©D23

How far have we come?  It’s been almost 50 years since his “I have a dream” speech, yet I find myself, on the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, asking: How far have we come?

It is safe to say that the strides against racial intolerance have improved.  Inequality in many forms is far from obliterated in our society, but the days of the ridiculous “separate but equal” (and the akin “don’t ask don’t tell”) are gone.  It’s difficult to say that the undoing of a senseless law is progress, but there you have it.  The United States got off to an unusual start.  Truly it was a conglomeration of nationalities…but friction was nearly inevitable when everyone tried to scrape their way to the top, fight for power and autonomy and, in general, make a life.  A nation built on freedoms?  Well, with all due respect, I suppose that depends on whose perspective you’re viewing.