I Have A Dream

I'm currently reading a book entitled "Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings." The author, Rob Brezsny, calls for me to read Martin Luthor King's "I have a Dream" speech and then write my own. Although nowhere near as eloquent, I will try to harness Dr. King's passion and fervor to state my own dreams for this world. Also, I fully encourage you to write your own and send it back to me.

If you would like to first read the original, click here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

I'll also include an excerpt from "Pronoia":
"I have a dream that we will take everything we need and give everything we have. We'll be both selfish altruists and generous braggarts, libertarian socialists and capitalist humanitarians. That'll be the law in the New Earth-different from the Old Earth, where you can blindly serve your own interests or devote yourself to the needs of others, but not both."

I Have A Dream

We all have dreams for our world. Some I see in the bright, optimistic future and others are so close I can smell them. Some dreams can even be a reality today, in this great year of Two-thousand and twelve, if we are willing to fight for them.

I have a dream that all children of all countries will be able to read and write, with an opportunity for further education and a degree from a University, if they so choose.

I have a dream that World Leaders will rise up past the bureaucracy and start living up to their promises and their people's expectations. That they will find the poorest person in their country and walk a day in their shoes. They will no longer be able to accept money from large corporations with greedy agendas. They will no longer stand by while their government takes money from its people, while their banks print money illegally and separate families from their homes. They will know the difference between capitalism and totalitarianism, socialism and communism, democracy and tyranny.

I have a dream that all borders will disappear and people will be able to see the world, provide for their families and not feel the chains of an invisible line in the sand. I dream that the United States will make all illegal aliens rightful citizens who have been living there over three years, which enables them to pay taxes, contribute to their community and send their children to school. Free language schools will enable our new, hard-working, tax-paying citizens to integrate into society and better themselves.

I have a dream that siesta time will spread to all countries, and from 12:00-2:00pm the world shall know peace by the sound of silence (in their different time zones, of course.) In the future it will be illegal to work over five days a week and mandatory vacation time will be instated for employees by their employers.

I have a dream that coffee planters, sweatshop workers and rice paddy farmers will someday be paid fairly for their hard, back-breaking labor. This can be done today if we stand up as one and refuse to buy cheap, ill-gotten/stolen food, garments, diamonds, etc. Look into Fair Trade and find out which companies are playing by the rules and decide for yourself who you would support. (www.fairtrade.net)

I have a dream that people will realize that all religions are basically the same and stop killing their neighbors over a disagreement of interpretation. The Pope will no longer be asked for political advice that he knows nothing of, and will also receive a tax audit. If he complains, he will be held accountable for thousands of deaths. I also dream that people will stop worshiping materialism and return to the natural splendor Mother Nature graces us with every day.

I have a dream that Burning Man will become a year-long festival that all people can afford and enjoy. I dream that someday the word "hippie" will be synonymous with positive strength, blissful magnetism and energetic integrity. Men in suits will no longer be afraid to frolic in fields of posies without being judged, and individuals will be cherished for exactly what they are: Individual.

I have a dream to introduce teaching morality in schools. Children receive no direction in this if they are not taught at home, which is all too often the case. I dream that parents will start taking an interest in their children's education, because they are the future and the future starts now. Art, poetry, music and singing will be taught equally with math, science, grammar and history, not just as an elective. Sex education will be re-instated in the South, instead of teaching abstinence, which they currently do in Texas. All those in favor of teaching abstinence in public schools will receive a chastity belt for their "services" to humanity.

I have a dream that it will be illegal for the government to continue to control the media; what we call the "Free Press." The First Amendment seems to have disappeared in this Land of the Free, and I would call that the journalists recently jailed for publishing the truth be released. Fox News will have to close its doors with these new laws, and the watered-down tripe the American public receives will be rejuvenated with Actual World Events. In addition, good news will be reported in equal measure with the bad.

I have a dream in zero tolerance of racism, sexism, rape, bigotry, police brutality, and accordions. People are people, we are all made of the same atoms, blood cells and water, no matter our sex, skin color, or who we love. Same sex marriages will be legal, and all opposed will also wear chastity belts for their stupidity and close-mindedness. Police brutality and those charged with assault will be punished by forced encampment at a Rainbow Gathering until they've calmed down. Same goes for accordion players.

I have a dream that all McDonalds will have to close on the grounds that they are directly responsible for world obesity, ruining hundreds of thousands of small businesses, and the selling of chemicals labeled "food." I dream that people will start paying attention to what they put inside their bodies, instead of chemicals that look like food, taste like food and smell like food but in fact, are not food. While I'm on the subject, cigarettes will also be illegal once the companies are no longer allowed to pay off the government and the FDA, on the basis of willingly addicting and killing millions without flinching. Marijuana will of course be legalized as a medical substitute to overpriced drugs that only the rich can now afford.

I have a dream that people will take themselves less seriously, live their lives to the fullest, and love openly. I wait for a future filled with silliness and adventure, remembering that we have but one life to live and that this is no dress rehearsal. I invite you to laugh at yourself before anyone else can, wear funny hats, kiss your children and hug your neighbors. This is my dream for a better tomorrow.

"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.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back." - Dr. Martin Luthor King