Room With a View
Places like Dr. King’s view of what was a mass demonstration reflecting a larger society and world filled with inequity on that memorable day in the nation’s capital remained an integral part of who we are and reflect the ideals of the society that we hope to become someday to come.
We’re not there yet. We have a long way to go. We might not ever get there. But it’s still important to dream. It’s important to struggle and strive towards something better. It’s important to imagine the possibilities.
Few places in the world inspire total awe.
I’m talking about a jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away “wow” factor.
The Grand Canyon instantly comes to mind. So does the top of the Empire State Building. Other places, too. But they’re few and far between. That’s what makes great vantage points so special. That’s what makes us remember not only what we once saw, but what we felt when we were entirely consumed by our surroundings.
Think back to a moment in your life when you became totally absorbed by the things around you. I’ll venture to say that if you have trouble remembering such an instance, perhaps you have not truly lived as you should. No worries. It’s not too late. One remedy is to get out more. Read. Learn. Live. The rewards of walking in the shadows of what mother nature and our own ancestors have bestowed upon us are priceless.
While I revere nature, I’m more inclined to immerse myself at historical crossroads when I can. I like to see what the great people before us once saw. I like to imagine what they once felt when the world changed, sometimes inspired by what they experienced.
For instance, take the ordinary granite slab overlooking the national mall in Washington, D.C. It’s about the size of a welcome mat sitting on your front doorstep. But this rectangle of rock is about as inspiring as anything I’ve witnessed. Consider the silent echoes of the footsteps left behind some 51 years ago by the late Dr. Martin Luther King. Here, he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial. Instantly, that became a transformational moment, not just for America and the civil rights movement, but for a larger galactic human struggle between forces of good and evil. It’s a sanctified place of where the game and the rules we play by changed. There aren’t many places in the world like that.
America desperately needed Dr. King’s voice then and judging by the way things are happening, the world needs to remember his ideas now. What happened? Where have the people like Dr. King gone? Who has replaced that voice which fell so tragically silent so long ago? Where is the champion of those without a voice?
I suppose the answer is — people like Dr. King and Martin Luther and Charles Darwin are so rare, that’s what makes them extraordinary. I wonder — would civil rights have happened had Dr. King not been around? Perhaps. But the struggle would have taken much longer. Alas, that struggle still continues half a century later.
Centuries of institutionalized injustice and human conflict were doused with a few simple words from a speech that lasted all of about 12 minutes. The thoughts of one man with great courage and a simple dream became a calling card and a rallying cry, reverberating all the way to the modern-day. Tell me where else you can stand — anywhere in the world — and mold the souls of your feet in true revolutionary thought and action. Such places are rare.
The “I Have a Dream” spot in Washington is one of those iconic places which merits silence, reflection, remembrance, and respect. Standing here and gazing out is not just some monument. It’s not a carnival ride. It’s where millions of lives were transformed and where the seeds of inspiration were planted.
Yesterday, I stood in the footsteps of Dr. King and took this photo.
History is important.
Places like Dr. King’s view of what was a mass demonstration reflecting a larger society and world filled with inequity on that memorable day in the nation’s capital remained an integral part of who we are and reflect the ideals of the society that we hope to become someday to come.
We’re not there yet. We have a long way to go. We might not ever get there. But it’s still important to dream. It’s important to struggle and strive towards something better. It’s important to imagine the possibilities.
One hundred years before Dr. King gave his speech, another good and decent man gave a speech that was equally as memorable, perhaps even more so. It took quite a while longer for those words and ideals of President Abraham Lincoln to resonate and gain near-universal acceptance. But eventually, some changes came. Slowly. One step at a time.
All change comes from incremental deviation from what once used to be. Change comes from recognizing a wrong combined with the courage to fight for a right. Change takes time. Sometimes even a century isn’t enough.
The room with a view does remind us all that we all have a very long way to go and all have a role to play in making a better nation and world.
