We need more Martin Luther Kings to inspire the world

Martin Luther King (Image: NBC News)

This time fifty years ago, Martin Luther King had a dream. He went up on stage in front of hundreds-of-thousands of people who supported his campaign that every black man and woman, adult and child would be treated as equal to any other human being would like to be treated. He won over many people and inspired others to change their attitudes towards others. Fifty years on, his legacy and speech still lives strong. People are still inspired by what he said in Washington and his words are still relatable today.

Martin Luther King would be proud of his achievements, I think. He tragically died in 1968, five years after his iconic speech but we can argue that our attitude today has changed for the better. We are appreciating other cultures more now than we ever did. We pledge more money to charities which help others abroad. We are accepting people from other cultures in our lives. As a person in support of multiculturalism, I thank Martin Luther King and others who stand before us, who have campaigned for honourable and decent rights for every honourable and decent human being.

Despite positive change, I believe our attitude towards others can only improve. Hostilities between different races have eased since the 1960s, I'm not going to deny that, however, some are still sceptical about those from the Middle East. The media isn't helping with this due to its hype about the unrest in Syria, Egypt and other countries which surround them. In Syria for example, chemical weapons have been used to kill and intoxicate many innocent people. The victims were people who were going about their lives - wanting some groceries, wanting to catch up with a friend at a local Bazaar.

It is difficult to blame anyone for the recent chemical attacks. President Assad's people blame the opposition while the opposition blame President Assad. The West are in favour of the opposition, as they are supposedly good Samaritans, trying to seize the leadership of a man, accused of murder, accused of corruption. Because of this, the United States, France and others have decided to act and are announcing they are to take military action against President Assad. The UK is to debate this but even their military may intervene in a country in crisis. However, David Cameron insists Britain is to go about things the legal way, just like they did with Libya. Although, the papers are already comparing his handling to this case to Tony Blair and the controversial Iraq War he helped orchestrate in 2003.

To me, military intervention is never the way forward. This is a situation only Syria and the UN can deal with, and Barack Obama, Francois Hollande et al must have their military options as the last option. The world is on the verge of an economic recovery - spending billions on something that has nothing to do with US, France etc., will not help them continue their impressive recovery, neither will it help Syria. The last thing they want is more troops causing disruption in their streets.

The entire malarkey has turned into a shambles and the West's perception of the Middle East will not improve at this rate. I admire the fact that the US, UK, France and so on have a dream that the region would be in peace, but military intervention doesn't solve anything. It isn't the diplomatic option. President Assad may not want live a diplomatic life, but there must be another way other than military intervention where the UN can seize all nuclear and chemical weapons from Syria. They are in a middle of a horrific Civil War - however, it isn't a wise idea to make this War external.

Another attitude I would like to see improve is our attitudes towards those who belong to a specific "class". TV chef Jamie Oliver is the latest personality to call Brits lazy, indirectly pointing the finger to the working class. Now, don't get me wrong, in some aspects of life, British people are "lazy", but who wouldn't want a day's rest? Mr Oliver has no right to publicly slam people, particularly the working class, and say they are lazy. He is simply targeting a very small number of people where he should be praising the majority who make Britain functional.

I remember watching a TV programme in 2010, presented and championed by Jamie Oliver. "Jamie's Dream School" was a show about a dozen of teenagers who failed their exams and wanted to make a change - just like Jamie did when he passed just two GCSEs when he was 16. Three years ago, Jamie wanted to inspire children to get back to education and has been known to live the American Dream by inspiring children to combat obesity. Although his intentions are magnificent, I get the sense that he has given up. Why would he want to say British people are lazy when he has campaigned for people to get off their backsides?

The class-system is something I don't believe in anyway. I don't believe that a person should be criticised because they live in a particular lifestyle. You can choose the people you want to hang around with but honestly, you have to appreciate people and most importantly understand why they are in that situation.

Martin Luther King has inspired us to change and appreciate others a little more, not many people have the ability to do that. Nelson Mandela is the last person to have that effect on people. It's a shame that now, there aren't enough people who can stand up and say "change". Barack Obama tried but with a House of Congress being occupied by the opposition, it is impossible to inspire people when most of the people you work with disagree with you on a daily basis. That is why Guantanamo Bay is still open, that is why the regulation of gun use in America isn't being looked at thoroughly and that is why the US is heading to Syria to fight a pointless war.

Like everyone else on the planet, I have a dream. I want Martin Luther King's message to be a constant reminder for people to act responsibly and for the world to act in unity with less conflict and more honesty. It's a long-term goal but let's keep it going.