Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A utopia is something impossible for humans. It is a perfect society, considered ideal by humans. It would be an ideally perfect state, in social, political and moral aspects.
The elements that a utopia needs include: Perfection.
Selflessness.
Absence of humans?
Equality.
The speech: Martin Luther King's Speech "I have a dream" (August28 1963)
The themes consisted of racial justice, humans can never be satisfied and freedom.
His speech included:
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
The most famous paragraph carries the theme “I have a dream” and the phrase is repeated constantly to hammer home King’s inspirational concepts:
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed --- "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, and rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
And for Freedom:
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must come true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that — let freedom ring from Stone Mountain in Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
His speech was fantastic. Hw was a great man. Driving towards racial justice. There were remarkable emotions in his voice through the way he brought out his speeches. He was passionate and argued powerfully.
It was in relation to human rights (equality).
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Post On The Spill Of Water In 27th March.
Why wasn't it cleared immediately?
Well, I wasn't in the class till break was nearly over. When I was back, i had 5mins to settle down before Miss Soh was in class. Well, most of all, i guess nobody cared. Everybody bothered about their own matters and not the puddle of water. Wads more, nobody would bother if it wasn't their problem. If it did not affect them, they wouldn't bother. Unless they are pushed, no one would actually go up to solve the problem. We lack the initiative and we are selfish. We do not solve others' problems for them.
Why were there only soo few people helping out?
It's almost the same as the answer above. Nobody bothers if it wasn't their problem. Although people moght point out that 34 may be too many, the important point is that most of us lack that initiative. The point is not that of how many is helping out, it is the thought of how many people would actually help out.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I came across one of Yinn Jaye's previous blog post a few days ago. I wanted to post comments but the word verification cold not load. So, I guess I will post my comments on my blog. This is in reference to his blog post on 27th Feb. The main question he asked was "Does pride matter more than friends?"
Well, this is what I think. Pride is the state or feeling of being proud. So does pride matter more than friends? No. However, there are times when pride is not necessarily a bad thing. All of us should take pride in our work, giving the best in all our work. We can feel proud if we have done well in any one subject or competition. Pride only becomes a bad thing when we have too much of it, when we 'show-off'. We can feel self pride, being contented with ourselves. However, when one starts pointing his nose up towards the sky, we have overstepped the boundaries. That is having too much pride & showing it out to others.
Friends are an important & big part of our lives. Freindships takes a long time to nurture but it takes the time of a snap of a finger for the relationship to break. Therefore, we should handle all our relationships properly. Friends may fight & argue at times. However, think back, reflect & see what went wrong. In the end, the both of you may just come running back laughing with each other.
Slip-ups may just be accidental at times with no evil intention.
Back-stabbers are not really friends at all. They are only friends on the surface.
Traitors betray you to go to the other side or sabotage you. They are almost no different from back-stabbers at all. The only difference is that they are friends with you only to the last moment when they finally decide to betray you.
We should find friends not in quantity but in quality. Find friends who are true to you. True friends are difficult to find. However there are true friends out there. You just have to reach out for them. You may be the friend they need as well. Do not find friends by what they appear on the outside, their surface. Reach in furthur. Uncover the gem in them.