Some of you came down pretty hard on me last year for writing that I was tired of hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech over and over each Jan. 15.

Sorry. What I meant to say was I am sick and tired of hearing his "I Have a Dream" speech over and over each Jan. 15.

First of all, that wasn't even the most eloquent speech he ever gave, and it was nowhere near the most revolutionary. His anti-war speeches were way more incendiary and drew the wrath of allies, the government and the news media.

That, perhaps, is why TV stations automatically roll out his comfortingly Disney-fied dream of a world in which his children will be judged by the content of their character rather than -- ah, heck, you know what he said.

On television this week was a man who travels the country reciting the "I Have a Dream" speech for churches because he sounds so much like Dr. King.

Well, whoop-de-doggone-doo.

Someone asked me what's the difference between that and Elvis impersonators who make a living singing "Hound Dog."

The most obvious difference is that Elvis was an entertainer while Dr. King was a visionary.

Do those people think Dr. King would be giving that same speech today, or would he update it to address the realities of a new society?

Here's my updated vision for a better world:

I have a dream that BET -- Black Entertainment Television -- will one day discover that featuring toilet-mouthed rappers, half-nekkid women and "The Wayans Bros." reruns all day is not black entertainment.

I have a dream that one day the great-grandsons of former slaves and the great-grandsons of former slave owners will pull their pants up over their butts.

I have a dream that one day Sweet Thang and I can go see "Dreamgirls" and not hear late-arriving people yapping on phones or, as I heard recently, yelling, "HEY, KEISHA. WHERE YOU AT, GIRL? WHY YOU SITTING ALL THE WAY UP THERE? WE GOT SEATS DOWN HERE."

I have a dream that the Cary Police Department will one day use the same resources it used to nab an old man suspected of swiping $20 from a church collection plate to investigate serious crimes.

I have a dream that people who jam a Bluetooth cell phone in their ear as a fashion statement will one day be unable to get it out.

I have a dream that one day I'll be able to buy eggnog in July.

I have a dream that one day black women under the age of 21 will be required to consult with one over 40 before naming their babies.

Finally, I have a dream that one day we'll live in a world in which we honor Dr. King's memory by the way we live every day rather than by going, each Jan. 15, to listen to some dude who sounds like him.

To a far greater extent than when Dr. King gave his speech, we live in a country in which people are judged by the content of their character more than the color of their skin.

Character, though, is the last thing on which some of us should want to be judged.

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