Martin Luther King Day

By Felicity Enders, on January 18, 2010, 10:27 pm

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, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners 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.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

- Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963

I was reminded of these words by a photo Patrick took this morning at daycare. We’ve certainly come a long way since 1963.

On the other hand, our daughter’s opportunities in life will likely be very different than they would have been with her birthmother, a situation of which Dr. King would never have approved.

My dreams for the future:

Adoption will be a choice, not a necessity
Children will not be limited to the achievements of their parents
People of Middle Eastern descent will feel free to discuss their heritage
People of all religions and no religion will live together in peace
No one will want for basic human rights like food, water, housing, and healthcare
There will truly be only one purple America

In the meantime, I am very happy that I live in a town in which I am judged by the content of my character.

Thank you, Northfield.

[show_avatar email=felicity.enders@gmail.com]

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- kiffi summa: Our mothers consider the ‘bunched panties’ remark too squalid to pass either their sainted lips, or those of their darling daughters… and seriously doubt whether it was said during your father’s time!
- Jane Moline: Griff: you really didn’t know my mother and how do you even know if I wear panties?
- Griff Wigley: Jane/Kiffi, I did some family of origin research and it turns out your mothers actually said “A stitch in time saves nine” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” about 3-4 times more often than...
- kiffi summa: Jane: Both our Mom’s were smart, and they knew about the problems with “borrowing trouble” i.e don’t stir up problems that are non existent; there’s enough current problems to deal with, and even some of...
- Jane Moline: I can’t believe I have to bring up my mother’s advice: DON’T GO BORROWING TROUBLE! If some women want to join the fire department in Northfield, we must be afraid that our fire department MIGHT respond like North...
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- john george: Kathie- I knew I was sticking my neck out on that one!
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- john george: Yes, more beaches would certainly accomodate more geese. We have to remember to be waterfowl friendly.
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- kiffi summa: Griff: whither goest thy right arm if it starts to “whither” (sic) ? sorry; couldn’t resist… stuck at home with a bad knee provides way too much time on computer!
- Bright Spencer: i’ve been looking thru a site, crazyguyonabike.com that has lots of journals and photos from around the world.
- jane fenton: Congrats, Griff! That’s my son Cliff in the orange hat. He’s revamped the recycling bin prototype. You should see it!
- Griff Wigley: Don, I’ll keep ping pong in mind. I’d hate to have my right arm start to whither from a lack of racquetball. In the meantime, I’m trying to excite as many Northfielders as I can about mountain biking. I’ll...
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- Jessica Paxton: I know. But I don’t wanna spill the (cool) beans!
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- Myrna Mibus: I know! At least I’m pretty sure I know. But I’ll wait to see if someone else has a guess before saying more.
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- Megan Tsui: Edward, Sorry you weren’t able to attend. We’ll be posting notes from the meeting on the NEC website and if you send me your email, I’ll make sure you get a copy! If you (or anyone else!) would like to chat about it...
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- Bright Spencer: The All Pro Game last Sunday between the AFC and the NFC was so enjoyable. The stess, the anger, the anxiety all gone…well I didn’t watch all of it, as I rarely do watch an entire game, usually just the beginning and...
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- john george: You are correct. That is why I didn’t allow my children to attack the character of their siblings just to support their position. There do need to be some kind of ground rules in any discussion so as to keep individual...
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- john george: Kiffi- This is a good article, and I agree with most of it. Just thinking about my kids in their youth, there was always some conflict between them, but our goal as parents wasn’t to force them into some weiner form but to help...
- kiffi summa: A very interesting article in the Jan.30th New Yorker magazine on the nature of the dynamics of creative discussion; it’s entitled “Groupthink; the brainstorming myth”. Based on studies done by a psych professor at...
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- Kathie Galotti: I read Betsey’s blog and, like most of Betsey’s blog entries, found it well-written and making a very good point. Though I agree that geographic districts aren’t the only way to represent different constituencies,...
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- Megan Tsui: Griff, The NEC is moving forward with the idea of a non-profit Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space. Megan
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