"I Have a Dream Today"

Quote of the day:
“It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful.”
--Preston Creston

Food quote of the day:
“On the Thanksgiving plate, turkey is never the star nor the most memorable dish. Turkey recipes are not passed down through generations, like your grandmother’s cranberry relish.”
--Kim Severson, "The New York Times"

Most inspiring news lead in quite some time:
“Two presidents, a renowned poet and lions of the civil rights movement joined thousands gathered on the National Mall yesterday to mark the spot where a memorial will be built to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., the visionary pastor who beseeched the nation to live up to its principles and earned a place in the pantheon of American history.”
--Petula Dvorak and Robert E. Pierre in today’s "Washington Post"

In news reports about the dedication of the King memorial site, reporters referred often to his amazingly stirring “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The depth and breadth of the influence of this speech, and of King’s speeches throughout his leadership of the civil rights movement, have only begun to be appreciated.

The “I Have a Dream” speech was an extraordinary accomplishment. It was just eight minutes long. It was delivered on a very hot August day. Most important, it was in no way casual, either in its preparation or in its delivery.

King did two things exceptionally well. First, he realized and embraced the opportunity the speech presented. Second, he worked very hard to prepare the speech. He chose words, phrases and images with careful thought and deliberation. He wrote, rewrote and rewrote again, and kept editing and then editing some more.

It would have been easy to focus just on the issue or policy of the moment. It would have been easy to make the speech up as he went along--he was certainly smart and talented and experienced enough. King did neither of these things.

Martin Luther King did with the “I Have a Dream” speech the same thing that Abraham Lincoln did at Gettysburg. He put into eloquent, memorable words the highest and deepest hopes of America.

It was a world-changing and world-enhancing achievement.