I Have A Dream

This may seem like laziness, but one of the most inspiring things I've heard was spoken only 23 days before I was born. So, for those who come across this and may never have heard this awesome speech, I give you- Dr Martin Luther King Jnr.

"I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr, Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 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 which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is 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 one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four 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.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able 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. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Fight The Power

There's a rally against the Industrial Relation laws put in place to add to the Howard Government's own rule of Divide and Conquer. In about half an hour, I'll be marching down to Bourke Street Mall to converge with all the other 'radicals' and listen to Sharran Burrows speak. Kim Beazley and Steve Bracks will also be there but we all know how piss weak and ineffectual they are- they cannot be called leaders. Unfortunatly my man Greg Combet will not be at the Melbourne Rally but Sharran is a hell of a speaker so I'm happy we have her. THE WORKERS UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!!!

J'Adore Eddie

I know this blog is going to be met with an 'eh???' but I have to state that I am in love (or lerve if you've seen Woody Allen's Annie Hall) with Eddie Izzard. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

Enron-The Evilest Man in the Room

This rather tongue in cheek statement kind of says it all.. except there's a lot more to this horrible and shocking story which leaves me aghast. Here he is-Ken Lay- as promised in my anti christ blog.... The fucker died of a heart attack before the guilty verdict was laid down but justice has prevailed for the others and his evil co-horts are going to the big house for a very long time. I doubt this will be the last time evil of this magnitude will occur. I think I'd rather be poor than emotionally and morally bankrupt.

Spaced Out

If you've come across these rants, perhaps you may want to visit me at My Space..... Don't be shy... Just click on the title of this blog and it will take you there.

The Milonguita Anti Christ File

This is purely my own opinion so before you start a campaign of hate against me remember this- We're supposed to be living in a democratic society.....

The sooner David Koch's misogynistic,biased,stupid head is removed from television,the better. Mel Doyle is a stupid bimbo puppet who could not have an original thought to save herself. She drives me nuts. Ronald McDonald represents an evil that defies description. As soon as I find a pic of Ken Lay, that bastard will be on this page as well. If you don't know what I'm talking about, get thee to a video shop and rent Enron:The smartest guys in the room and discover the meaning of PURE EVIL.

Rant over... go in pieces.

Emergency Sex

A few months ago whilst on holiday, I had the privelige of reading a wonderful book called "Emergency Sex and other desperate measures". It was written by 3 people who were peace keepers for the UN. I was alerted to the existence of this book after seeing one of the author's, Dr Andrew Thomson, on Enough Rope last year. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1336474.htm I won't ruin it for you as I think you should run out and get your hands on this book anyway you can. On a few occassions I had to put it down and sob my heart out. I thought of what I was doing at that time and realised I had slept walked through that whole era. Here people were being massacred in Bosnia and Rwanda and I was taking drugs,dancing and screwing around. Even though those people were in a hopeless situation, makes me wish I had done more to be an effectual human being. I'm not so sure joining the UN on a peace keeping mission is the best thing, but getting out there and making a difference is certainly on my mind.

The death of good telly

It finally happened last night. The final episode ever for Six Feet Under aired. I cried at the end for a few reasons: one because it was beautiful and two because I wonder if anything as quality will ever be made again. I remember when it first aired back in 2001 and I was almost screaming YES! YES! I believe! I believe! at my tv screen! I guess on the upside it means I will go to bed at 10.30 after Enough Rope (BTW it was brilliant last night- Richard E Grant is amazing) and I will perhaps spend more time at my keyboard writing my cookbook which has barely got off the ground (didn't I blog something in January in regards to this)? It also means I should watch less telly and do more in the way of reading and the afore mentioned writing. I am going to shelve Six Feet Under next to Twin Peaks, Sex and the City and Northern Exposure to complete what I believe to be amazing television. May 'reality' TV fall into a black vortex never to exist again. In the meantime, I will seek good documentaries and quality series made by the BBC. Hopefully HBO have more good works in the pipeline for us to enjoy. Remind me to buy Angels In America and Edge of Darkness! Now excuse me, I have to run off to watch Big Brother.....