The World I Dream Of

Posted on by under animals, Bits 'n Pieces, education, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, guns, History, Personal, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington.  An excerpt … perhaps the most memorable lines …

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.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

That was in 1963, nearly 58 years ago, and today we are no closer to realizing Dr. King’s dream than we were then.  I once thought we were headed in the right direction, but I no longer believe that.  I have my own dream …

I dream of a world without guns, where people are well enough educated to be able to use words instead of weapons to resolve their differences.  I dream of a world where nuclear weapons have been destroyed forever, where armies and navies have been disbanded due to lack of need, and where instead of building warships and bombs, we are building housing for people in need, hospitals and schools in poor areas.

I dream of a world where national boundaries don’t exist.  This is not to say people cannot take pride in the history of their geographical region, but rather where people respect and cherish everyone, not just those who have a shared background or ethnicity.  I dream of a world where we are building bridges instead of walls.

I dream of a world where everyone pulls together to ensure that nobody anywhere on the globe goes to bed hungry, where medical care is available to all without charge.  I dream of a world where the environment is more important to everyone than technical gadgetry, air travel, expensive cars, fancy clothes, etc.

I dream of a world where people think more about planting trees than about a vacation to the beach.

But most of all, I dream of a world where people are humans, not hateful warriors, not bigots, not violent, just human.  In my dream world, people fall in love and it doesn’t matter to anybody else who they choose to love.  Same sex, different skin colour … no matter.  It’s nobody’s business.

I’ve lived in this world for nearly 70 years now, and frankly I’m tired of it all.  I’m tired of seeing people accumulate wealth for no reason other than to be on the Forbes list of richest people in the world.  I’m tired of seeing the arrogance of people with paler skin who believe they are somehow ‘better’ or ‘entitled’.  I’m tired of seeing religious leaders lie to their followers, telling them to shun others because they think or act differently, giving them a false sense of superiority.  I’m tired of police gunning down unarmed Black men because … just because they know they can get away with it.

I’m sick and tired of people who hunt wild animals for sport, for bragging rights.  I’m equally sick and tired of people who kill other people just because they had a bad day, or didn’t like the other person’s skin colour, hair style, or … whatever excuse they make.

I’m tired of men who abuse women, who still somehow believe they are entitled to dominance over women.  And I’m equally tired of women who allow men to do this, for we have the power to put a stop to it.

There are many good people in this world … I write about them every Wednesday.  But there is more wrong with the world than there is right at the moment, and I’m tired of living in a world where each day brings new abominations around the globe created by human greed.  It doesn’t have to be this way!  Humans in all their arrogance and greed are on the brink of bringing about the extinction of their own species if they don’t get serious about protecting the environment.  Some days I think maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

21 thoughts on “The World I Dream Of”

  1. Dear Jill, you know I agree with you wholeheartedly. But I express my dream differently. I want to see all living beings able to respect and love and accept all other living beings. The world is one entity, and we are all parts. If the parts to not mix, the world cannot exist.

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  2. Hello Jill. I love the world you envision. It reminds me of the society of Star Trek where people are tolerant, happy, and all needs are met so people can pursue their dreams. In an ideal society life needs to be more than a struggle to live, but life should be an environment for people to thrive. In the US it seems that for far too many life is a constant grind to just get by with no way for advancement or time for enjoyment. Plus it is hard to be happy in life when you are constantly under threat for your skin color. Hugs

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    • You’re so right, Scottie … that’s what life SHOULD be, but of late I’ve come to the conclusion that human greed and arrogance will prevent this world from ever becoming what it should be. As long as people lust after power and money, there will always be bigotry and hatred. Sigh. Hugs

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    • Hey Scottie. Hugs. The harder you have to struggle to exist, the less you are able to learn how to live. The wealthy do their best to keep us busy trying to exist. It up to us to learn to live with what we have, in order to learn how to live full lives. Don’t expect any real help from the 1%ers. It is in their favour to keep everyone else subjugated.

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    • Not to lay blame, but the Me Generation went sideways on the Flower Children, and cared only mostly about themselves and what they could get out of life. Compassion was forgotten, as was looking at the big picture. The Me Generation, and many of later
      generations, could only see the little picture, themselves and their immediate circles.
      And then there was political interference, nationalism, and a lot of other factors. As Mama Cass hinted above, The Age of Aquarius never rose above the dawn.

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      • I agree completely with you. I just don’t get how the me generation even formed and why? How did we go from that compassion of recognizing the spirit inside of everyone to the “hooray for me and f*”* you”?

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        • Money! Not sure of the date, but I belueve it was in the early 70s the United States followed Britain’s lead and stop basing they money on the gold standard. Instead of the value of the dollar being based on a commodity, it became based on how mych? could you print.And the government printed it by the ton.
          Money had no limit, and the Me Generation saw how easy it was to take some of it home. Money bred the desire for more money. Greed was the fashion, and no one cared who got hurt along the way, as long as it was not them. There are still many who believe this to be true.

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  5. Jill, we should remind ourselves that bad news has a larger echo than good news. That is why your good news posts are so needed. News agencies publish “conflict” as it sells better. The doctor who does things well 19 times out of 20 is not newsworthy, until he messes up that one time. The best offensive tackle is not newsworthy unless he is penalized or his opponent gets by him to the quarterback.

    No question, division exists and civility is lacking to too many in discourse. But, what we don’t see and hear are the countless folks who are living their lives and getting along. Most people do not pay attention to the blatherings of people named Carlson, Hannity, Trump, et al. We are too busy paying attention to sports and entertainments news or our own lives. In fact, much of what finds may way into my browser could qualify as gossip – some one reacting to the inanity said by an opinion host who is just trying to sell ratings. My reaction before I pass on reading it is “Oh, (insert name) must have said something stupid again.” Next.

    So, before we become extinct, please note it is not as bad as portrayed, but it still needs to be a lot better. Keith

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  7. I agree with everything you say Jill and I want to see the protection of our environment front and centre in every political agenda in every country. I want mankind to survive and for our children and their children after them to evolve as we should have done into caretakers of the planet and of each other. Everyone must have the same opportunities as all others no matter where they live and skin colour must never be allowed to divide the world again.
    Cwtch

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    • Thanks, David. You are more optimistic than I, for you still believe we can fix the problems, whereas I have largely given up on the human species. I hope, for the sake of all those yet to come, that you are right, that we can fix those many things that we’ve broken. I have begun to think that it’s going to take a major global catastrophe to change the nature of humans, to make them pull together instead of killing each other.
      Cwtch

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