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2008 Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Contest
2nd Place Winner: Angelie Montesa '09
January 24, 2008
We are told we have a developed society. It has grown through inventions and ideas. But is Dr. King's call to live as brothers and sisters a part of our developed society? Where does compassion tie into this? It doesn't appear to me that we have learned the simple art of living together as brothers and sisters and we have not understood what compassion means.
But there are human teachers all over the world ready to lead us into Dr. King's vision. Imagine a bashful and delightful little girl, dressed in pink sweats and no more than 3 or 4 years old. She waves hello and comes running out with many children holding out her hand timidly. Reality didn't hit me until the day that I met this little girl.
I just recently had the opportunity to travel for one week this past November to Morocco, where 80% of the villages live without electricity or running water and 1/3 out of its population of 29 million live below the poverty line. I was witness to the many areas of poverty and inequality between men and women. I did not fully understand the art of living until my journey through Morocco. Believing that I would be learning about another culture, I would later find out that I had learned much more than just culture, I truly learned what it means to struggle to live.
I began my journey by preparing myself physically. Being a woman, I was not allowed to take any article of clothing that was revealing in any particular way. My arms and legs were to remain covered during the entire trip. Almost immediately upon my arrival, I noticed that there was a stronger presence of men in the streets and learned that women respected their place in society by staying at home. I immediately sensed how far women have come in our country and had a little taste of what oppression felt like. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King stated during his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech, "Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself." It became obvious to me that the moment I stepped out into this new culture and way of life I became aware and began to appreciate the birthright of freedom that had been bestowed upon me, including equality amongst one another. This is the very freedom, which Dr. King fought for.
The next several days I spent in the South of Morocco in the Sahara Desert. The Sahara desert is known to be a massive, desolate environment with difficult terrain and dry climate; it is also a place of mystery, beauty, and serenity. Ironically, I saw this area as a great emptiness overflowing with beauty. It is difficult to describe to you the grandeur of such a natural and basic area of land. For seeing is believing.
On my second day, I was taken on a 2 hour hike through the Sahara to climb one of the higher mountain tops to watch the sun rise. At this moment in my mind, I painted life filled with love, hope, faith, and beauty amongst a world of injustice and suffering. Unfortunately, in such a beautiful area, more than 500,000 children under the age of 15 are subjected to child labor, resulting in 2 out of every 5 children being exploited. It is Dr. King's philosophy of love that became the basis for his concept of justice. Like Dr. King, it is essential to hold out hope that our world might one day truly embrace a higher and better sense of morale.
Later that same day, I visited a small local village and this is when reality hit me. When my group and I entered the village, a number of children came running out in the streets begging for money or food. A majority of the children were below the age of 10 and just receiving a simple piece of fruit or a bottle of water was enough to put a big smile on their faces. It saddened me to thing that there was a distinct possibility that their parents could send them away for work. I especially could not imagine the little girl in pink with the outstretched hand being sent away to work in a few years. Such a beautiful and happy face could possibly be filled with sadness and misery. The small gesture of giving her a juicy orange became a source of uttered delight. I sat and sang traditional songs, which was enough to bring happiness and laughter that day. It was those cheerful smiles and bright laughter that stood in stark contrast to their uncertain future and made me feel a connection to Dr. King's motivation to change. Through Dr. King's philosophy of love and justice, true compassion is produced through a revolution of values, and this revolution of values can bring restructuring to the gap between wealth and poverty. Sincere compassion requires more than the façade of handing out money and food to those who need it. It requires deep empathy and understanding; a strong voice and audacity; good will and character. During this part of my journey, I came in touch with the vision of a human in need and was witness to basic compassion. Dr. King was determined to change the social structure of society, therefore committing himself to encouraging African Americans to build alliances that wanted social change.
On the drive back from the Sahara, our group took several rest stops in the middle of nowhere and even in such a desolate area people emerged, hungry and in need. My group and I gave them our food and the simple things I took for granted, such as notebooks and pencils. With this, I identified the things that had meaning and purpose; as a result I saw what the art of living was. Dr. Martin Luther King had truly discovered the art of living, he saw injustice and need in the world, and consequently, he felt compassion. In a time of racism and inequality, Dr. King accepted himself as an African American searching for justice, because he knew that when we resist or deny certain aspects of who we are, we are at war with ourselves, and with everything that is going on in the world, it is hard to have any peace of mind and make change. Dr. King chose to be different and to make a difference in society. I realized that through my experience, the art of listening to the laughter of children in need and the art of seeing injustice, I have seen the art of living and I have seen how that smallest forms of compassion can make a difference in the lives of others when one is not afraid to make the difference and to be the difference.
In conclusion, it was once said, "There is a power under your control that is greater than poverty, greater than lack of education, greater than all your fears and superstitions combined. It is the power to take possession of your own mind and direct it to whatever ends you may desire." So what does it mean to me to live as brothers and sisters in a developed society? It is the tangible acts of compassion and simple acts of sharing, such as food and basic school materials. A change of mind can make a change in a moment in time in one person's life, and this to me is how we can live Dr. King's vision.
