“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King: What Has Changed Essay

Introduction

The present day America is definitely not the America which Dr. King had dreamt about with no divide between the blacks and whites or the poor and the rich. The class divide still continues to exist in America even today and “some people in America were to have privileges and rights which were not accorded to others” (Sullivan, 2005; pg. 390). There has never been a “level” playing field for the blacks and reality in America differs from the lofty ideals and speeches held by the top policymakers of the nation.

Discussion

To begin with, the Sullivan (2005) asserts that “America was not established as a democracy” (pg. 390). The constitution was drafted by the framers in such a manner that only White men who owned acres of land and property would be given the right to voice their opinion and decide the functioning of the government “including the right to vote” (pg. 390), while the working classes, the poor, the blacks were not allowed to take part in these all important decision making processes of the country.

The author makes a crucial point here that if the “dream” to provide all Americans the same legal rights, irrespective of their race, color, or financial status, why would the makers of the constitution with great ‘dreams” have begun in the most divisive manner? If the dreams were true then why were equal rights not granted to the people in the original draft of the constitution? Sullivan points that even today the class divide continues to exist in America by the many laws which are framed to benefit only the whites.

The author mentions one of the many such laws like the bankruptcy law for private citizens, which makes it difficult for them to declare bankruptcy. While on the other hand, it is no big deal for “corporations to declare bankruptcy, wipe clean the financial slate and get a fresh start” (pg. 390). Sullivan also reflects concern and anger over the fact that due to the rising inflation, American wages “have been on a serious decline” so that workers who are entirely responsible for the production continue to earn less whereas “corporate profits and CEO salaries continue to soar” (pg. 390).

Additionally, the facts revealed by Sullivan (2005) affirm that companies like Wal-Mart pay extremely low salaries to their workers, “around seven dollars per hour” and do not provide them any additional benefits. Workers have no rights and are “brutally overworked and underpaid” and have the constant fear of being “terminated any time for any reason” looming over their heads (pg. 390).

All these facts anger me and I certainly think that this is obviously not the America which people would want to live in and would want their children to grow up in.

Voicing similar concerns Meyers states that politics actually refers to the instant “when people get together to influence government, change their own lives, and change society” (Moyers, 2007; pg. 411). Moyers points to the growing divide in the American society between the rich and the poor and how this divide is widening day by day. Citing examples from real life Moyers talks about the two families, one black and the other white, and relates their sorry tale which turned their “personal tragedy into a political travesty” because they had lost their belief in the political system and felt that “they no longer matter to the people who run the country” (Moyers, 2007; pg. 413).

Moyers (2007) states that the notion of “any American child” reaching the top is changing with the increasing economic divide between the rich and the poor. This divide due to inequality of income between the American is so severe that Moyers fears that “the united states risks calcifying into a European-style class-based society.” The stratification of the education system in accordance with the social class is resulting in lesser resources at schools for poor children as compared to the schools to which the richer children go. Moyers state that the situation has been deeply aggravated by “America’s great companies” in which it is extremely difficult for people to rise up the hierarchal ladder from the bottom to the top, on the basis of their hard work and determination.

Conclusion

Thus, there is enough evidence which proves that the dreams of Dr. King are clearly far away from accomplishment. It angers me that the political system of America is more in favor of the rich than the poor. It also saddens me that my children do not have the facility of going to a good school with better resources simply because as parents we cannot afford such schools. I feel deeply hurt that basic amenities like school and education are divided on the basis of income and if this is how our children begin their education, I wonder how they will grow up to realize that as Americans, we are all equals!

References

Moyers Bill (2005). A Time for Anger, A Call to Action.

Sullivan Charles, (2005). Rich vs. Poor. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.