For MLK Day 08:

ONLY LOVE CAN FULFILL THE DREAM
A message from beyond, by Martin Luther King, Jr.



(Martin Luther King speaking:) I had a dream! And oh, what a dream it was! A dream of equality, a dream of unity, a dream of solidarity. What a fight, what a battle, as the brothers and sisters lifted their arms, hands raised and clasped together to show their strength and unity and oneness! What a fight, as we marched and protested and sang our songs of triumph and spoke our words of courage! What a fight, as we lifted high the banner of equality -- equal rights for all men and women, regardless of color! What a fight, as we suffered humiliation and setbacks, degradation and injustice! What a fight! But we continued on, courageous, strong, united, arm in arm: a force to be reckoned with!
I had a dream! But I ask you, has that dream been realized? Has that dream come true in your life? Has that dream been fulfilled? Or have our ideals and our aspirations fallen by the wayside? Where is the unity, the brotherhood, the oneness of heart and spirit? Where is the fighting spirit and the willingness to sacrifice and work hard, to lift up your brothers and sisters and make for them a better life? Look around you and see if my dream -- and your dream, our dream -- has become a reality.
What has happened to our people? What has happened to our fight, to our battle cry, to our determination to make a better world for our children? What has happened to our oneness? Instead of lifting each other up and giving of our time and strength and energy to make the world a better place for our brothers and sisters, we are now tearing each other down, fighting against each other, killing one another for no reason, random killings in the streets, gangs fighting one against another! Drugs and violence and crime are taking the lives of our young men and women, ripping apart families, destroying whole neighborhoods and whole cities. Where is the dream that we once fought for? Where are the ideals that we were willing to give our lives for?
I now know that this equality, this oneness of the races, this love between the brethren, this better world, this dream that we all sought so desperately, cannot be found only through the path of legislation and politics. It certainly cannot be found through the path of violence and killing, and the destruction of our young people! It cannot be found when the brothers are pitted one against another in useless, wasteful neighborhood wars.
I now know that this dream can only become a reality through love, the supernatural Love of God! This is what brings unity. This is what brings equality. This is what brings mutual respect. This is what makes a man willing to prefer another and lift up another, and sacrifice of himself to improve the life of another. This is what makes a man willing to look past the color of the skin and see the heart and spirit, to see each man, woman and child as a creation of God. This is what motivates those that are in power to act justly and fairly, without seeking their own gain. It is the Love of God that makes a leader, a politician or a public servant judge righteous judgment, make wise decisions and truly serve the people.
I now see that so many of those of the once great nation of America have departed from the way of righteousness and the Love of God. Their way has become dark through their own sins -- greed, selfishness, waging of wars and taking from the poor of the world. The only way back to true freedom and strength, true unity and equality, is through love -- loving God, loving one another, loving the truth.
So I say to you, brothers and sisters: you cannot wait for legislation. You cannot wait for the lawmakers to make things right for you. Each one of you must make a decision in your own heart to reach out, to lift up, to care, to love, to strive with all that is within you to make the world a better place for the weak and the meek. Your dreams will not be realized through the efforts of others; they will be realized as you look around you and let your heart be moved with compassion, as Jesus' was when He lifted up His eyes and looked on the multitudes. His heart was moved with compassion, and He wept, and healed the sick and fed the hungry.
Only through this love and compassion and caring for others will your dreams be realized, will you find the opportunities that you are looking for, will you find the equality that you seek, and will you find the self-respect and the self-esteem that you long for. These can only be found as you give of yourself for another. They will be found, not in taking the lives of others, but in giving of your own life for others; not in fighting one against another, but in helping each other; not in destroying your neighborhoods through drugs and violence and crime and hate, but in building through concern and kindness and love and self-sacrifice.
Each person is a creation of God. Each person, regardless of color, is precious in His sight. He loves each one dearly! But it is the responsibility of each individual to make of himself that which God would have him to be. Each of you must make a difference by receiving the Love of God into your heart, and then doing everything within your power to change the world, to do what you personally can to make the world a better place.
Fathers, love your children. Mothers, love your husbands. Children, respect your parents. Old-time values, family values -- love, respect and fearing God -- that's what will rebuild the neighborhoods and the inner cities and the ghettos that have become a cancer on our society.
You must unite! But this unity will only come through love. It will not come through aggression, or through frustration, or through anger or hate. True unity of heart and mind and spirit will only come through love; and love can only be found in finding God and finding Jesus and finding His way.
March with hearts courageous, as we marched on Washington! March arm-in-arm, shoulder-to- shoulder, and fight! -- Not with violence, not with guns and killing and pain, but with love and the truth, with respect for one another, and without prejudice toward the color of a man's skin. Lift up your eyes and look around you and see what you can do to change the world and to be the person that God wants you to be.
In October 1995, many of you joined together, committing yourselves, pledging yourselves to a new way of life. Nearly a million strong, marching in unity and solidarity, as a sign of commitment and self-respect. But the change that you are seeking, the solutions that you long for cannot be found through the works of your own strength. They can only be found through the spirit, a spiritual change, a spiritual renewal -- finding God, finding His power and His Love. Thereby you will find the strength to follow through with your commitments and bring about true change.
As you change your own heart through the loving Spirit of God, then you will be able to change things around you. So reach out to the power of God! Make a personal commitment to be what God wants you to be! Then you will have a dream, and your dream will come true!

(Later, Martin Luther King added:) I am sorry for the times I spoke great words, but was not motivated by love, but by anger. I was good at covering up this anger by using words that evoked the right responses. In some ways my words transferred this anger -- not overtly, but subtly -- and for this I am sorry. Many look to me and have conferred a type of sainthood on me, but I must defer such honor and cast it onto the One Who paid with His life in His fight for true equality and justice for all men. In His case, Jesus was killed for not promoting His race, but rather saying that all men have direct access to His Father through Him, that Salvation is available to all races, and that all people may become His chosen people by choosing Him. My appeal and message was limited, and now, through this opportunity I wish to aim for a higher dream, to ignite the fires of God's Love and equality in the hearts of all men, all races, all creeds.