Dreaming of freedom.

I have a dream...

I, too, have a dream. Identical in every respect to the late Dr. Kings... Not quite so eloquently stated, perhaps, but just as strongly held.

Equality for all. Regardless of race. Regardless of creed. Regardless of anything. Equality for all.

A dream started two centuries ago by a group of, ironically enough, slave owners. Stated so eloquently by Thomas Jefferson.

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.

The Declaration of Independence

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Preamble to the Constitution.

People throughout the world have died believing these words, or words like them. Or suffered horribly for trying to make the dream they describe a reality. South Africa. The United States. Myanmar. ...and so many, many other places in the world.

You have a dream...

It sometimes seems that for every step forward towards achieving your dream, something happens to make it seem like the dream will never become a reality...

A gay man murdered.

A black man lynched.

Voting rights workers slain.

The list is as endless as it is horrible...

Yet somehow...

The dream endures...

A man of mixed race is President of the United States. An impossibility not too many years ago.

In South Africa, apartheid died a long overdue death, to join Jim Crow in the grave of history... Segregation as political policy gone.

In Europe, the Berlin wall came crumbling down.

These are world shaking, world altering events. Emblematic of the power of the dream. It can be buried, denied, and even surrendered, but it will never quite disappear.

All over the world, we've seen events such as this. ...and we've seen the measures that will be taken by others to deny the dream.

Yet somehow, it endures.

Among many of us there has come a change in thinking, and attitude, dare I say most of us... We look at the person. Not the gender. Not the shape of the eyes. Not the color of skin. Not the name of their God.

No, it's not universal. It never, in all likelihood, will be. There will always be those who prefer, for whatever reason, to live in fear of their neighbors. To bask in the comfort of their ignorance. Ironically, for there to be true freedom for everyone, we must allow them their ignorance. Their fear. Even their hate. Unless all are free to be who they are, no one is truly free.

Working to make the dream a reality is well worth dying for. Many have. Many will. Many are, right now, dying for this dream.

Will we, the living, allow thier deaths~past, present, and future~to be straw deaths? Meaningless to all but their kin?

I have a dream. You have a dream. We have a dream.

We. The most powerful word a society, no matter its size, has. We.

Real change is never easy it is a long,hard process for every one step taken two steps back,

The dream is a worthy goal that all people should strive for we are not perfect, we never will be, because the simple truth is only real change can only be made in the heart.

A piece of paper doesn't do that, a thing created over people can't do that only YOU can do that WE the people are a flawed creation we always will be the greatest struggle anyone will ever face in the world is the battle of themselves..

My dream people realize they are their own best enemy other people not so much.

I share this dream too friend, but over the last 12 years our society has been rapidly regressing. Freedom has a different meaning now, and to paraphrase the late Bill Hicks (love him or hate him, Hicks was brilliant...and right about so many things) from one of his best routines, "Go back to bed America, you are free to do as we tell you." Each year that has passed since 9/11 things have gotten worse (not just America, but the whole Western world) and there's no sign of it getting better. Hopefully we will metaphorically wake-up and there will be a "renaissance" of ideals and principles where we will undo a lot of this nonsense.

You had me right up until.....

Originally posted by seagull

We. The most powerful word a society, no matter its size, has. We.

"We" is not a word of "freedom". It is a word of bondage, of socialism/communism/"progressiveism". It is a word whereby the unproductive demand the fruits of the labor of those who do produce.

“The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages. What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey? But I am done with this creed of corruption. I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. ― Ayn Rand, Anthem

"We" isn't a word of freedom?

That depends largely upon how it's used, doesn't it? We fight together to bring civil rights to everyone, regardless of color, creed, religion, or any other descriptor used.

Don't "we"? Because no one man/woman can do it alone. It takes a "we", an "us".

"we" is frequently abused as is the word Democracy. Like a club over the head of society trying to enforce social doctrines and political correctness on us all. You will often hear politicians and talking heads use "We" to proclaim many things as if they knew each of our minds and hearts. It's a tool for deception.

We can also be used for the good collectively but only when we act in concert towards a worthy goal. I think though that what is even greater than "we" is "I". When the "I" becomes the person they dream of being they find themselves in natural accord with the universe. It may be at odds with society as sometimes the I we are meant to be doesn't appeal to them. Yet to have a free society each person must become complete in themselves; self-directed, self-inspired, self-accomplished.

My life has gone against the grain of many things - my parents at times, society quite often and even friends who didn't understand where I was coming from. Wanting to be an artist since my teen years led to friction with my father who never understood the need to create art nor did he believe it possible to earn a living at it. 40 years later I own a home and have money in the bank. My politics also managed to tick off many around me being a liberal in a very conservative Southern town. Calling Reagan and Bush fascists and meaning every word of it knowing full well it would lead to totalitarian government. Well here were are 30 years later - was i wrong? I don't think so.

I'm a very satisfied person because i followed my own star regardless of what societies' expectations may have been. I was told I was free and I ran with it. I have never fit in with any political party as I had major criticisms of each. I have always sought to be honest with others and especially with myself. I have no regrets either. Now I have grandkids and I want that same freedom for them that I had when growing up. I fear for their future as the world seems to be running off the rails in a fit of paranoia.

My dream of a perfect world is where each follows their own heart which then find others of like mind to act in concert with. Nobody is forced or coerced, it's what we desire collectively. This world could be such an amazing place if we would drop our masks and quit worrying what others may think. Each of is born unique in this world and I believe it's for a reason that it is this way.

Before the "we" can be perfected the "I" must be standing firmly on their own 2 feet first.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


It took me a while to see this...

You're very correct... But for anything to change the "I's" must become a "we". True political power is a "we" operation, not an "I"... Or so it seems to me. Or maybe it's a lot of "I's" who happen to be going to same way? Semantics, seems to me.

The "we", after the change is accomplished should certainly be allowed to become a group of "I's" should they choose to be.

Though I think that's where the problem lies in a large part. We're so busy being "I's", that we've forgotten that sometimes we need to be "we's".