I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a vision of hope and equality for all people, emphasizing the importance of unity and justice.
In this powerful quote, Martin Luther King Jr. articulates his dream of a future where social barriers are dismantled, and everyone, regardless of their background, experiences equal dignity and justice. The imagery of valleys being exalted and mountains made low signifies the transformation of societal inequalities, creating a harmonious world where the divine glory is acknowledged collectively. It serves as a poignant call for civil rights and unity in the face of oppression.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, one might use this quote to illustrate the need for collective action towards equality.
This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.
Music is the best consolation for a despaired man
We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Israel... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world
One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.
If the Angel deigns to appear, it will be because you have convinced him, not by tears but by your humble resolve to be always beginning — to be a Beginner!
I want you to be afraid to turn the page (and to do that) you need to show right from the beginning that you're playing for keeps.
I try to get that across in the work, to try to, if I'm lucky, to make this world a little bit better for all of us before I check out. And that's if I'm lucky, I don't always get to have that privilege but I try always.
If you don't die of thirst, there are blessings in the desert. You can be pulled into limitlessness, which we all yearn for, or you can do the beauty of minutiae, the scrimshaw of tiny and precise. The sky is your ocean, and the crystal silence will uplift you like great gospel music, or Neil Young.
It's almost impossible to read a fine thing without wanting to do a fine thing.
Star Trek says that it has not all happened, it has not all been discovered, that tomorrow can be as challenging and adventurous as any time man has ever lived.
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