This weekend marks the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. King opened this historic speech with a ringing definition of the values Americans aspire to: "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." The vicious anti-Islamic rhetoric of recent weeks has raised damaging questions in the U.S. and abroad about whether some political leaders remain committed to those values for all Americans, regardless of race, creed or origin. A long list of national security experts has joined religious and legal experts in expressing concern that this rhetoric is counter to American values, social cohesion and constitutional principles - as well as to our national security interests. Yet, extreme conservatives - most notably Newt Gingrich - have continued to use fear mongering and Islam-bashing as a political tool. But a strategy of fear is a political loser. In fact the strength and resilience of the American people is one of America's greatest weapons in the face of actual threats, and holding true to American values is the foundation of that.
