What's Your Dream?

I came across a beautiful quote this weekend:

“The mind of an enlightened human being is flexible and adaptable. The mind of the ignorant person is conditioned and fixed.”

Boy, I wish I had seen that years ago, before I bought all those Father’s Day gifts thinking it would make a difference.

But today is more about a spiritual father. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now, I know that there was a small army of people who were instrumental in the Civil Rights movement. But it is one individual who is credited with really being the catalyst for change, a passionate leader who mobilized his people and made them believe that America could be a better place. That it was possible for them to see a life that was free from hatred and discrimination and poverty. I admire him very much.

Today provides the perfect opportunity to reflect at how far we have come as a society that tolerates individual differences and embraces diversity. If only that were true.

With apologies to Dr. King, I submit:

I have a dream, too.

That one day, all preachers will proffer love and tolerance, not fear and hatred.

That we the people will no longer accept stupidity and under-education as an option.

That poverty will be seen as everyone's problem, not just the problem of those experiencing it first-hand.

That we will encourage our children to be unique and to value the uniqueness of others, rather than assimilating and teasing those who dare to be different.

That politicians will actually tell us what they want to do for us and how they plan to do it; tell us why we SHOULD vote for them, not why we shouldn’t vote for their opponent.

That all Americans will actually become involved in the political process. “Majority rules” only applies when a majority votes.

That our government will spend less on war and more on education. You know, if we paid teachers like we pay lawyers, we might see a country on the rise, not a country in decline.

That the media will finally scrutinize the decisions of Bush and Cheney as rigorously as they scrutinized President Clinton.

That the general populace will finally become OUTRAGED at the amount of money we are pouring into the Iraq war. What could we have done in our own country with $500 BILLION?????

That anyone wanting a license to drive in this country would have to have rigorous training and an actual driving test.

That people will stop dismissing the effects of climate change for purely political reasons or greed.

That we will begin to treat this planet like it’s the only one we have, not like we can move to a new one when this one’s spent.

That someone will either explain to me EXACTLY how my marrying my beloved has any impact on any heterosexual relationship AT ALL, or SHUT THE HELL UP.

That The Right Reverend Huckabeeloo will be caught in a compromising position with a goat. While Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps watch.

That the people of America will stop playing victim and start accepting responsibility for their actions.

That someone (besides Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) will actually do something to help the real victims who lost everything in Hurrican Katrina.

That people will just ignore Britney Spears and O.J. Simpson and Ann Coulter.

That the writers will come to terms and get back to work, so that Nashville Star can stay on an obscure cable channel, where all reality programming belongs.

That I will find a way to exercise more often than I drink.



Add yours to the list, smart people! What’s your dream?