I Have a Dream

Speech of Heart: a personal response to “I Have a Dream”.

America was built by the people who were searching for freedom and equality; they met in a new land and started to build it as a land of freedom. Ironically, over 100 years after the Independence Day of America, freedom and equality were still unattainable luxury for many people, especially people from different races than white. Non-white Americans had to suffer through racial injustice and discrimination. One of the greatest activists who fought against those inequalities was Martin Luther King Jr. In his momentous speech, “I have a dream”, King called for racial equality and the end of discrimination. The speech consolidates my belief that people from different races have the right to be treated equally. It also reminds me how hard it was to gain freedom and justice, and encourages me to stand up and make dreams come true.

With allusions invoked from widely respected sources as Bible, the United States Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the United States Constitution, King described how disappointed his fellow blacks were when the government broke their promises by giving his fellow a “bad check”. The blacks suffered numerous inequalities; they had to drink “from the cup of the bitterness and hatred”. The inequality was not even covered up; there were buildings with “For Whites Only” signs including the voting places. But King still believed in justice, believed in his “dream”: “we are free at last”. He was not dreaming for African American only, he dreamed for a world of equality, a world where people from different races are treated equally.

The American government also contributed to disappoint their black citizens by breaking their promises, which also disappoints me. After the declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation, the blacks expected that the Government would do what they promised: providing the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. But then, the Government exposed their unreliability giving to their black brothers a “bad check”, they left their citizens “lives on a lonely island of poverty”. In my opinion, Government is the organization that supposed to archive what it promised but in this situation, they lured African Americans to join their army with the promise of freedom and wealthy then leave them with poverty after the war. I could barely hold my anger when I know that the American government had treated non-white Americans as they were not official Americans.

I feel so depressed when I listen to the first part of King’s speech about the unfairness that the blacks had to struggle with before they gained their civil rights. “Five score years” after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, the African-Americans still were segregated. Although they were considered American citizens on paper, they were not treated as such. Despite the fact that there was no longer slavery, blacks were still treated as inferior; they were not allowed to vote, they were not allowed to go to places specifically designated as “For White Only”, and they were even absurdly prohibited from sitting at the front rows on buses. I cannot accept the way that some Americans treated their black brothers and sisters back then, it was racism. It is so bad knowing that black people were treated as even lower than the lowest class in American society.

I am impressed and encouraged by King’s strong belief in justice and his disregard for his situation. King said “we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt”, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. They did not just dream, they were ready to fight for what they believed, King described their willing by this say “to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”. Those quotes emphasize that despite all the unfairness that they had to suffer through, the bad treatments from their white brothers and the lies from their government, they still believed in justice and wanted to “make justice a reality”. I admire the blacks; they kept their belief and fought for it no matter what obstacle they might encounter. The speech alarms me that believing and doing must go together in order to archive a goal.

Another detail that makes me admire King is that he had led his fellows on a peaceful-war. He suggested that his followers should not use “physical violence” in their battle because he understood that he was fighting for peace and peace cannot be created by hurting the others. And he also said “we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”. Although he was bursting to gain freedom and racial equality for his race, he tried his best to avoid any physical conflict.

I am inspired by the dream of King, a world of equality, brotherhood and freedom. In that world, everyone can “be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” no matter what color they are, no matter where they are from. People will erase all of the bad memory of slavery and injustice, they will not think about themselves as superior or inferior. In that world, people will be treated equally and “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. There will be no barriers between religions and races “black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands”. The world in King’s dream inspires me with its beauty, there is no such thing more beautiful than an equal, happy and peaceful world.

Through the speech, I was touched by the great love of King for his nation. That love was first showed in his care for his fellow blacks, an indispensable part of America. Besides that, he had implied his patriotism through his speech “this nation will rise up”, he wanted to “transform… our nation in to a beautiful symphony of brotherhood”. He does not just love and care about his followers but also care about and love his white bothers “Their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom”. It is a great love of a patriot for his country and its citizens. In my opinion, King was willing to fight for his country, which is what makes him unforgettable in hearts of Americans.

The speech was delivered from the heart of a man who was willing to exchange anything he had for freedom and civil right for his country. His persistence has inspired me; it makes me want to stand up for my dreams and my rights. It also makes me appreciate the freedom that I have because I know to create it; many people had sacrificed even their lives. King’s works have been continued by many activists, he would love it if he could see that.