"I Have a Dream" is seared into our consciousness. Among the many notable excerpts are the following: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' "
"And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up the day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
King's vision was for all Americans. He believed that our founding fathers had set the nation on the right course. From his Birmingham jail cell he wrote, "We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom."
When obstructed by hatred, King did not reject the principles of our nation; instead, he hoped that Americans would set aside those things that divide, and celebrate the principles that unite us.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, current leaders of the nation united to honor the civil-rights leader. Praises were echoed by President George W. Bush; former President Bill Clinton; Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; talk-show host Oprah Winfrey; and former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young.
"Dr. King showed us that a life of conscience and purpose can lift many souls," Bush said. "Honoring Dr. King's legacy requires more than building a monument; it requires the ongoing commitment of every American."
King was right to hold such high regard for social justice and righteousness. The nation is right to honor him; Apostle Paul said to the Roman Christians, "Give everyone what you owe him. . . . If respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." King's enduring legacy leaves every American with much to be thankful for this year.
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* COREY J. HODGES writes about current events and ideas from a moral perspective. Hodges, the senior pastor of the New Pilgrim Baptist Church in Taylorsville, welcomes comments at coreyjhodges@comcast.net. You may also comment at religioneditor@sltrib.com.
