Idaho Human Rights Day/ Martin Luther King, Jr day – Famous quotes form MLK and others!

I took these quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes.   In Idaho we call it the Idaho Human Rights day.  Of course it is inspired by the great man.   Other Great Men and Women have spoke on equality and dreams….  Here it is right from the website.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963.

All men are born equally free.
Salmon P. Chase

All men are created equal, it is only men themselves who place themselves above equality.
David Allan Coe

Coming generations will learn equality from poverty, and love from woes.
Khalil Gibran

Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.
Frances Wright

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Abraham Lincoln

From the equality of rights springs identity of our highest interests; you cannot subvert your neighbor’s rights without striking a dangerous blow at your own.
Carl Schurz

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
Barack Obama

“All the citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally free”
Voltaire

Equality is the basis of our society.  No one should think they are better or worse then others because of their diversity or lack of diversity… Debbie Holmes 2012

Becoming an American!

Yesterday I had the privilage of watching 30 people from 11 nations become American Citizens…. It was quite an honor. I usually find out after the fact that someone became a citizen…

A client of mine has been married to an American for 15 years. She is an educated and articulate woman. She took the test last month. Her husband had a very important business meeting and it seemed too important an event to attend alone…. Even if the attendee was your real estate agent…. So I went…. It was wonderful to see the pride of these 30 new Americans as they took the oath of office…

Oath of Citizenship Dec. 1, 2011 Boise, ID

My client/friend….(many of my clients become my friends) was very happy to see me. She thought she would be all alone. She was very nervous. The ceremony took around 20 minutes… The actual ceremony was quick…. The judges remarks were a bit long and I didn’t think to the point.

So many of us take our rights and obligations of citizenship for granted. We live in the greatest country in the world. We are really FREE….

We have the freedom to disagree with our government. To pray or not pray as we like. We can disagree politically without coming to blows. We are free to flag wave. We are free to protest. Our Facebook isn’t monitored or restricted. We can strive for success.

Yes, there are problems but I can honestly say I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN…. I am very lucky to have become a citizen at birth. I haven’t had to flee violence, hunger or oppression. I have always been free to express my opinion. Heck, I even ran for Congress.

Flag

I am saddened that so many of our citizens don’t VOTE… Some of these 30 new Americans didn’t have the right to vote in their natal countries. Some of them lost relatives to war and famine. Some were under evil dictators….Some of them spent time in refugee camps… It is an obligation of every citizen to become informed and VOTE their conscious.

Signed Debbie Holmes, Citizen, Mom, former Democratic Nominee for the House of Representatives, Real Estate agent , scientist.