Thank Goodness It's Monday #423

REFLECTING ON A DREAM

AND MAKING HISTORY

The view
August 28, 1963
from the Lincoln Memorial
down the Mall and Reflecting Pool
to the Washington Monument

Fifty years ago, on a hot, humid August 28, 1963 in Washington DC, some 250,000 people assembled on the grounds between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

The climax of the largest demonstration the Federal City had ever seen was an address that scholars rate as the most important political speech of the 20^th Century.

 

You know this, no doubt.

And, no doubt, you have an opinion and some memory of this moment and the related developments that have unfolded in the two score and ten years since.

 

I certainly do. 

 

But, as this anniversary and its official commemoration approaches, having been bombarded by the historical recollecting and reportorial build up in the media, I wonder –

Can we trust our memories?

This is tricky stuff. I was on the verge of adulthood in 1963. I’m convinced now that I was aware, somewhat informed and sympathetically sensitive to the struggles of the time. But …

Was I? How much of what I now think that I thought then was not even formed in my teenage boy mind?

A great deal I’m willing to concede. 

How about you? 

TGIM CHALLENGE #1: Can you objectively look back across the years -- and not just at this momentous world event but at any significant memory that involves thought and emotion and consideration and opinion -- and say with certainty what you think and feel now is what you thought and felt at the time?

Scientists say we can’t. And personal experience has me agreeing. Apparently our imprecise recollection of “stuff” that has happened is altered by the very act of remembering it; altered at a cellular level. 

And in line with that fact, every time we re-remember in a slightly altered way, it all shifts again.

So the reality of our today is not the reality of our recent past and certainly not our distant past.

 

That’s not necessarily bad. Or wrong. Or, well, not necessarily harmful.

It is, however, cautionary.

 

TGIM TAKEAWAY: What we let in -- the information we accept as truthful and accurate and that goes to reshaping our memories -- needs to be suspiciously viewed and seriously vetted before we allow it to go messing with our biology and influencing our biography.

Especially these days. The 21^st Century is awash with – 

►   suspect information

►   from non-objective sources

►   quickly and cleverly packaged

►   and delivered at nanosecond speed

►   directly to our already over stimulated senses.

And what we accept as true or truth, as well as what we elect to argue with or ignore, matters. It matters inasmuch as it shapes who we are and our understanding of the next round of information proffered for our delectation and consideration.

 

Why this bit of reflection on this day?

Because what I do remember in the days and decades following the “I Have A Dream” speech is a far cry from what I perceive others, mostly younger, have concluded. The memories I’ve built are far less benign than the behavior of many in this second decade of the new millennium appear to enjoy.

As it appears to me: The American Dream that Dr. King referenced is still a long, long way from being a reality for many. Lack of opportunity, equality, liberty, justice, freedom from so many oppressive factors still sweeps across the landscape of our lives – with and without regard for race. 

I suspect even the Founding Fathers would find cause to object. 

Yet we seem to have become complacent.

TGIM CHALLENGE #2: Please don’t let this anniversary go by without seriously considering that, although we have come far –

We still have a long way to go. What that means precisely, where and how we get there is a course of action you must choose, informed by your own process of discovery, ability to act and sense of commitment.

However, if nothing else, appreciate the genius of MLK Jr. on that day in August 50 years ago in striking a balance between comforting the assembly and challenging them. Then rise to the challenge.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Discover your own dreams. Seek to understand what’s at the core of your thinking. Find out what you believe that enables you to move forward. 

To help you do that, use this anniversary occasion as a jumping off point.

• Take the time and make the effort to consider the content and context of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (That was the proper historical name for the event. Surprised? )

 

• Listen to or read (or both) the entire “I Have A Dream” speech – not just the highlights that will loop in the media over the next news cycle or two. Seek to understand it’s historic precedents and its consequential developments – and lack of them.

Do this in the spirit of being or becoming an informed citizen of the world in the 21^st Century.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make sure you’ve got facts (not speculation) and all the facts you need before you settle on a course of action. Check and double check. Know your sources. Search for independent resources to verify what others tell you.

Then make your own history.  

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “King called our country forward on that beautiful day in 1963, but he also called out our failings. He told us there could be no peace without justice, and no justice without struggle. We honor him best by sharing not only his hope but also his impatience and his resolve.” E. J. Dionne, American journalist and political commentator, and a long-time op-ed columnist for The Washington Post recently concluded his column with that observation.




We know, both figuratively and literally, what MLK Jr. “saw” when looked down the National Mall August 28, 1963. The "humanity" of it all is pictured at the top of today's post.
 

The US Park Service ranger assigned to guard Dr. King on the podium, Gordon Gundrum (loooking to the left above), is quoted as saying recently, “It was something I knew was going to change the world.”

My long-time local acquaintance Arnold Brown was also present (leaning forward, behind and right of the woman with the patterned hat) with his brother Jerome who recalls, “The march made me aware of non-violence – and I think it changed the way I thought about things, and approached things in my life.”