FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST--WHEN POLITICAL DREAMS DO COME TRUE

As thousands reach out to simply touch a man named Barack Obama, they satisfy a need to feel confirmation the physical epitome of a dream come true stands before them. The literal touch on the physical man confirms to them what they dared only to dream has become a reality. They will not wake up tomorrow morning only to find they imagined the rise of a man named Barack Obama. It is truly real, something many people did not expect to see happen in their lifetimes.

One can only wonder what Martin Luther King would be saying and feeling at this time if he were here to see this. He too had a dream, and in his own words:

"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 that 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!" (emphasis added to the words of Martin Luther King delivered August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in his famous speech commonly referenced as the "I Have A Dream" speech.)

Barack Obama often references the fierce urgency of now, also a term used by Dr. King in that speech. One must assume Martin Luther King would be smiling down on this African-American man who has heard his words and today advances them.

And on this day, the day of the 40-year anniversary of the shooting of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., we remember he too had dreams for this Country. I wonder what would he and his brother Jack, along with Martin, would think of this magnificent manifestation of the tearing down of another wall, that wall that has for centuries divided people of this Country by race, by origin, by partisan politics and by class. It is their blood which was spilled on this land in sacrifice for that principle that we are all equally citizens of this Country. On that very principle, we were warned by our forefathers we must zealously protect the nature of structure of the government they had created. They left these words as a warning, "It's a Republic, if you can hold on to it" (emphasis added.) If we are truly to hold on to this Republic which we have dangerously seen nearly slip away over the past eight years, we must unite with Barack Obama as he fights to restore and protect the concept of we are all one people.

If you believe in the trite truism, as I do, that united we stand, divided we fall, the events of recent days must be observed on this very day as the culmination of sacrifices rendered by many who have gone before to pave the road down which Barack Obama marches today -- that infamous Road to The White House.

I believe these three men who openly and actively campaigned for advancement of civil rights for African-Americas when it was so unpopular to do those in the face of that element of our society still tightly clutching their prejudices, who sacrificed their lives for this Country, would say these words: The sacrifices we made, as well as the sacrifices of others who joined in our fight, were well worth it. We hand the gauntlet to this man, this man named Barack Obama, to finish this fight. And on another day sometime in the future, we all will perceive people of color with our color-blind eyes looking simply beneath the skin to perceive the character and cut of conscience to evaluate the worth of the man.

And so, on this day when we remember Robert F. Kennedy, which inevitably leads to memories of Jack and Martin, as well, we watch Barack Obama march down the road to open the doors of the Office Oval. We have to acknowledge the milestone we today pass, as well as those who began paving that road when it was perceived a passage was needed. We know that when those doors to Oval Office are finally opened, the dreams of Robert F. Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, Martin Luther King, as well as many other Americans, will be realized.

In January 2009, may we all climb to the mountain top, and in recognition of those who have gone before us as well as the one who led us there that day, I dare to dream we will all "be free at last" ....

Sam

help me keep it kicked just for today. Thanks.

Sam

symbolic and reminiscent of this historic period we are experiencing right now with Barack Obama. I think of the picture going around now of him being literally crushed/embraced/touched by swarms of people. And this is the same that happened to Bobby in that wonderful summer 40 years ago when he was campaigning across America.. reminiscent of the HOPE he gave to millions.

It is my hope that when the DISTRACTIONS are removed from this news cycle in a couple of days, some of the MSM will devote more time to this resurrection of the Kennedy Dream of Unity amongst ALL people. In the meantime, this is a BEAUTIFUL thread.. thank you for it :-)

K&R

non-DU'er to whom I emailed this this morning. I knew he would relate:

This is beautiful. *****. Tears fill my eyes now because I personally am reminded of growing up in a segregated south and drinking from a "color only" water fountain as a kid and asking my Mom, in my naive youth, why I could not drink from the same water fountain as other kids in Woolworth in downtown New Orleans. Also, seeing my Mother, a single mother, work as a domestic supporting 5 kids and not realizing how poor we were until I started filling out college applications and finding out we were living well below the poverty line. It was this day of filling out applications that I had a better appreciation and even more respect for my Mother because I wondered how could she had raised and survived off of a $5,000 a year salary raising 5 children by herself in 1976.

It is situations like this that reminds me of others who have come before us who made sacrifices so that those of us who followed like me and you can live better lives. These memories are so vivid in my mind and only remind me that we have come a long way in making life better for us all. Thank you for reminding me of those struggles and sacrifices others have made for us.

AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, K GARDNER, FOR RESPONDING TO MY THREAD.

Sam

communities around the country. Hopefully in the days to come, we'll begin to realize the tidal wave that has just washed over this country...

I know I need more t-shirts and yard signs !!

I drank from that "colored" fountain in Woolsworth on Canal St.

We had the nasty water fountains, but there weren't any bathrooms we could use on Canal St.

Mom bought clothes on Canal St, but we weren't allowed to try them on for fit.

We have a long way to go, but we have come a long way.

My's friends note posted above to which you responded is someone whose family is from New Orleans. His uncle died in his attic during the Katrina debacle. His sister was forced to relocate and now resides in Tennessee.

I guess I do not have to tell you he's truly sick of the Bush* administration and cannot wait to see Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

Sam

:kick:

but I wrote it with intensity and wanted it to be observed throughout the day. This is indeed a very special day and a very special time. Looks like a number of people are reading it, but few are responding.

Thank you for your response.

Sam

:hi:

Please check your messages, and thank you for responding.

Sam

I'll get it done one day soon!

brava sam

I am so (literally) scared to allow myself to dare to dream that this Country can recapture the magic that was ours when the Kennedys were in the Oval Office and in the Attorney General's chair, but I am coming very close (especially since Tuesday night). It appears we have a shot at another Camelot if we do but dare to dream and fight to make our dreams come true. I think Ted Kennedy's crawling out on a political limb and giving Obama that leg up into the limelight with his endorsement just might have been what has made the difference. In that regard, I am sure Jack and Bobby smiled down on him with delight.

Sam

Beautiful.

of King's "Dream" speech ... just now flashed across MSNBC.

Sam

I think it's rather brilliant, also, that his big convention speech will be held on the anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, where he was arrested and jailed, King organized a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he evoked the name of Lincoln in his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

The confluence of historical milestones should not be lost on anyone.

Perhaps his most memorable one (Barack's) to date.

The first time I saw Martin Luther King, Jr., was on this televised rally in 1963. Once again, I stood in the living room of my Republican family's home, a family from Tennessee, and I was the only one paying attention to the speech. I thought he was the most compelling speaker I had ever heard (and believe me, that's saying something - some of those Southern Baptist preachers, even the "white guys!", rock those churches)- and I could not understand why everyone within earshot - was not riveted.

I have often wondered if Martin Luther King ever realized how many Caucasian Southerners he converted that day, but I am certainly one of them. I was too young to realize that entities like the KKK existed, and how the community of African-American people was treated like second-class citizens (if that), but he opened my eyes.

I believe Martin Luther King would be incredibly impressed and proud of Barack Obama, who does indeed have the same sense of the urgency of now as did Martin. It will be fascinating to see what the future holds for this Country with Barack Obama in the Oval Office, which I no doubt he will be, next January.

Thanks so much for your response, Mary.

Sam

:kick: :thumbsup:

We are treading its soil now. As long as we keep moving forward, the land is ours. If we give into fear and infighting, we will be defeated. Bring the young and the old, the ill and the forsake in the center and stand as shields for them. Let us link arms and move forward in unison. We shall overcome...

I allowed this thread to "slip away" because of work. But your words are very eloquent and very true. Thank you for sharing them.

I too feel we are on the brink of the cusp to reaching the Promised Land. It looks like and sounds like Barack Obama will pull us over the line into that land. And people who went before, such as the Late Great Dr. King, will finally rest in peace knowing we got there ... at last, at long last. But the important thing is this: we must go there together, as one people, despite our race, our origins, our religion, our class. One people.

Sam

And I believe he was correct... There is no such thing as coincidence, only timing.... this is the year, this is the time, and we will all work together to make this happen to bring this country to it's fullest postential.

I had not heard this. Thanks for sharing this important information, how remarkable.

Yes, we all have to work together to reach this milestone in our history. We owe it to ourselves, as well as those who went before us to pave the passage into a new historical era.

Sam

contained therein.

Below is a private message I just sent to a DU'er in response to something he said to me. I post these words here for clarity as to present to you what I think is happening in this Country now. I hope you agree we are in a period of great transition, and it's up to each one of us, black, white, hispanic, native American, Asian - whoever we might be - as one person enveloped in a society which desperately needs to meld as one, work together as one, fight as one, and live to see the day when we have as succinctly worded by a fellow-DU'er - overcome. We shall overcome, Martin Luther King told us, and we must pick up that gauntlet today and carry it with us the rest of our days. We are so close, if we just work together, we will get there in our lifetimes.

Thank you to everyone who has participated on this thread - it was an important thing for me to write. And here are the words I just emailed another DU'er (I have loved the private emails I have received as a result of this thread, one in particular has a great story I hope is shared with you soon):

Hi *****:

I am so happy you were finally happy to read these words I wrote, because I wrote them from my heart.

I feel the same as you. I feel we are watching the dreams of Martin Luther King materialize in front of our eyes, and it's something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

I believe Robert and Jack Kennedy, along with Dr. King, would feel immeasurable pride at what Barack Obama has accomplished, and rightfully so. I truly feel these three men would feel the sacrifices they made to pave the road ahead for someone named Barack Obama to bring "the dream" come true home to the White House, were sacrifices well made.

As a Caucasian woman out of Knoxville, TN with Irish roots, Dr. King did so much with that speech to open my eyes as to how African-Americans were being treated in this Country. I was just a kid, and had no idea of things like the KKK. His speech instantly converted me to a believer, and I have lived my life subsequently with as many African-American friends as white friends. I have one dear friend, whose words I posted as a non-DU, who is African-American. His elderly uncle drowned in the roof of his house in the aftermath of Katrina. I tell my Southern family from Tennessee that this friend is also my brother, and has been since 1992.

The only way we can progress as a Country, getting our Country back from the Bushes, restoring our political souls by helping the homeless, the unemployed and, as Al Gore often says, the least among us, is to unite as one people. I believe we are on the road to doing that.

Thank you so much for reading my thread and for your kind words.

Sam

at the highest levels.

But don't forget that a lot of the people who voted for Obama, and will vote for him in the GE, voted for him for reasons having nothing to do with his race. To recognize the historic nature of his nomination, and hopefully his becoming President (yay!), is a wonderful thing to be savored. But I would guard against making it too much about his race, or he might lose votes.

What equality is all about....people are allowed to rise to their top levels of skill and talent, regardless of race or gender or age. Not because of it.

I have never lost sight of the fact that Barack Obama is a man of mixed heritage. He needed at an early age to make a decision as to which race he would claim as his own, and he decided he would feel more comfortable identifying himself as an African-American.

When the ugly Internet rumors hit about the "whitey" video (and I don't want to go into more detail than that, obviously many here will know to what I reference) when directly asked about this so-called infamous video, I responded: Michelle Obama knowingly married a man 14 years ago she knew was half-African/American and half Caucasian. With that decision, she had to have realized that she would be the mother of children with mixed heritage. The people I have known with true resentments against opposite races would never marry into that race, nor have children with a mixed heritage. She's a beautiful woman who probably had a choice of men with whom to make her life, and she chose him. It's totally illogical to think she would refer to a Caucasian as "whitey."

But the truth of the matter is we are all of mixed heritage, and in that regard have a great opportunity to blend as one people, if we just work at it.

I decided to vote for Barack Obama some time ago because of his political stands, not his race. I do not think a person should vote someone in office because of lineage. The cut of the character and conscience and the position on issues is what counts.

Thanks for responding to my thread.

Sam

My Internet was down the last 24 hours so I was not able to keep up with this thread. Hopefully a few more people might read this today and comment on their thoughts about this historical time.

Sam