We Still Have a Dream

Quote of the day:
“On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.”
--George Orwell

Much of what follows originally appeared in “I Have a Dream Today”:

On this Martin Luther King weekend, we are again hearing frequent references to King’s seminal “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, among presentations by many speakers . Most important, King’s speech was in no way casual, either in its preparation or in its delivery.

He did two things exceptionally well. First, he realized and embraced the opportunity the speech presented. He knew this would be an extraordinary chance to address not just the people around him on the platform, but the whole nation. Second, he worked very hard to carefully prepare the speech. He chose words, phrases and images with 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.

Techniques King used in this speech have been imitated widely and often. Bill Clinton often tried to use the rhythms and repetitions that King did, but he wound up violating the”musty lettuce” rule. Clinton (and many other politicians) loved to intone long lists of “we must” this and “we must” that, or “let us” this and “let us” that.

The “I Have a Dream” speech was not about technique. Martin Luther King did with this speech the same thing that Abraham Lincoln did at Gettysburg. He put into eloquent, memorable words the highest and deepest hopes of America. And those words ring just as clear and true today as they did 43 years ago.

The “I Have a Dream” speech was a world-changing and world-enhancing achievement. The legacy of that achievement is what we celebrate this weekend.