Quick – when you think of Martin Luther King Jr., what words do you think of?

I have a dream …

I suspect that greater than 90% of the people in our country would answer as I did above. MLK had many brilliant speeches and writings, but his “I have a dream” speech was the one most of us born after his death hear first. I still tremble when I hear the recording.

The US erected a stunning new memorial to King this year, and there are many inscriptions of his words on it. On one side of the main sculpture, they used a paraphrased version of one of King’s quotes, which has created so much controversy that it’s going to be changed. I can see why they didn’t want to use the full quote – it wouldn’t have looked right, given the scope of the memorial. They needed something shorter that would stand out at a distance.

Since they’re going to change it anyway, I suggest, “I have a dream …”