Have We Realized MLK's Dream?

40-years after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have we attained the goals he hoped for and envisioned?

This is a question that can only answered with a yes and a no.
King's dream was for people to be judged "by the content of their character..." and to a large extent we've reached that point. White racism against black still does indeed exist (as does something Dr. king railed against: black racism against whites) but for the most part, color is insignificant in day to day interactions. So part of what he hoped for has been achieved.

I wonder what Dr. King would say if he could see the world today as it is: black on black violence that has decimated an entire generation, black jailed far in excess of their percentage of the population and a majority of black children being raised by their mothers, aunts or grandmothers because their fathers have opted out of the deal. I wonder what he'd think of the term "baby daddy" or "baby momma".

I further wonder what he'd think of rap music in which the n-word is thrown around with not a care and women are portrayed (and allow themselves to be portrayed) as "hos". When the good Reverend was assassinated, the music on the charts was soulful, bluesy and enlightened. Motown led the way and it was a blend of all the great music this country had to offer. Music regressed after Dr. King died to the garbage spewed out by the new brand of "singers". Rap glorifies the gangster lifestyle and violence where King preached non-violence.

What would Dr. king think about the regression of the black dream, the dream of giving those with the drive and ability the opportunity to prove themselves. Instead, the liberal policies of Johnson's Great Society resulted in sentencing black families to lives of poverty, crime and fear. Instead of lifting them as King had envisioned, welfare policies kept the African-American jobless, penniless and squarely in the camp of the Democratic party where every four years, the Dems promise them better things and a better world through more government intervention.

Now don't get me wrong, African-American's have made great strides in this nation, they have realized the opportunities of a good education where it has been made available to them. Unfortunately, that does not include the inner city failure chambers they've sentenced to by teachers unions and their Democrat enablers. But those who were given the opportunity thrived and rose through the class structure to become business owners, doctors, CPA, engineers and anything else they chose to be. A funny thing happened along the way, those who got ahead increasingly became Republicans to the scorching enmity of other African-Americans.

What would Dr. King have said about the disdain shown by black and white liberals toward Condi Rice, the highest-ranking African-American woman in history and former Provost of Stanford University? What of those who speak their mind as Dr. King did trying to lift the black community out the liberal morass, men such as Ward Connerly and Roy Ennis or even Bill Cosby who excoriates the way things have turned out and in turn gets excoriated for speaking his mind.

I wish King had lived and seen what the extent of his successes and the missed opportunities that occurred because self-appointed successors like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have ingrained the victim complex in two entire generations. I wish he were here to see the rise of Barack Obama and the fervor he generates, not just among blacks but even more so among whites. His dream is almost realized on that count.

MLK's dream is being partially realized in the greatest nation on the planet. He saw the promise of America and sadly, those who followed in his footsteps veered off course and bastardized the man's message for their own political gain.