King's dream resonates as it remains unrealized

Monday marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech. But the United States today seems to be drifting even further from the racial and social equality that King struggled for.

That's why tens of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, the same spot where King delivered his speech, on Saturday to declare that the dream was in jeopardy and that the country had slid backwards in its fight against hatred and bigotry.

Sadly it was also on Saturday when a masked white man indiscriminately shot Black people inside a Dollar General store in a predominately African American neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. Three of the victims died.

That prompted US President Joe Biden to call for action to end the type of "hate-fueled violence" that authorities said motivated the killer in Jacksonville to use violence to express his "hatred".

"We can't let hate prevail, and it's on the rise. It's not diminishing," Biden said at the White House as he met with civil rights advocates and the children of King to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.

The meeting conveys the significance Washington attaches to resolving the racial and social inequality in the country. But Biden's reply to a key question about what he would do to stop the hatred and address relevant issues is really disappointing to the US people who are fed up with the authorities' inaction in the face of relevant challenges. When asked how he would stop hatred, Biden said: "By talking directly to the American people."

Both Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who was also in the meeting and called for attention over the politically divided US society, should realize that they are both part of the forces that aggravate the political divide and the polarization in US society. The fierce power struggle between the Democrats and the Republicans is an epitome of that. What the power elites of the two sides share in common is their indifference to the concerns of common people.

The US people have been talked to by politicians for too long, what they need is action rather than empty talk. If the two parties cannot stir themselves to address their own divide, it is impossible that a divided Washington can unite the nation, and rule the country for the good of the majority of the people. And what King pursued will remain a dream in the US.