Today my students and I read the I Have a Dream speech in honor of MLK Jr. day.  This was the first time that I had read the speech as an adult.  I have to say that as I read it to my kids I almost cried.  In fact when I played the audio version for my kids one cried and the others were inspired to learn more about the MLK Jr. and civil disobedience. The words in the speech are so powerful that they awaken a pride that is hard to put into words.  As I talked to my students i came to the conclusion that the pride that I felt was,idealistic, but  pride as an American.  It was a national pride that I have not felt in a very long time.

I was proud to know that because of the country I live in I am able to be free from many injustices.  I was proud today to remember that many men and women shaped my country into a land of opportunity.  I know that this all sounds cliche and silly.  It's just that lately I have been feeling, as most Americans, a bit disappointed in my government and country.  It was refreshing to be reminded of the injustices we went through as a nation and to be reminded that  there were people who fought against them.