George W. Bush…

This peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions, and make new beginnings. As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation. And I thank Vice President Gore for a contest conducted with spirit, and ended with grace.

I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America’s leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.

We have a place, all of us, in a long story; a story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. The story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom. The story of a power that went into world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer. It is the American story; a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.

The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise: that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born. Americans are called to enact this promise in our lives and in our laws. And though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.

Through much of the last century, America’s faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations. Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity; an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along. And even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.

While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise — even the justice — of our own country. The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools, and hidden prejudice, and the circumstances of their birth. And sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country.

We do not accept this, and will not allow it. Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation. And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity.

I know this is within our reach, because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves, Who creates us equal in His image.

And we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward.

America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation’s promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.

America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility. A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness.

Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small. But the stakes, for America, are never small. If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose their gifts and undermine their idealism. If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most.

We must live up to the calling we share. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos. And this commitment, if we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment.

America, at its best, is also courageous.

Our national courage has been clear in times of depression and war, when defeating common dangers defined our common good. Now we must choose if the example of our fathers and mothers will inspire us or condemn us. We must show courage in a time of blessing, by confronting problems instead of passing them on to future generations.

Together we will reclaim America’s schools, before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives. We will reform Social Security and Medicare, sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent. We will reduce taxes, to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans. We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.

The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake. America remains engaged in the world, by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.

America, at its best, is compassionate.

In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation’s promise. And whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault. Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love. And the proliferation of prisons, however necessary, is no substitute for hope and order in our souls.

Where there is suffering, there is duty. Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens; not problems, but priorities; and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless.

Government has great responsibilities, for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools. Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government. And some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor’s touch or a pastor’s prayer. Church and charity, synagogue and mosque, lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and laws.

Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty. But we can listen to those who do. And I can pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.

America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected.

Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. And though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. We find the fullness of life, not only in options, but in commitments. And we find that children and community are the commitments that set us free.

Our public interest depends on private character; on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness; on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom.

Sometimes in life we are called to do great things. But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love. The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone.

I will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility; to pursue the public interest with courage; to speak for greater justice and compassion; to call for reponsibility, and try to live it as well. In all these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.

What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens, not subjects. Responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.

Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.

After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: “We know the Race is not to the swift nor the Battle to the Strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?”

Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inaugural. The years and changes accumulate. But the themes of this day he would know: our nation’s grand story of courage, and its simple dream of dignity.

We are not this story’s Author, Who fills time and eternity with His purpose. Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty; and duty is fulfilled in service to one another.

Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today: to make our country more just and generous; to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.

This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.

God bless you, and God bless our country.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. var so = new SWFObject(“playerSingle.swf”, “mymovie”, “192″, “67″, “7″, “#FFFFFF”); so.addVariable(“autoPlay”, “no”); so.addVariable(“soundPath”, “http://66.235.201.12/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/mlkingihaveadream123456.mp3″); so.write(“flashPlayer”); click for pdf   click for flash [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio. (2)] I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: “For Whites Only.”* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”¹ I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. 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.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 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. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”² This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring! 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 snow-capped 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, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and 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!³ *Text within asterisks was added on 3/31/06. Credit Randy Mayeux for bringing the omissions to my attention. ¹ Amos 5:24 (rendered precisely in The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible) ² Isaiah 40:4-5 (King James Version of the Holy Bible). Quotation marks are excluded from part of this moment in the text because King’s rendering of Isaiah 40:4 does not precisely follow the KJV version from which he quotes (e.g., “hill” and “mountain” are reversed in the KJV). King’s rendering of Isaiah 40:5, however, is precisely quoted from the KJV. ³ At: http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/free_at_last_from.htm Video Source: Linked directly to: http://www.earthstation1.com/ Also in this database: Martin Luther King, Jr: A Time to Break Silence External Link: http://www.mlkmemorial.org/ External Link: http://www.thekingcenter.org/ Copyright Status: Text, Audio = Restricted, seek permission. Images & Video = Uncertain. Copyright inquiries and permission requests may be directed to: Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Intellectual Properties Management One Freedom Plaza 449 Auburn Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30312 Fax: 404-526-8969

Top 100 American Speeches Online Speech Bank © Copyright 2001-2008.  American Rhetoric. HTML transcription by Michael E. Eidenmuller All rights reserved.

var dc_UnitID = 14; var dc_PublisherID = 16904; var dc_AdLinkColor = ‘blue’; var dc_isBoldActive= ‘no’; var dc_adprod=’ADL’; span.kLink { border-top: 0px none !important;border-left: 0px none !important;border-right: 0px none !important;border-bottom: 1px solid ;padding : 0px 0px 0.5pt 0px !important;color:blue;background: transparent none;width: auto !important;float: none !important;display:inline !important; } a.kLink { color:blue !important ; border-bottom-style: none;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } a.kLink:link { color:blue !important ; border-bottom-style: none;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } a.kLink:hover { color:blue;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } a.kLink:visited { color:blue;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand; font-family: verdana;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px; } .sponsor { font-family: MS Sans Serif, Verdana; color: #AFAFAF;font-size: 9pt; cursor: default; } .konaLayers { azimuth:center;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0;caption-side:top;cursor:auto;direction:ltr;elevation:level;empty-cells:show;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:normal;list-style-image:none;list-style-position:outside;list-style-type:disc;orphans:2;page-break-inside:auto;pitch-range:50;pitch:medium;position:static;richness:50;right:auto;speak-header:once;speak-numeral:continuous;speak:normal;speech-rate:medium;stress:50;text-align:left;text-indent:0;text-transform:none;visibility:visible;volume:medium;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:normal; } .konaLayers * { background-attachment:scroll;background-color:transparent;background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-repeat:repeat;border-style: none none none none;border-width: medium medium medium medium;clear:none;color:inherit;content:normal;counter-increment:none;counter-reset:none;cue-after:none;cue-before:none;float:none;left:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;max-height:none;max-width:none;min-height:0;min-width:0;outline-color:invert;outline-style:none;outline-width:medium;overflow:visible;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;page-break-after:auto;page-break-before:auto;pause-after:0;pause-before:0;position:static;table-layout:auto;text-decoration:none;top:auto;unicode-bidi:normal;width:auto;z-index:auto; } .konaLayers .konaLayer { position: absolute; top:0px; left:0px; width: 313px; padding: 0px; visibility: hidden; text-align:left; overflow: hidden; } .konaLayers .konaLayer a { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer a:link { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer a:hover { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer b { font-size:inherit; } a.CBL { cursor:default; } a.CBL:link { cursor:default; } a.CBL:hover { cursor:default; } a.CBL:visited { cursor:default; } .konaLayers .CBL .handleTd div { cursor:default; } .konaLayers .konaPlate { cursor : pointer; } .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBox { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/top_box.gif) left top no-repeat;width: 313px; } .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox { width: 313px; height:45px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom.png’, sizingMethod=’scale’); } .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox_Right { width: 313px; height:45px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom_right.png’, sizingMethod=’scale’); } .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox_drag { width: 313px; height:20px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom_drag.png’, sizingMethod=’scale’); } .konaLayers .handleTd { vertical-align: top; width: 180px; } .konaLayers .handleTd div { cursor: move; padding: 0px 0px 0px 33px; font-size: 3px; } .konaLayers .handleTd img { } .konaLayers .frameBarCell_left { width:88px; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } .konaLayers .frameBarCell_right { width: 32px; vertical-align: top; padding-top: 0px; font-size: 5px; } .konaLayers .frameBar { margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 6px; cursor:auto; width:300px; } .konaLayers .konaDescDiv { cursor: pointer; padding-top: 2px; } .konaLayers .table02 { margin-left: 9px; font: normal 13px arial; width: 305px; } .konaLayers .table03 { margin-left: 8px; font: normal 13px arial; width: 280px; } .konaLayers .table03_flv02 { margin: 0px 0px 0px 32px; width: 242px; font: normal 13px arial; } .konaLayers .konaLayerTitle { text-align:center; padding-right: 10px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerRMTitle { text-align:left; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 6px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerTitleText { font: bold 11px tahoma; color:#FFA200;; !important; text-decoration: underline;display:block; } .konaLayers .konaLayerTitleText b { font-size : 11px; color: #FFA200; } .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc { padding: 6px 7px 0px 0px; font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left; } .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc b { font-size : 11px; color: BLACK; } .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks td { padding-top: 8px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerShopLinks td { padding-top: 1px; font-size: 9px; } .konaLayers .site { padding-left: 8px; overflow:hidden; } .konaLayers .site a { color: #666666 !important; font: normal 11px arial !important; text-decoration: underline !important; overflow:hidden; } .konaLayers .site a:hover { color: #FFA200 !important; } .konaLayers .buyNow { text-align: right; width:105px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer img { border: 0px;display:inline; padding:0px; } .konaLayers .imgBanner { padding: 6px 13px 0px 6px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; } .konaLayers .imgShoppingBanner { padding: 5px 4px 0px 3px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; } .konaLayers .imgBanner_down { padding: 5px 13px 0px 13px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; } .konaLayers .top_curve { width: 313px; height: 10px; padding:0px; margin:0px;vertical-align:bottom;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/top_curve.png’, sizingMethod=’image’); } .konaLayers .drop_top_curve { width: 313px; height: 35px;padding:0px; margin:0px;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/drop_top_curve.png’, sizingMethod=’scale’); } .konaLayers .drop_top_curve_right { width: 313px; height: 35px; padding:0px; margin:0px;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=’http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/drop_top_curve_right.png’, sizingMethod=’scale’); } .konaLayers .konaSearchRow td { padding-top: 2px; } .konaLayers .konaSearchTable { margin-left: 5px; font: normal 13px arial; } .KonaBody { display:inline; } .konaLayers .table02_flv { margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 7px; } .konaLayers .table02_flv02 { margin-left: 34px; width: 234px; margin-top: 7px; } .konaLayers .table02_flv03 { margin-left: 6px;margin-top: 7px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvTD01 { padding: 6px 0px 0px 6px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvTD02 { padding: 5px 0px 0px 6px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvEmbed01 { } .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvEmbed02 { } .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc_nearFLV { font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left;vertical-align: top; padding: 11px 10px 0px 5px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc_underFLV { font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left;font: normal 11px/14px verdana !important; vertical-align: top; padding: 2px 0px 0px 6px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerLearnMore { text-align:left; vertical-align: bottom; padding: 0px 0px 1px 14px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerLearnMore02 { vertical-align: top; text-align:right;padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px; } .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks_underFLV td { width: 170px !important; padding-top: 4px; word-wrap:break-word; } .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks_underFLV02 td { padding-top: 7px; word-wrap: break-word; width: 130px !important; } .konaLayers .konaBox_bottom { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_separator.gif) left top no-repeat; width: 313px; height: 10px; font-size: 1px; } .konaLayers .konaBox02 { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box.gif) left top no-repeat; width: 313px; padding-top: 7px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Search { margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; width: 280px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tabs_bg.gif) bottom repeat-x; } .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table td { padding-right: 4px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table div { height: 18px; padding: 0px ; text-align: center; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_right.gif) bottom right no-repeat; } .konaLayers .konatabs_Table div span { display:block; height: 15px; padding: 3px 7px 0px 9px; text-align: center; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_left.gif) bottom left no-repeat; color: #808080; font: normal 11px arial; cursor: pointer; } .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table div.selected { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_selected_right.gif) bottom right no-repeat; cursor: default; } .konaLayers .konatabs_Table div.selected span { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_selected_left.gif) bottom left no-repeat; font: bold 11px arial; color: #96BF00; cursor: default; } .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form { margin: 6px 0px 0px 15px; } .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form input { font: normal 11px verdana; color: black; border: 1px solid #7F9DB9; margin-right: 3px;padding-left:2px; } .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form .konaSearchName { font: normal 11px verdana; color: #96BF00; padding-right: 6px; } .konaLayers .konaLayer div.konaSearch_Button { width: 63px; height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px 6px; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/search_button.gif) left top no-repeat ; color: #808080; font: normal 11px arial; } .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form .konaAsk_Button { font: bold 11px verdana; color: blue; padding-right: 6px;background-color: #d4d0c8;border-style: outset } .konaLayers .konaLayer .konaBox02 td.konaHover * { color: #96BF00; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch { width: 299px; height: 109px; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search.jpg) left top no-repeat;margin: 4px 0px 0px 7px; color: white; font: normal 12px/18px verdana; letter-spacing: -0.5px; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch .konaliveText { padding: 43px 7px 10px 54px; vertical-align: top; display:block; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs { width: 249px; height: 19px; padding-left: 50px; vertical-align: bottom; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tabs_bg.gif) left bottom no-repeat; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td { padding-right: 2px; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td div { display: block; height: 19px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tab_r.gif) right top no-repeat; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td div span { display: block; height: 16px; padding: 3px 9px 0px 11px; text-align: center; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tab_l.gif) left top no-repeat; font: normal 10px verdana; letter-spacing: -1px; cursor: pointer;color: #0A616E; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs .tabselected { background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_selected_r.gif) right top no-repeat; } .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs .tabselected span { cursor: default;background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_selected_l.gif) left top no-repeat; height: 16px; padding: 3px 11px 0px 11px; font-weight: bold; } .konaLayers .liveSearch_form { width: 299px;height: 60px;margin: 0px 0px 0px 7px; } .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD { position:relative; } .konaMsnInputDiv { position:relative; width: 276px; height:22px; background: url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/msn_input_div_lookup.gif) top right no-repeat; text-align: left; } .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD input { cursor: default;height: 18px; position: relative; padding-top:3px; margin-left: 5px; overflow:hidden; border: none; width: 240px; color: #000000; font: normal 12px verdana; /*line-height: 22px;*/ } .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD img { position:relative;margin-right: 8px; } .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .liveSearch_link { color: #666666; margin-left:17px; font: normal 10px verdana; text-decoration: underline; } .konaLayers .konaFlashWrap { width: 320px; height: 288px; } .konaLayers .konaFlashDrag { position:absolute;width:198px;height:26px;background-color:#ffffff;opacity:0;filter:alpha(opacity=0);cursor:move; } .konaLayers .konaFlashContent { width: 320px; height: 288px; } .konaLayers #konaFlashBubble { width: 320px; height: 288px; } .konaLayers .konaBigFlashWrap { position:absolute;width:470px;height:395px; } .konaLayers .konaBigFlashDrag { position:absolute;z-index:17;width:347px;height:24px;left:85px;top:5px;background-color:#ffffff;opacity:0;filter:alpha(opacity=0);cursor:move; } .konaLayers .konaBigFlashContent { position:absolute;left:0;top:0;z-index:12;width:470px;height:395px; } .searchTbContainer { width:295px; height:20px; border:0px solid red; padding:0 0 0 0; margin: 0 0 0 0; } .searchTransTb { width:10px; height:20px; border:0px solid blue; margin:0; padding: 0; vertical-align:middle; } .searchLogoTb { width:81px; height:20px ;vertical-align:middle;border:0px solid red; margin:0; padding: 0; } .searchInputTb { width:140px; height:20px; vertical-align:middle; margin:0; padding: 0; } .searchButtonTb { width:63px; height:20px; vertical-align:middle;border:0px solid red; margin:0; padding: 0; } .searchInputFieldTbDiv { width:133px; height:16px; position:relative; background-color: #fff; border:1px solid #939aa0; padding-left: 2px; margin:0; vertical-align:middle; } .searchInputFieldTb { font-size:12px; font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;background-color: transparent; padding:0; margin:0 0 0px 0; } .konaSdcLayerContainer { width: 300px;background-color:#FFFFFF;margin-left:7px;margin-top:4px; } .konaSdcLayerTitle { width: 290px;color: #ffa200;font-size: 11px;font-weight: bold;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;text-align: center;padding-bottom: 8px; } .konaSdcLayerBlock { width: 300px;height: 100px;clear:both; } .konaSdcLayerImg { padding-left: 10px;width: 100px;height: 100px;border: 0px solid green;float:left; } .konaSdcLayerTable { position:relative;padding-left: 10px;padding-right: 10px;width: 170px;height: 100px;float:right;clear:right; } .konaSdcLayerTableTb table { position:relative;width: 170px; } .konaSdcLayerText { width: 280px;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none;text-align: left;padding-top: 8px;padding-left: 10px; } .konaSdcLayerFooter { position:relative;width: 280px;color: #000000;text-align: left;padding-top: 8px;padding-left: 10px; } .konaSdcLayerFooterTB { position:relative;width: 280px; } .konaSdcItem .konaSdcItemTable { position:relative;height: 34px;width: 170px;background-color: #fff7ce;border-bottom: 1px solid #ffd990;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none; } .konaSdcItemTableHover { position:relative; background:url(http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/hilite_bg.gif) top right no-repeat;padding-left: 4px;height: 34px;width: 170px;border-bottom: 1px solid #ffd990;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none; } .konaSdcItemTable td, konaSdcItemTableHover td { position:relative;padding-left: 4px; height:auto; } .konaSdcstorName { color:#0000FF;text-align: left; padding-left: 4px;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;font-family:Arial,helvetica,sans-serif; } .konaSdcstorName:hover { text-decoration:underline; } .konaSdcPrice { color:#1e3b53;text-decoration:underline;font-weight: bold;text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,helvetica,sans-serif; } .konaSdcStoreTd1 { width: 105px; text-align: left; } .konaSdcStoreTd2 { width: 45px; text-align: left; } .konaSdcBuy { color:#1e3b53;text-decoration:underline;font-weight: normal;font-size: 10px;text-align: left; } .konaProntoTable { width: 290px; border: 1px solid #ecf4f3; margin: 5px 0 0 11px; background-color:#FFF; } .konaProntoHeader { background-color: #ecf4f3; height: 13px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; color: #4c4c4c; text-align:center; padding-bottom: 2px; } .konaProntoImage { padding: 3px 1px 1px 1px 1px; width: 120px; } .konaProntoText { width: 168px; } .konaProntoDescription { margin:0; padding: 3px 3px 7px 2px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; } .konrProntoFont { font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; color: #000000; } .konaProntoMerchantImage { display: block; margin-bottom: 7px; } .konaProntoPrice { padding-bottom:5px; padding-right: 10px; } #wrapper #container #center #squeeze { BACKGROUND: url(images/bg-content.png) #fff repeat-x 50% 0px;POSITION: absolute; }

Jmuturi’s Weblog

Jmuturi’s Weblog

Why I am a national figure…

When I joined Maseno University in the year 2005, I had little picture about what my life at the University would be like. I did not think of myself in terms of the wider students’ population. I simply was…Jamie Muturi, noboby else but a humble boy of 19 years struggling to cut a niche in the world of the relevant.

I must admit to a strange feeling of nervousness, a characteristic fear that grips everyone in a strange environment. I had been to places, places where great ideas exchanged position, great men saluted each other on the streets, but being in a public University was rather exciting. I had always anticipated it and despite having landed a full scholarship at Strathmore university, I had sworn to myself that I had to be where I belonged…where brainys met brainys.

The first day at the University was rather characteristic in its own way…The admission and clearance seemed to take ages to come to an end.

From all corners of the admission hall, populary known as Tuition block 2, echoed chants of multilingual distinction. I was simply elated, from a background where I knew nothing but my native Kikuyu, to a metropolitan city where everyone chanted Sheng and clumsy swahili to this multi-lingual world.

Ever since, I have known that Kenya is not the Kikuyu, the Luo, the Swahili or any particular people…but a whole mixture of people garlanded by the beauty of varied ethnic affiliations.

The same idea, I swore to myself, would have to be passed along.

Two years later, as if by an ironic twist, I was standing on the platform of I Belong To No Tribe solliciting votes from students in my bid for the highest office in the Students leadership.

Let me articulate a point I have always wanted to put across…to my detractors and supporters alike. Many have asked me about my all time popular political slogan during my students’ elections campaigns.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY, as i may have articulated at the beginning of my article, came as a realisation that this great nation is not complete without all stakeholders being brought on board. These stakeholders are the source of diversity…because again, we have different classifications, some people are Christians, others are Hindu, Islam, Etheists name them. We have people in all walks of life, in all schools of thoughts and name them. We have people allied to 42 different ethnic affiliations in Kenya…This is the Diversity and in its unity Kenya will thrive.

To be Kenyan, one has to first believe in this diversity and appreciate the fact that not a single unit of this diversity ever became by mistake…

This is my belief…forever I will defend it.

One great kenya, with so many units, diversity, but without this diversity being in harmony it may just implode.

Think of the University in the light of this and infer the relationship…

One great Kenya…one great people.

God Bless Kenya and all its great sons and daughters

Man is born free…but is everywhere in chains

Karl Marx, may have gone a little too far. He might have gone so much into abstract thinking. But he had a wisdom that lacks in many of us.

While I am not an enthusiastic Marxists, or even a proud associate of his or the communists’ manifesto, he holds some place in my heart that not many hold…

Not Kibaki, not Raila holds such a soft spot in my heart like Karl.

I am an advocate of human freedom, an enthusiast of a people living devoid of fear- or anxiety.

How this will be achieved remains the question that lodges in the heart of this moment.

It may appear a far Fetched expectation, or a vision in mirage, but I believe it can be done.