We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) ”I Have A Dream” Speech, 28 August, 1963
1963: 45 years on: ”I Have A Dream”
1863: 145 years after: The Emancipation Proclamation
1776: 232 years after: The Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The UN Charter (1945) “reaffirmed faith in fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person” and committed all member states to promote ‘universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion’”.
And, from The UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distiction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
Today, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomorrow, we celebrate a partial fruition of his efforts, the Inauguration of Barack Obama, the First African-American President of the United States of America.
And now. Now it is up to all of us to “Make Real The Promises of Democracy”.
After the party and the excitement have worn off, it will be a New Day. With New Promise. And New Effort.
In the Zen Tradition, when one ordains, there is a chant which is recited:
In the drifting, wandering world,
It is very difficult to cut off our human ties.
Now we are going to cast them away and enter real activity.
This is the way to show our gratitude.
We vow with all sentient beings
That we will be detached from delusion
And dwell in tranquillity.
The Delusion of Separateness. The Delusion of Past and Future. The Tranquility of Now. Showing our Gratitude: a time when all will work for the Greater Good. For You as well as I, for Us as well as I, for Them as well as Us.
Now it is up to all of us.
