The Once and Future Dream

During the Civil Rights era, Martin Luther King spoke some pretty potent words: “…that we shall be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.” He had a simple dream that still has yet to come true.

Sadly, if Dr. King were alive today, he would find that not only are people still judged by the color of their skin, they’re also judged by the content of their homes, cars, closets, and wallets. Character never even enters into the equation, unless someone is applying for credit.

Another dividing line is the content of their education. The world requires so much, yet we see, to provide so little equipment to go into battle in the business world—and the world in general.

“People bling” has become the new normal; the new standard for which to aspire. You may know it as “excess”, and others may know it as “a basis from which to build.” Younger generations are molded by the behavior of the adults, and the adults were molded by the actions of their societal adults. Success is signaled by excess, and more equals more—of EVERYTHING.

In Dr. King’s day, the American dream was to own a house, a car, a TV, have a kid or two make it through college and on to a good-paying career, and sufficient respect and dignity to get through life largely unscathed. Now, Dr. King’s dream has become the “starter” level from which a much richer and larger life is erected.

Maybe it’s time to go back to basics. Somewhere along the trip, the character got tossed out the window. Too many of us put the cart before the horse, or in the case of youth, put the car before the house.

If we weren’t judged by the content of our possessions, today’s 20- and 30-somethings wouldn’t be so strapped. If we were taught to focus on our priorities, we wouldn’t be so raven-like and distracted by shiny things. The price of all those little things bought along the way could’ve added up to a healthy down payment in today’s house market. Nice cars, homes, and other belongings are the reward for hard and successful work, not a foundation for which someone tries to build a rickety life upon and hopefully pays off before death. The work has to be done FIRST to earn the money for those things—not the other way around. Plastic and credit have enabled us all to have our cake and eat it too, whether or not we can actually afford it—now, price is an afterthought.

How do we turn the clock back and get back to a life of meaning and character? We make sound choices, we put positive words and ideas into actions, and we pass them down to our children. When our children see how life is SUPPOSED to go, then they will model this for their own children—that will be the new American dream.

Maybe one day in the future, we will actually be judged by the content of our character and not the content of our lives.