or to force society into being somehow equal is absurd and unpractical as communism.
As for certain inalienable rights – does that mean societies which have the death penalty including the US violate the ‘inalienable’ right of a condemned prisoner not only by condemning them to death but by locking them up in the first place (thus denying them their inalienable right to liberty) for a committing a crime such as murdering others which may make them happy (and scoring the hat-trick of denying them their inalienable right to pursue happiness). A prisoner doesn’t lose that right because apparently it’s inalienable.
As for race relations – as white non-american – it seems to me that the US (along with other western countries) has made huge strives over the last 50 years. The discrimination during MLK time is shocking but surely if he was around today he would be pleased by the progress in the world in regards to race relations – including that there is now a black President (irrespective of how you think Obama is doing). Although there is, always, plenty more to do by everyone – whatever their colour to improve prospects and communication generally.
@GaffaUK:
GaffaUK, it is not the Declaration of Independence that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny; it is your reading comprehension.
No, not all humans are created equally as some are tall, some are short, some are brilliant and some can barely learn to read and write. What your problem is that you don’t understand that the equality is in regards to the law, and the right of all men to be masters of their own destiny and not to any crown head. But then, since you still bow to a crown head, it is a concept that I am sure eludes you.
And yes, we believe in inalienable rights, but your rights end where mine begin. You have no right to harm me, for any reason, and under any rational society, once you vacate your rights, I owe you nothing.
May I suggest you tend to your own failing state and not criticize mine?
And yes, we have made many strides (not strives) since the days of Dr. King, but not all of them have been honorable. We now have a whole segment of our society wasting their minds and their talents because we have followed the European policy of putting people on the dole.
@retire05
Except it says ‘created’ equal – otherwise it would say all men are ‘regarded’ equal ‘by the law’. And which law is this – the current law of a specific state? Of course at the time that the declaration was made and for sometime after not all men, particularly those who were black, were regarded by the law as equal. And even in the 50 years we see plenty of examples where not all men are treating equally by the law.
As for the puppet head that is the Queen – I quite agree – as a Republican I would happily see the monarchy scrapped as it’s long past it’s sell by date. Although interesting to see just how many constitutional monarchies are rated higher than republics in terms of being democratic. In the top 10 – there are 7. Although the US is at 16 and the UK at 18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
I see you dodge my questions about the death penalty.
So does that make you a pacifist? There are plenty of good reasons why someone may need to harm someone else – in self-defence or fighting in a just war.
btw – How does one ‘vacate’ their rights?
How is the UK a failing state? If the UK is a failing state then more than half the world is failing. And a lot of the relatively minor issues the UK has (often exaggerated) – are not too dissimilar to the US.
You’ll find that is the result of the GFC – as caused primarily by certain greedy US bankers.
So you have never commented on any other country in your whole life? lol
Tell you what – I’ll stop making comments about the US when FloppingAces only comments only purely internal US issues. Until then – it’s more than reasonable to comment. Free speech.
Yes and no. Yes, obviously, great strides have been made towards racial equality — the election of a Black president, with strong support from younger White Americans being proof.
But, no, we are not done, yet, because there are those among us who are obviously threatened by that change and who would happily turn the clock back if they could. Indeed, some are actively doing just that: reinstating the very racial stratification that had been alleviated.