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Adrian Gonzales — First Place Winning Essay
January 29, 2009
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. For years now I have heard the word ''Wait!' It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’.”
When writing a letter from his jail cell in Birmingham of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. expresses to his fellow clergymen that waiting to take action in the face of oppression is not an option; that every moment postponed is given to the advantage of the opponent. We have seen segregation and hate crimes as a rich source of history not only in the United States, but around the world, and, still, in this new, progressive year of 2009, there is work to be done. And today I am here to tell you that we cannot wait because when we look for an opportune time to act, the time is now.
Forty six years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. stood before a crowd of 250,000 people and spoke of a dream, and this dream was not of the vision that we see today. Yes, we have made progress, but we are still far from embodying King’s dream.
On November 4th, 2008, California passed a bill known as Proposition 8. Now, I’m not about to argue the pro’s and con’s of same sex marriage, but I would like to bring up an interesting fact. Many proponents say that since Prop 8 passed, it proves more voters would rather not deal with the deviance of same-sex marriage, but was it not deviant when Americans wanted to abolish slavery or when women demanded their suffrage? Was it not deviant when Americans asked the government to recognize people of all race, ethnicity, and religion as equal citizens and human beings? Deviance may derive in small numbers as obscure ideas, but when collective, it causes change.
We also have to remember the millions of people all over the world suffering from deprivation of their basic human rights. Every year almost 27 million slaves are trafficked around the world. In Haiti, over 300,000 children are enslaved as servants. India, Nepal and Pakistan have more than 18 million slaves working in agriculture and producing consumer materials. Why I am telling you this? Today I came here to speak about the continuation of Martin Luther King’s dream and to adhere to that dream, there’s a whole world looking to be relieved of their degradation. But now the question is: what am I suppose to do to continue that dream? I'm about to tell you.
Movements do not start by a single person, but by a group of people who come together after discovering their common endeavor. According to Napoleon Hill’s, Law of Success, when multiple people harmoniously cooperate, a "Master Mind" is created; and this Master Mind is a source of energy that compels those involved to find all resources necessary to succeed. In 1964, while delivering his speech, "The Ballot or the Bullet," Malcolm X informs his audience, "I’m not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it's time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem." Malcolm X knew that without adamant cooperation the civil rights movement would not have been successful, but with a Master Mind, those involved would fulfill their ambition. Today, our common enemy is ourselves, so let us submerge our differences and whatever religious, political, romantic or moral differences we have, let us look past these juxtaposing views and overcome our pride to embrace human diversity.
And if you think now is not the time because you’re too old or you’re too young, I believe you’re mistaken. An old dog can learn new tricks and you’re never too young to make a difference. I want to tell you the story of a local Fullerton resident by the name of Ethan Matsuda. Ethan saw our culture's lack of awareness and decided that the time was now and launched a campaign supporting Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in proposing the "US and the World Education Act." Ethan was quoted saying, "My parents' generation has left us a big mess of the world. Global warming, industrial pollution, famine, drought, war and child labor are just a few of the problems we will have to tackle. We cannot wait for them to act" How old is Ethan? He’s ten years old, but even he is able to see the importance of global cooperation and human compassion as a means of alleviating needless suffering.
In this year of 2009, we must look upon the example of Ethan and take action to fix the problems of this sad generation. We are in the midst the greatest economic slump since the Great Depression and there are millions of unemployed citizens fighting just to make the bill at the end of the month. All over the world slavery, genocide, and the suppression of human and civil rights occur each and every single day. We are also in an age where global warming and climate change are exponentially occurring due to industrial pollution, vast emissions of greenhouse gasses, deforestation and the massive amounts of consumer litter that cover both sea and land. As Clarence Jones, a former advisor for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said, "if a significant part of your time is spent on this foolishness called racism, or if a significant part of your time is spent considering whether A should be allowed to marry B," our population will not be able to flourish nor blossom, so, the sooner we strive to achieve King's dream of peace and equality, the sooner we can overcome the issue of keeping our beautiful home that we call Earth, sustainable. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and he tried to tell us that we can’t wait; he tried to tell us that the time to act was now. If the world was wondering when the time was to act, let‘em know that in 2009, the time is now.
Read the second place winning essay by clicking here.
