Fifty years ago Martin Luther King delivered his "I had a dream" speech. Problem is, most of us know that and maybe a few more lines of it. Why is that? Not because our attention span these days can only be occupied by Miley Cyrus' foam finger (well that probably is a big reason too), but because the speech is copyrighted. And while that is great for the estate in the short-run, the result is a diminution of the true value the late Doctor's speech. I guess this is an example of the law of unintended consequences.
In terms of its value, the amazing thing about the speech is that despite all that has been written about it, so much more is left to be said. Michiko Kakutani has a column in the NYT analyzing the amazing style and substance in the delivery of the speech:
