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Office of Multicultural Affairs |
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ArrivedAn Essay by William Paris '10William Paris '10, a creative writing major from San Antonio, Texas, presented his essay Arrived at Susquehanna University's 2008 Winter Convocation on Jan. 21. An Honors Program student, presidential fellow and Office of Multicultural Affairs staff writer, Paris is author of The Great Journey: Beginnings of the Soul Keeper. "I have a dream…" In many ways the obstacles Dr. King faced back in 1963 still oppose all of society today. It has appeared to me that many people are asking, "Why are you still complaining? What more do you want?" But this is not about complaining; it is about struggle, and continuing to struggle. Fighting for something better. Believing there is something better. We may no longer have separate water fountains, colored and white bathrooms, lynch mobs, but we have not realized the dream; we have not arrived. Dr. King did not solely hope for racial equality, but also unity. He said in his famous speech in August of 1963, "They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone." And we should not walk alone. We are not alone in this world; we are all connected. And as long as even one person is shackled, we will all be shackled. Somewhere along this long road we forgot this. We forgot that our identity – our destiny – does not lay within Black people, White people, Asian people, Middle Eastern or Hispanic people, Transgendered people, Gay people, Handicapped people. It lay within people. We are all people. We forgot this, pulled the car over and told each other that we had arrived at the dream. But how can we say we've arrived when we live in a country where the abominable noose has become the punch line for a twisted joke? How can we say we've arrived when drugs and disease flood our neighborhoods and threaten our children? How can we say we've arrived when "Minutemen" stand at our borders with weapons to protect the American dream from those who wish to realize it? No, ladies and gentlemen, we have not arrived. Not so long as one person harbors a hateful breath in their body. Not so long as one person is mired in the chains of poverty and drugs. But there's still gas in this tank; miles left in this car. This is not the time to stop. To pull over. To be satisfied. You may ask, "When can we be satisfied?" I would answer, "Never." Satisfaction leads to apathy. It leads to resignation. Whoever can say they are satisfied also says that this world can do no better. And I don't believe that. I don't think anyone does. The world can always be better. We can always do better. "Arriving" is not about reaching a destination, but instead about constant growth. A constant push for an ideal that may be unattainable, but is worth fighting for nonetheless. This dream, arrival, Paradise, whatever name you may want to assign to it just might be impossible. Does that mean we do not try? I want all of you to think about one thing you wish would change in the world. Is it poverty, racism, violence, disease, famine? What would you give to fight it? Do you find satisfaction in celebrating the ideals of Dr. King for one day? Most likely not. We all have something worth fighting for. We all have something or someone we hold out hope for. Hope is tiresome. It is hard and wearisome. But it is also what gives our lives meaning and purpose. The hope we have in our dreams is real. Even more real than the dream itself. The hope I have – that I believe we all have on some level – in Dr. King's dream is worth the struggle because it is better than this; better than accepting and being satisfied. My mother, over this past vacation, told me that when she was five she had witnessed a lynching. She said the image had never left her. I almost understand now why countless times during my childhood she had impressed upon me that things never change. I can imagine the despair and doubt that act must have cast over her life. At such a young age, she saw that this world can be an awful place. My mother may not be hopeless, but her words were. Her words mirror what satisfaction and hopelessness can lead to. No one wants to live in a world they believe can and will never change. The time for progress was back in 1963 and the time for progress will be in 2063, but more importantly, the time for progress is now. It will always be now. This is the time for all of us – united – to wake up and hope and fight for hope. And together we can transcend dreams and say "We have hope…" Citation |
