Freedom!

I'm thankful that I cannot remember a time when African-Americans were denied basic freedoms. Things that I take for granted: voting, drinking from any water fountain, choosing any seat on public transportation, attending any hospital, going to any doctor, choosing a vocation, or even being able to love another. It is incomprehensible to me to think that these things not only happened occasionally, but were a way of life. One of my very best friends is African-American and to think that if we lived in another era, we would never even met, let alone be friends is depressing. Add to that the fact that these types of things happened in our parents era, is again baffling. I grew up believing that it was okay to be friends with black people, and that they were no different that I, except when it came to dating. I was always told not to bring home a black boy, now I find that disgusting. I have made a conscience effort to teach my children that we are all God's children, that there is no difference in skin color, ethnicity, or religion. God loves us all, so why can't we see each other the way God sees us?

I believe this country has come a long way in the area of race relations, and yet we still have a ways to go. But I wonder, in this the year of the fortieth anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. what would he think of where we are as a nation? What would he think about this presidential election and that for the first time there's an African-American running who actually has a chance of winning. I pray for the day when every person is treated equally, a day when there's no need for affirmative action, and there's an end to racial profiling. I, too, share Dr. King's dream and pray that it's fulfilled if not in my lifetime, then in my children's.