I’ve been thinking about dreams today, especially Martin Luther King Jr.’s dreams and transformative leadership skills. Reflecting upon the Civil Rights Movement and King’s vision makes me hopeful. Hopeful that our soon to be President will meet some of the expectations outlined during his campaign. La Macha analysis about MLK, Obama and progressive is worth reading. She says what I wanted to say, but better:
…how much has really changed? Will (poor) women (of color) still be the first on the chopping block (in the form of back to work programs and food stamp cuts) when it comes to ‘saving money’? Will domestic violence programs and anti-rape centers (that again, largely service poor women of color because they are the one with the fewest resources to help themselves) still be underfunded and neglected?
Even for someone as cynical as myself, I think there is a light of hope on the Obama administration. Global warming, environmental distraction, social justice violations and failed economic policies are major world problems. Creating any type of meaningful change is going to take years.
In the meantime, I am going to keep working toward and dreaming of the good life. A life that doesn’t cost the planet it’s existence; a world where I see tiny houses on street corners, less cars on the street, more blue sky than smog, and hoping that the fight for social justice doesn’t have to be so hard.
Maybe someday I will see a world free from violence against women, racism, homophobia, classism and many other “isms”? Possibilities abound and I think President Elect Obama has the opportunity to harness these possibilities into meaningful progressive change.
I’ll leave you with this the full version of Martin Luther King’s, “I have a Dream” speech. I always get chills when I listen to his words…
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