You Can't Legislate Morality...or Apparently, Dreams

I'm a big fan of the aforementioned Martin. I understand most people are - and not just because black history month just ended. His influence seems to me to pass way beyond February.

If you're going to take advice from anyone on the American dream, there are worse resources than a preacher with a Ph D, or for that matter, an American icon.

"It wouldn’t take us long to discover the substance of [the American] dream," he says. "It is found in those majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, words lifted to cosmic proportions: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'" Martin is a literalist as well, it seems.

This was the dream of the forefathers, and for an exhaustive account of the details that went into it, one could do worse than to read the Federalist Papers. However, for the moment, we will accept the end result of those papers as the summary of the dream: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness....for all. In reference to this dream, Martin has some further things to say on the subject:

"The American dream reminds us, and we should think about it anew on this Independence Day, that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth....We are challenged to really believe that all men are created equal. And don’t misunderstand that. It does not mean that all men are created equal in terms of native endowment, in terms of intellectual capacity—it doesn’t mean that....what it does mean is that all men are equal in intrinsic worth."

That is what the dream means, according to Martin. So he must have found it ironic then, that a dream so uniquely American that it had been named such had not been even remotely realized within his time.

I don't have to tell you that Martin led a revolution to this end, that he ultimately became a martyr for it. Yet another irony in the life of Martin - to be martyred in a non-violent revolution is a tragic end indeed. And yet, he did what he came to do. It is no wonder he is often looked at as an almost Messianic figure - his death led to a greater good - desegregation, an improved effort on the part of the American government for civil rights, a society where black children are afforded the same rights as white children (for the most part). If Martin were alive today, I think he would be pleased to see that the racism of his day was largely a thing of the past.

However, I have my doubts that he would be satisfied. In his Independence Day sermon on the American dream, he went on to say the following: "This is why we must join the war against poverty and believe in the dignity of all work. What makes a job menial?....What makes it menial is that we don’t pay folk anything. Give somebody a job and pay them some money so they can live and educate their children and buy a home and have the basic necessities of life. And no matter what the job is it takes on dignity."

The racism of yesterday, I believe Martin would say, has given way to classism. Black children are affored the same rights by the government that white children are. However, poor children are not afforded the same rights as rich children, and we often confuse that for racism because they so often look like the same thing.

Poverty is a constant problem for the citizens of the nation, and every new politician has a way to deal with it. As '08 approaches, we will hear more and more about their ideas for change, so I do not feel compelled to go into them now.

The fact is, what Martin was speaking of in this particular sermon had a lot less to do with governmental policies and a lot more to do with individual outlook. It is the reason he chose to deliver this speech in his home church, instead of in front of a national monument, as he did in his other more famous speech. Martin was speaking to the hearts of his people - every single one of them, individually.

Racism and classism, according to Martin, are moral problems above all else. But as the ACLU and other organizations for the rights of the American people often remind us, morality cannot be legislated, only law. You cannot tell a person how to be good, under the law.

The American dream - it's life, it's liberty, and it's pursuit of happiness - is centered around the entity of the individual rather than the government. It is the government's responsibility to ensure the rights of its citizens, and many would agree that following the Civil Rights Movement, it has taken care to correct its mistakes in this matter regarding racism. However, though its citizens rights are ensured under the law, their dreams are not - and this includes Martin's dream:

"I still have a dream this morning that truth will reign supreme and all of God’s children will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. And when this day comes the morning stars will sing together and the sons of God will shout for joy: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'"

If history is any indication, there will never be a day when all men respect the intrinsic worth of other men. It certainly will not come as a result of the government mandate, but instead as a personal mandate, a mandate of conscience. Perhaps then, we would do well to revise our dream from affluence and fame, houses with little white picket fences and college educations, to simply treating each other how we would like to be treated. I believe this is what Martin may have had in mind.

Martin did an amazing amount to secure the fair and continued rights of his people - the "untouchables" of society, but I have to think that were he still here today, he would not be satisfied. I don't believe, however, he would be marching in any more revolutions. I believe he would be preaching quietly to his people, about love, and respect, and how to be good. There is only so much a nation's government can do, after all: it can ensure its citizens the opportunity of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The rest we must do ourselves. That's the dream anyway.