Still Dreaming

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. A pivotal figure in the civil rights movement, his famous I Have a Dream speech is more than a dialogue, it is a prayer, a poem, a plea and a song of inspiration, hope, justice and peace. Dr. King was a visionary leader and it is for his contributions, leadership and belief in justice for all Americans that we celebrate him on this day.

Let me ask you - how did you celebrate? Perhaps like me you had the day off of work and relished the three-day weekend...you went to the gym, caught up on DVR'd shows, wrote some emails, went to the movies, ate dinner out. Perhaps you took a few seconds out of your day to remember Dr. King's speech and reflect on how far we've come since 1963.

Or perhaps, like me, you hadn't heard or listened to the speech in its entirety since you were in school so you looked it up and sat on the couch with your laptop and read every word, tears streaming down your face because the poetry of it and the prayers of peace and hope were so powerful and still so relevant. (Read the speech here or watch and listen to it here.)

You see, Dr. King wasn't just seeking justice for African Americans. He was too much of a visionary to stop there. His prayers for justice encompassed ALL Americans. More than that, his vision of peace encompassed the world. As an ordained minister of Christian faith, he recognized the importance for people of all races, religions and cultures of the world to come together as one people. He traveled to India to further acquaint himself with the teachings of Ghandi and formed friendships with a prominent Rabbi and the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. In his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, Dr. King shared a world view that we continue to strive for and struggle with almost 50 years later: "This is the great new problem of mankind. We have inherited ... a great 'world house' in which we have to live together - black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu ... Because we can never again live apart, we must learn somehow to live with each other in peace."

I read about Dr. King's interfaith views in this fantastic blog by Eboo Patel in which the author makes a comparison between the problems with the "color line" of the past to the "faith line" of the present, and I agree with him. Our country, where once divided so distinctly by race, is now divided by religious principles and judging by recent headlines and the intense opposition between parties, a religious war on our own soil is not entirely unthinkable.

Today I find myself wishing that Dr. King was still here. Even though he would be 82 years old this year, I know in my heart that his voice would rise above the chaos and turmoil, just as it did on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, and we would hear his call of duty and respond as his soldiers of peace, acceptance, brotherhood and love.

Rest in Peace Dr. King. You are missed.