April 18, 2007
Once again, I want to thank Bill and PeoriaIllinoisan for helping me get videos up…These are the first two of many that I felt needed to be seen. The first is FAR more important than the second and the third. However, the words of the second- and by definition the third- echo the words of the first in more ways than 2007 America is ready to admit.
As powerful and important as this speech is, it amazes me how few people have actually heard it. This is the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King. Please, no matter where your political affiliations may fall, listen. The things Dr. King has to say don’t apply simply to race, but to the state of human existence.
Most people from my generation know “Ghost of Tom Joad” as a Rage Against the Machine song. It’s a powerful song from the mouth of Zach de la Rocha, but Bruce Springsteen did it first. I give you both versions, but first the end scene of the movie “Grapes of Wrath”, based on Steinbeck’s novel. They say the best works of literature are timeless. Judge for yourself.
Some people may think it wrong to put “I Have a Dream” and “Ghost of Tom Joad” in the same post. I think there’s a lot to be said for putting them together. I would like to think John Steinbeck would say the same.
