Friends, brothers and sisters, hello and welcome to the New Year. It's an honor and a pleasure to be standing here before you this morning, just a few days after we celebrated the memory of a great man, a man who, in sharing his dream with this nation, helped bring it closer to reality.
I'd like to begin today by admitting that, growing up, I never fully appreciated the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that I mostly just looked forward to having another day off of school. Recently though, I realized that that great man reminded me of someone else, someone from our own time, with an uncommon vision of their own. The person who I'm talking about, my fellow citizens, is me.
Understand, my intent isn't to compare the two of us as people. I haven't dedicated my life to the cause of civil rights, nor am I a religious man. And as far as sit-ins go, I've never organized so much as a dinner reservation [pause for laugh].
No, I only make this point because I too have a dream, one that I'd like to share with you. I know that it might sound a little farfetched or idealistic, but that's never stopped any of history's greatest dreamers, and I'm not going to let it stop this one.
My friends, I have a dream that one day, people will be judged, not by the color of their skin or the content of their character, but instead by the magnetic chip that is surgically implanted into their brain stem at birth.
Speaking of dreams, this has always been one of my favorite times of year. People begin this month with newfound resolve and optimism. They resolve to be better people, to live harmoniously with their neighbors. They are optimistic about the future and hope for a better tomorrow, perhaps one in which I will preside over all of you as The Puppet Master, benevolent and immortal, maintaining order and brotherhood by administering incapacitating bursts of psychic pain.
As I approached the podium earlier, I saw this kind of optimism on the faces of all of you. But as I look over the crowd now, I also see doubt, and maybe even confusion. Let me just say that I share your feelings.
Our country and its citizens, and indeed, people all over the world, are undergoing tough times right now. Many Americans have lost their jobs, and all of us know someone who has been directly affected by this recession, or by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In times like these it can be difficult to hope for better, but hope we must [bang fist on podium for emphasis here].
... For if we are ever going to see a future of peace - in which prejudice and strife are no more than unpleasant memories, waiting to be deleted by government PsychSquadrons, then we must all work together to make this a reality.
One of this nation's greatest ideas is something we all call the American Dream,"" the idea that, with all of our individual hopes and aspirations, we can share one greater dream together as a country.
If we asked around right now, I'm sure we'd hear different dreams from everyone. Maybe you dream of one day raising a family. Maybe you dream of an omnipresent shadow government with access to sophisticated methods of mind control or that, years from now, you might retire and be converted into a form of low-cost rocket fuel. And maybe, just maybe, you want your children, and your children's children to have that same opportunity.
Whatever that dream is, keep it alive. No matter how difficult times may get, dream a little dream.
And never lose hope that one day, maybe not too long from now, all of us will come together - o not just as citizens of the United States of America, but as citizens of the OneState. And on that day, ladies and gentlemen, we will all be united in living the same dream. My dream.
Does anyone have any questions? Email Matt at hunziker@wisc.edu
