One of the things great Scouters spend much time thinking about and executing is the vision and legacy of the giants of history who have come before us. In the United States we look leaders from our past for this vision.. Lincoln, JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. to name but a few. Today is a day for us to reflect MLK’s words. Many point to the “I have a Dream” speech. We focus on the dreaming at the beginning, but action was call for by Dr. King.
At the end of the speech, Dr. King calls us to action and clear vision:
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village, every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
The goal is simple, work together for the freedom and liberty of all. One of the things I love about Scouting and TTRPG, is both communities seem to strive towards these goes. Open tables that are safe spaces for all to gather. Working together to support, serve and grow our communities for the befit of all are mutual goals.
Vision is a picture of future success. Dr. King’s vision was clear “when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village, every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when… we are free at last.” I will help work towards making that legacy come true.