I Dream…

I Dream of a country that never was.

A country that exists in the minds of a few who believe that that country is gone today.

A country that is as fictional as any fantasy story ever written.

A country that the few believe was defined by 1950's era television shows.

A country that has never existed.

I dream of a society that shuns hatred, violence, bigotry, prejudice, deceit , personal and corporate avarice and all forms of harmful behavior.

A society that does not practice intolerance toward any person based upon their national origin, race, gender, age, income, education, religion or sexual orientation.

A society that teaches their children core values that embrace compassion toward all other people.

A society that breaks the chain of hatred and bigotry that has always existed throughout our history.

A society that acknowledges that it's most important component are it's people.

A society that can acknowledge and learn from their mistakes.

A society whose laws are just and evenly applied to all members regardless of income level or perceived social standing.

A society in which members do not attempt to polarize or divide society based upon their political, religious or societal affiliations.

A society that has never existed.

I dream of a health system that treats all with compassion and understanding regardless of income level or perceived social standing.

A health system that is funded collectively by us all, through our tax system.

A health system that ensures quality medical care is available to all regardless of where a person lives, be it an inner-city neighborhood or an indian reservation.

A health system that teaches their doctors that in spite of their extensive education in the medical field, they too, are just people, no better or worse than anyone else.

A health system that trains its practitioners to be sensitive to the psychological well-being of every patient.

A health system that instills into every doctor the value of humility and service to people.

A health system that does not reward large corporate health networks for their greed and and focus on the financial bottom line to the detriment of the people who are treated in their system.

A health system that has never existed.

I dream of an educational system that allows every person the opportunity to receive an education tailored to their abilities, desires and goals.

An educational system that understands that not every person should be directed or pushed into college or university to pursue an idealistic notion of what is perceived to be the only path to a happy or successful life.

An educational system that teaches the idea that an education in the trades is as valuable to society as any other higher educational pursuit.

An educational system that places its emphasis on teaching our youth the core elements of learning such as reading, writing, math, history, geography, civics, language, science, biology and the arts.

An educational system that has never existed.

I dream of a government that serves the people.

A government that addresses only those concerns that affect the well-being of our entire society, our common good, versus the interests of the moneyed few.

A government whose elected representatives understand the role that they are supposed to exercise as a member of one of the collective bodies that watch over and care for all of society not just those in their home states and districts.

A government whose elected representatives can owe no allegiance to their political party, national committees nor any other special interest group or element of society to the detriment of our society as a whole.

A government that ensures that every law that is considered is germane to the needs of the people instead of the lobbyists and their financial backers.

A government that understands that the founding fathers could not have anticipated, understood nor provided solutions for many of the issues that our country faces today.

A government whose judiciary is able to interpret the constitutional free from their own personal beliefs or political allegiances.  

A government that understands that solutions to today’s problems must be addressed in light of today’s world environment.

A government that recognizes the role our country plays on the world stage and understands that the role should be cherished and nurtured.

A government whose representatives, whether elected, appointed or hired, understand that their words are echoed around the world and can, in the end, hurt us.

A government whose representatives, whether elected, appointed or hired, understand that every nation on earth is free to choose the form of government that they desire, independent of our beliefs.

A government that has never existed.

I dream of a religious environment in our country free of organized religious zealotry, bigotry and influence over the laws of our land.

A religious environment in which religious organizations and their members recognize that one aspect of religious freedom is a personal freedom to worship or not.

A religious environment in which religious organizations and their members extend to every other person on this earth the freedom to worship as they see fit within the laws of their own country.

A religious environment in which religious organizations and their members understand that the Supreme Court has said, "Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices."

A religious environment in which religious organizations and their members understand that founding members of our country believed strongly in “a wall of separation between church and state” and that religious beliefs should not influence governmental decisions.

A religious environment that has never existed.

I Dream of a country that never was.

I Dream of a country that never was, but could be.

I Dream of faint glimmers of light at the end of many tunnels.

I Dream of hopes, dreams and aspirations of many coming true.

I Despair, but I Do Dream.