I Have A Dream

While out this morning, on a number of mundane missions at Thompson Plaza (modifying a GIRO payment request, buying lotus root and softbone for soup, the kid's lunch and carbohydate rich canned drinks) I was enjoying the marvel that is my iPod.

In the morning, the family had been discussing the Burmese situation over breakfast.

Now, the shuffle feature brought up Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech". This has to be the most powerful, moving speech I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. And so much of the message seemed relevant to what was happening in Burma.

The speech was delivered in 1963.
That was the year that Singapore, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak gained independence, forming the federation of Malaysia on 16th September. This was the root cause of the Konfrantasi between Malaysia and Indonesia under Sukarno. And the still unresolved conflict between Malaysia and the Philippine government over the ownership of Sabah.
General Ne Win had taken power in Myanmar the year before, and must have been busy putting in place his Burmese Way to Socialism, a part of which was the journey inward, towards isolationism.
In Vietnam, Diem was removed (and executed) as leader of South Vietnam on Nov2, in an operation that had CIA involvement in it (ref: Wikipedia). Three weeks later, on Nov 22, JFK met his end in the Dallas Motorcade. (1963 was also the fateful year of the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Wow. A lot did happen in 1963. On a lighter note, 1963 was when Dr Strange, Iron Man, the X-Men, Nick Fury, and the Avengers were launched as a second wave, all the work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Larry Lieber. (The first wave was the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Namor and Thor)

Anyway, back to the "I Have a Dream" speech.
To get video, audio and the text of the speech, this is a good site:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Positively brilliant and awesome speech. It still brings on the goosebumps, even after hearing it umpteen times.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

I first heard the speech being delivered by the MAN himself, on an episode of the Wonder Years. The hero was in school, watching a broadcast of the speech on Black&White TV. It was just a small snippet. But big enough to have me searching in those days before the internet got so large and all encompassing, for the text of the speech. I finally bought a book in Seattle in the late 80's (during one of my business travel trips to Boeing while with SIA), a thick book containing what were supposedly the world's greatest speeches - specifically for this speech.

I find it amazing that I have an American sitcom to thank for exposing me to what to me is the greatest speech ever delivered. Bar none.