Eleventh Grade Second Place Essay
ALI BARBUSH
Bishop McDevitt High School

Dream Vs. Reality

When Dr. King made his last speech on April 3, 1968, he had the idea of unity within all people. He wanted all people to understand that the central ideas of unselfishness and equality among all people are much more important than any individual would ever be. Dr. King firmly believed that one must put the needs of other people before his own, and that sacrificing one’s time or even one’s life, as Dr. King did just one day after he made this speech, is well worth the ‘greater good’. The greater good spoken of now is that equality, which Dr. King spoke of so fervently, almost forty years ago.
He stated that we all must be ready and determined to make America the kind of nation it ought to be. By this he means that for America to be a nation free of all isms: racism, ageism, sexism, we all must be united. We must be ready to do whatever is asked of us to achieve that goal, and if, in fact, everyone is working for that goal, it will be easily achieved. Dr. King was an intelligent man; he knew that it would be nearly impossible for every single human to agree with each other, even if on just one topic- equality between all races.
Today, that same message Dr. King gave rings true. To make our nation the way that Dr. King envisioned it we all must be together. We all must agree that discrimination between black and white is wrong, was always wrong, and will always be wrong. We have come a long and fantastic way since Dr. King’s time. Segregation in America has disappeared almost completely, though, in our own hearts, some people still hold that small amount of prejudice. However subtle it may be, with that small prejudice voice whispering into our ear, his dream will never be achieved. With that ever-small voice, his dream will stay just that, a dream.