Dick Van Dijk does the newest celebrity to throw his support behind Kamala Harris.
The beloved 98-year-old actor made a rare appearance on social media Monday Endorse Harris on Tuesday tough presidential race against Donald Trump.
“Hi! I’m Dick Van Dyke,” the ‘Marry Poppins’ star began the black and white video. “You may remember that I sang and danced a lot and actually fell a lot.”
Despite will be 99 in December, Van Dyke was full of energy and enthusiasm as he set the tone for his endorsement.
Dick Van Dyke will cast his vote for Kamala Harris. CBS via Getty Images
“50 years ago – May 31, 1964 – I stood on stage with Dr. Martin Luther King, who addressed about 60,000 people at the Coliseum in LA, and I was there to read a message written by Rod Serling, the man who wrote ‘Twilight Zone’ he said.
“I recently released it and I think it means as much today – if not more – than it did then, so if you don’t mind I’d like to read it.”
Van Dyke, who wore a polo shirt and glasses, then read a short portion of the original speech, which Serling called at the time, “An extremely nonpolitical speech.”
The beloved actor announced his support for Harris on Instagram on Monday. official_dick_van_dyke/Instagram During his approval, he read an old speech from 1964. official_dick_van_dyke/Instagram
“Hate is not the norm. Prejudices are not the norm. Suspicion, aversion, jealousy (and) scapegoats…. none of these are the transcendent facets of the human personality,” he recited.
“They are diseases. They are the cancers of the soul. They are the contagious and contagious viruses that humanity has been producing for years,” he continued.
“And because they have been there and because they are there, is it necessary that they will be there?” he asked. “I don’t think so.”
As long as there is ‘one voice left to say ‘welcome’ to a stranger’, ‘one hand outstretched to say ‘come in and share” and ‘one mind left to think a thought of warmth and friendship’ , then there is still hope. for humanity, according to Serling and Van Dyke.
The original speech was written by “Twilight Zone” writer Rod Serling. official_dick_van_dyke/Instagram Van Dyke had the honor of first reading the speech at one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s rallies. Bettmann Archive
The ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ star believes there is ‘essential decency’, ‘basic goodness’ and ‘utmost dignity’ in everyone – even if we don’t always act on it.
“There will be moments of violence and expressions of hatred and an ugly echo of intolerance, but these are the lingering remnants of a faded past, and not the harbinger of a better, cleaner future,” he recited.
“To those who tell us that the inequality of the human animal is a necessary evil, we must respond by simply saying that it is evil in the first place, but that it not necessary,” he continued. “We prove it as we sit here tonight in 1964. We prove it by reaffirming our faith. We prove it by having confidence in our statements.”
Van Dyke concluded the speech by reciting a quote from Horace Mann, which read: “Be ashamed to die until you have won a victory for humanity. I’d like to paraphrase that tonight. “Let us be ashamed to live without that victory.”
Van Dyke said the speech is as important now as it was 50 years ago. Getty Images “TO VOTE!!!” he captioned the video and tagged Harris. AFP via Getty Images
Although the actor noted that “a lot has happened” since he first read the passage fifty years ago, much has also remained the same.
“It’s not what Martin Luther King dreamed of, but it’s a start,” he concluded. “Thank you and God bless.”
Although Van Dyke did not explicitly mention Harris in his video, he tagged the vice president and her official campaign page in his caption.
“TO VOTE!!!” he wrote.