In Washington DC on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his historical speech that inspired a nation. His words and his heart live on and continue to inspire 47 years later. The first time I heard this speech, I cried. I wasn’t even alive when he rallied our nation. I didn’t know what was happening in the years preceding my birth. I just heard the anguish and the hope in his voice, and it moved me to tears. In fact, it still does. Every time I hear or see this speech, I well up. I love his heart, his passion, his vision. I miss it…better yet, I long for it.
As I have been thinking about this man and the speech that resonates deep in my soul, I got to thinking about the world I live in now. The things on my mind. The things I am learning, observing and incessantly thinking about. The way our world is changing. The drastic and rapid changes occurring in society, culture, business and human interaction – a revolution of sorts. We’re living in a time in which old ways of thinking, doing business and interacting with each other are being replaced with new ways. The digital age, the rise of social media and everything Web 2.0 – these tools are being seized by a hungry society, anxious to connect, be heard, be seen, be valued, be understood. The people are overturning the structures and practices that have characterized how we live, think and function for the better part of a century. We now seek, even demand, human interaction, human kindness and human connection – in business and in life. We need it. We crave it. And we’ve been deprived of it for too long. So with the technology that gives anyone with Internet access a voice that can be heard worldwide, things are significantly and dramatically changing.
From this perspective, I have been thinking about my dream. An interweaving of the vision Martin Luther King, Jr. had almost 5 decades ago, blended with a focus on the future from 2010 forward. My dream begins with Dr. King’s words:
“I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It’s a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. 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 my [seven] 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…
“
…that not only my children, but all future generations will live in a nation where they will not be judged by:
- the color of their skin
- the shape of their bodies
- the culture of their families
- the religious and spiritual views they choose
- the places they live
- the clothes they wear
- the people they know (or don’t know)
- the schools they attend
- the SAT or ACT scores they earn
- the job titles they hold
- the amount of income they have
- the number of followers they have on Twitter
- the number of friends they have on Facebook
- the number of contacts they have on Linkedin
…but rather, my dream is that not only my children, but all future generations will live in a nation where they will be judged by the content of their character, hearts, minds and souls…as expressed in…
- the words they speak
- the words they type
- the actions they take
- the gifts they give
- the help they offer
- the courtesy they show
- the compassion they feel
- the diversity they embrace
- the ideas they spread
- the solutions they provide
- the creativity they inspire
- the hope they exude
- the encouragement they deliver
- the innovation they stimulate
- the inspiration they provoke
- the love they live
This, my friends, is my dream - inspired by a man who embodied this vision several years before I was born.
Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for your gifts to humanity, and thank you to all of you – the “us” – creating, compelling and shaping the changes that lead us into the future.
I have a dream, and I see it on the horizon.
Photo credit: Nelson Piedra
