My Dream

Recently, media talking head Glenn Beck led a rally with fellow Tea Party activist Sarah Palin on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech.  While the event was billed as non-political, there were strong Christian-centric overtones that meshed with the stated goals of Conservative Republicans.  The theme of the rally was that they wanted to restore honor to America by returning the country to God.

The message of this rally, after reading many reports, seems to have been this: America was founded by God, America is blessed by God, America became the greatest country in the world because of God, and America is declining because we are becoming Godless.

I have to congratulate the organizers of the event on masterful planning.  They specifically avoided any overt political messages.  There were no claims of "Obama is a racist."  Attendees were specifically asked to not bring any political signs to the rally, though there were lots of "Don't Tread On Me" flags waving.  This event was targeted at the Christian conservatives of the nation, and they delivered what that group wanted: lots of prayer, and lots of "go to church."  No specific flavor of Christianity was being pushed, but there was no mention of any of the other major religions being practiced in our country either.

In my short life, I have witnessed too many miracles to be in doubt that there is a "God."  If there isn't, then I have had a lot of coincidences happen in my life that can only be otherwise chalked up to an extraordinary amount of good luck on my part.  When I was in a bad situation as a child, a person was inspired to report it to get me out of there.  Instead of being stuck in the system until I was an adult because I was considered too old to adopt (at the age of 9, no less), I was adopted by the most wonderful person: the person I am proud to call mom.  Instead of my mom being forced to work two jobs just to support my brother and me, she met and fell in love with the man I am proud to call my dad.  I know I wasn't the easiest of teens to raise, but I was blessed with parents who were firm with me while trying to teach me why I shouldn't do certain things.  I like to think that I am the man I am today because of the way I was raised.  No, my problem isn't with God.  It's with organized religion.  In my experiences, no single religion has gotten God's message 100% right.  Sure, they say they words, but then they turn around and tell you that everyone else is wrong and needs to be brought to the "right" way of thinking.

With that being said, I would like to share my dream with everyone.

I have a dream where all the people of America can celebrate our differences instead of trying to make ourselves into the same thing; where we are all American, no matter where we come from, what religion we practice or don't; where we can celebrate our individual heritage while participating in our national one.

I have a dream that Christians, Muslims, Jews, Taoists, Shintoists, and every other person who practices a religion or doesn't can celebrate the fact that we live in a country that allows us to choose how to worship, whether we want to worship, and be happy about it instead of saying that a person is wrong for not practicing a specific religion.

I have a dream where there is a true separation between church and state; where leaders are elected for their merits and not their appeal to one interest group or another; where leaders do what is right for this country without thought of lining their pockets and without increasing the national debt; where taxes are actually used to pay for programs and assets that benefit the people of this great nation instead of funding programs that only treat the symptoms and not the problem.

I have a dream where Americans are proud to be Americans; where we can work together as Americans without a common threat to band us together; where Americans can work with Europeans, Asians, Africans, and all of the countries of the world to form a more perfect world; a world where each country is able to maintain it's distinct cultural identity, and each country is respectful of the others' traditions, religions, and people.

I have a dream where racism and sexism are, once and for all, completely abolished; where programs like "affirmative action" are no longer needed; where each day is a celebration of ethnic and gender diversity instead of having a specific day or month set aside for a specific race or sex.  Lord knows that I have met enough men and women of different races and religions, and the only difference between us are the physical ones.  If we're created in God's image, then God is male and female and composed of all races, which means the physical differences between us do not matter.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have a dream.  But this dream is not possible unless we all work together.  This dream will not come true over night, and it cannot come true while we have people in positions of power who tell us what to think instead of encouraging us to think for ourselves.  This dream will not be possible until we allow ourselves to be freed from the yoke of popularism; this dream is not possible while we feel entitled to government handouts; this dream cannot come true while we, as people, allow ourselves to be blinded by hate and ignorance and feelings of entitlement.

So I ask each of you: can you do it?  Can you think for yourselves instead of being told what to think by talking heads and ad companies?  Can you think of someone else before you think of yourself?  Can you look at another person and be glad that they are different instead of mad that they aren't the same as you?  Will you?