- Eichel Davis
BP #26: I Have A Dream For This Nation - Eichel Davis
This nation, in all its greatness, in all its splendor and glory, is on a path to its own demise.
Abraham Lincoln, a great champion of the dream, once said, “All the armies of Europe and Asia...could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we will live forever or die by suicide.”
Now, most of my best friends are white. My family is obviously black. So…Oh how far we have come I went to school with mainly white people. Oh how far we have come. But, boy…Oh how far we have to go.
My friends, never have we faced such a burden of civil rights, than what we do right now. Minorities are facing hardships. And the institution they have called home. The nation they have pledged allegiance to...is falling short.
So I say to all of you, that I have a dream for this nation.
I have a dream, of a population that sets the standard for the rest of world. Brothers and Sisters, we have let some of our people down. We have let them be mistreated. We have let them fall. We have let ourselves fall.
I hope by the grace of God, that we are the last ones that have to go through this. I pray this is it. No more persecution. No more death. No more Michael Browns, and Trayvon Martins. I have a dream of a world free of this tragedies.
I have a dream of a nation built from the ashes of Ferguson. Because, only when everything is gone, can we start fresh. Only when we have been brought to our knees, can we rise.
Therefore I dream of a nation that learns from its mistakes, and picks of the pieces to build a superior future.
Not only that, I have a dream, an idea, of peace. My brothers and sisters, I assure you that there will be a day where no more fires will burn in our streets. There will be a day where are hearts are not heavy with despair. There will be a day where we will live happy ever after. I promise you this day will come.
Although, as I write about my dreams, as I write about a better nation, I know that things will have to get worse, before they get better. This year of landmark movements, this year of change, has showed us what rock bottom could look like. Because Ferguson, is not rock bottom. Riots and destruction of our city is not rock bottom. No. Rock bottom, will come on the day that every man and women inside these sacred borders says we are out of options. On that day, we will be forced to have the conversation. We will be forced to change.
But...no one ever said that fulfilling your dreams would be easy. They always said that dreamers are tortured souls. And where would we be without a few scrapes and bruises. Which is why, today, as I write this, I make my own pledge of allegiance. I pledge to always dream of the better day, of better times.
I have a fantasy of the time where no man or woman is judge by color of the skins or the truths that they hold true. They will be judge by the deeds they do, and as he once said, the content of their character.
You know, there was once a man who said Yes We Can. Now I say Yes We Will. And someday, we will be able to say yes we did.
Whether you are Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Whether you are a man or woman. Whether you are Gay or Straight. We were all created by our awesome Father.
And yes. We all bleed red. We all have had our hearts broken. We all have loved someone, and we have all lost someone we loved.
So from coast to coast, let these words be held true.
From every school to every city to every backwoods town. Let these words be true.
From every crevice of this nation, let these words be true.
So that one day, this nation can live by its oldest creed of equality.
So that one day I can see my dream for this nation, come true.
And on THAT day, this nation and all of its citizens will stand up and proudly say once more, “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty we are ALL free at last.”
