I too have a dream—
By Douglas D. Germann, Sr.
© Copyright 2008, Learning Works, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
I too have a dream—about a black woman and a yellow man and a red elder and a white youth are all sitting down together—at no table—in a circle—all equals—hearing—leaning in—working together—inventing conversation—inventing our world—and you are among us—and he and she—we stand boldly and scared in the face of complaisance and fitting in—daring to be neighbors—daring to invent neighboring—vulnerable and risking to try—getting our hands dirty—the dream is an interactive society—and it grows on—
I too have a dream—about government not abdicated to “them” but claimed by us—pockets and pockets of people in every place—making change—living justice and compassion—living taking charge—causing a world people love and live and are all they can be—not everyone taking charge for some have no interest or are ill or weak—
I too have a dream—of people inventing a conversation—deep enough to include the darkness and the light—wide enough to include all voices wanting to be heard—intricate enough to weave them all together to match the dangers and opportunities of life—causally enough to be able to say We did it ourselves—committedly enough to count on each other—
I too have a dream—of enormously tangled problems—put right and whole—by distributed community mind and heart—a single mind and heart made up of all who care—a single mind and heart intricate enough to match the tangle—beyond what we used to try to tackle with one leader or head-bashing politics—
I too have a dream—of a sacredness in the physical world—of something more—of a holiness distributed among us—in each of us—accessible to each of us—in-forming each breath we take—of a G*d entangled with our human life—of a G*d whose alias is conversation—of a divine calling in each action we make to include and open and do—
I too have a dream—that this society—this intricacy—this activity—this taking charge—this justice and compassion—this conversation—can happen not in some possible and hoped-for future—because we need it now—I dream that this can happen now—
I too have a dream—that you will make this dream not just mine—make it ours—and so I leave open for you this dash—
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