Jan 03, 2012 |  Filed in: Rabbi's Message

What Happened to the Dream?

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the march on Washington for jobs and freedom and delivered his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech. More than 200,000 people - black and white, young and old, rich and poor - gathered that day to hear this modern day prophet’s eloquent call for justice for all our nation’s inhabitants. Dr. King shared a dream “deeply rooted in the American dream.” That American dream of freedom, dignity, and economic justice is based on the belief that all people are created equal and “guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Dr. King vowed not to be satisfied until, in the words of the prophet Amos, “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” for all God’s children.

Almost fifty years later, as we honor the memory of this renowned civil rights leader this month, we wonder, what happened to the dream? As a nation, we have come so far, and yet, there is still so much work to do to fulfill the dream of attaining freedom, dignity, and economic justice for all. Even with all the progress we have made as a society, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. A recent study by Stanford University reports that the middle class, which has been the stalwart of American society, is shrinking, causing the income gap between rich and poor to increase at a rapid pace. Low income neighborhoods, still inhabited primarily by minorities and single parent households, lack access to the same quality education, health care, and job opportunities as the more affluent, primarily white population.

Immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, have become the modern day whipping posts as states pass harsh anti-immigration laws that are antithetical to the values upon which our country was founded. As in the 1960’s, Alabama is being accused of racism after passing one of the nation’s most stringent anti-immigration laws. With a sad sense of déjà vu, the powerless and vulnerable are being targeted, hunted, arrested, and deported. Families are being torn apart and children, whose parents have worked hard to provide them with better opportunities, especially education, are being penalized.

Yet, even with all this cause for despair, there is hope. Thanks to social networking, something Dr. King probably could not have envisioned, an organic movement, representing the diversity of our population, is revitalizing the call for social and economic justice. From New York City to Oakland, California, people from all walks of life are calling upon the economic decision makers to reign in greed and excess. The Occupy Wall Street Movement is redefining and re-energizing a generation. Jeffrey Sachs of the New York Times calls this movement “the start of a new era in America.” Halevi, it should only be so, as my grandmother used to say!

In the tradition of Dr. King, it is time once again for people to speak up for justice. With only a 9% approval rate of Congress, we can no longer sit around and wait for, or expect, our politicians to make the changes necessary for the American dream to become a reality. An organization called 1Miami recently conducted a survey of 900 residents from Little Havana to North Miami to determine how their lives have been impacted by the recent economic crisis and what we, as a community, need to do to help with the recovery effort. The findings indicate that to succeed economically, Miami needs to create 100,000 jobs. At the same time as large corporations, such as Florida Power and Light and Wells Fargo, have achieved record profits, and state legislators have upheld $850 million in tax cuts for the wealthiest Floridians, many local residents have lost their jobs and homes. 1Miami has outlined very clear and specific proposals to rectify Miami’s current economic crisis. To learn more about the findings of this important survey, check out their website at www.onemiaminow.org.

Perhaps it’s not coincidental that the annual commemoration of the birthday and work of Dr. King coincides with the Torah reading about our people’s efforts to seek freedom from enslavement by Pharaoh in Egypt. After all, this has been the example that Dr. King, and so many other oppressed people, have used as they experienced their own movement from slavery to freedom. Just as Moses heeded God’s words to keep exhorting Pharaoh to free the Israelites, so, too, must we heed Dr. King’s words to “continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.” That faith in freedom, dignity, and justice, which stems from our people’s experience of redemption from slavery, must continue to inform our actions in these very challenging times. Even in the most turbulent times of racial divide and brutality, Dr. King reminded us, “in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.” As we begin a new secular year, may we honor the memory of this courageous man by working to keep that sacred dream alive.