...but by the content of their character."
Would Dr. King recognize the "civil rights" movement of today?
Dr. Martin Luther King fought for civil rights, not because people were black, but because people whose skin color is black are human beings, worthy of due dignity and respect, regardless of skin color.
Dr. King's vision embraced a color-blind society, where all people, regardless of skin color, would enjoy equal standing on the playing field of opportunity, along with equal treatment under the law and in society based on what they, as individuals with individual responsibility and talents, contributed to society.
Have we made a lot of progress? Not really.
Not that people of color haven't been afforded greater opportunity. Public figures such as Condi Rice, Colin Powell, and even Oprah Winfrey are testament to the progress that has been made and continues to be made. What continues to hinder the Dream is the fact that rather than a color blind society, the white limousine liberal plantation and their dhimmi underling shakedown artists such as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Kweisi Infume, et al., have attempted their level best in keeping us divided by race, rather than united in our common humanity. Rather than uniting us under a common cause, multiculturalists continue to divide us via superficial differences. With "divide and conquer" as their unstated rallying cry, liberals have done more to damage the standing of and opportunity for minority groups than the KKK, the Aryan Nation and the Skinheads combined.
While the KKK, Aryan Nation and others are beyond a doubt evil, their influence is at best peripheral. However, it is the liberals in government who, via such vehicles as The Great Society, affirmative action and hate crime legislation, have actually codified and cemented racial and ethnic division, and who continue to perpetuate it to the absolute detriment of those whom they are ostensibly "protecting." It is the liberals in government and their close associates who continue to portray minorities as helpless against the whims of others. As a means of demanding allegiance and retaining power, rather than treating "people of color" as equals, it is the liberals in government who continue to poison their minds; treating them as underlings in a fiefdom, unable to fend for themselves if not for the protection of their "benevolent" liberal "feudal lords."
Of course, not everyone buys into the liberal democrat fiefdom. Luminaries such as Bill Cosby, Clarence Thomas, Walter E. Williams, and Thomas Sowell continue to point to a different, positive and productive direction.
But until each of us can dismiss factors such as skin color and ethnicity for what they are--superficial differences; until all are given the message that their potential is limited only by their inner willingness to pursue their individual dreams; and until the day we finally walk together toward self-actualization not as Blacks, not as Latinos, nor as Whites, but as Americans and as true equals in that "forward march of humanity," Dr. King's dream will never be realized.
Rest in peace, Dr. King.
Posted by Leo at January 15, 2007 05:05 PM
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The difference between liberals and conservatives these days seems to be that liberals want equality of outcome while conservatives want equality of opportunity.
And I'll give you a hint which party accuses the other of racism and discrimination when someone disagrees with their worldview.
It seems to me that Dr. King's message of an equal chance no longer is enough. Unless everyone gets the same, life just isn't fair.
Posted by: wawilliyo at January 15, 2007 05:26 PM
here are some more quotes;
"And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we drop our bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. All of this is saying that, in the final analysis, means and ends must cohere because the end is preexistent in the means, and ultimately destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., "A CHRISTMAS SERMON" 24 December 1967
"World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built."
----Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1964
"I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love."
----Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
"I am convinced that it is one of the most unjust wars that has ever been fought in the history of the world. Our involvement in the war in Vietnam has torn up the Geneva Accord. It has strengthened the military-industrial complex; it has strengthened the forces of reaction in our nation. It has put us against the self-determination of a vast majority of the Vietnamese people, and put us in the position of protecting a corrupt regime that is stacked against the poor.
It has played havoc with our domestic destinies. This day we are spending five hundred thousand dollars to kill every Vietcong soldier. Every time we kill one we spend about five hundred thousand dollars while we spend only fifty-three dollars a year for every person characterized as poverty-stricken in the so-called poverty program, which is not even a good skirmish against poverty.
Not only that, it has put us in a position of appearing to the world as an arrogant nation. And here we are ten thousand miles away from home fighting for the so-called freedom of the Vietnamese people when we have not even put our own house in order. And we force young black men and young white men to fight and kill in brutal solidarity. Yet when they come back home that can’t hardly live on the same block together.
The judgment of God is upon us today. And we could go right down the line and see that something must be done—and something must be done quickly. We have alienated ourselves from other nations so we end up morally and politically isolated in the world. There is not a single major ally of the United States of America that would dare send a troop to Vietnam, and so the only friends that we have now are a few client-nations like Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and a few others."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution
And my favorite one;
"Our scientific powers have outrun our spiritual powers; we have guided missiles and mis-guided men."
God Bless Martin Luther King.
Posted by: looking4laughs at January 15, 2007 05:39 PM
looking4laughs
Thank you for posting those truthful comments from a man possessing both integrity and intelligence. His voice is one that is truly missed and sorely needed at this time. We tend to forget that above all, he was a proponent for peace.
Posted by: Canadian Observer at January 15, 2007 06:15 PM
Would Dr. King recognize the "civil rights" movement of today?
A better question would be - Would the civil rights movement of today even listen to Dr King?
Posted by: LiberalNightmare at January 15, 2007 06:21 PM
We tend to forget that above all, he was a proponent for peace.
I had just graduated from college when Dr. King was assassinated. I had a great deal of admiration for him as a man who truly (pardon the pun) walked the walk. It's tragic and the cruelist of ironies that he died by a violent act. Unfortunately, if we heed his teachings without being prepared to defend ourselves, we will end up as he did -- prematurely dead. While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Posted by: Retired Spook at January 15, 2007 06:28 PM
Dr. King would be pleased to see the success of people like Dr. Rice, General Powell and Ms. Winfrey, whom you've mentioned, and quite a few others. On the other hand, what would he think of almost 70% of African American children being born outside of wedlock, and the putting down of black academic success as "acting white"? What would he think of the hateful names that some black liberals hurl at black conservatives, such as "Uncle Tom", or "Oreo", or some others that I will refrain from mentioning?
Toward the end of his tragically shortened life, Dr. King joined the anti-war movement, as the quotes cited by looking4laughs indicate. I wonder what he thought of communism, especially with its record of tens of millions slaughtered, its hostility toward the religion he preached and practiced, its bitter repression of the basic rights that he sought to have recognized for all Americans, and its denial of the Creator who is the source of these rights. I wonder if he (and the antiwar movement in general) ever asked himself (themselves), "Where are the North Vietnamese who will protest the belligerence of their government?", or "Why don't the Laotians and Cambodians protest the unauthorized North Vietnamese use of their territory?" Had Dr. King lived a few years longer, what would have have thought about the "re-education" of the Vietnamese or the Killing Fields of Cambodia?
While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Good point, Spook. Although the War On Terror and Cold War (of which Vietnam and Korea were parts) are in some ways very different, they have one thing in common. The way to achieve peace is through strength.
Posted by: Bigfoot at January 15, 2007 06:53 PM
Although it is indisputable thwt King was opposed to the Viet Nam War, my guess is that he, like so many others, didn't even realize the truth about that War, relying on the lamestream media of the time, I wonder how he would view the struggle of the Iraqi and Afghani peoples and others struggling against radical Islam today.
Some have said today that he would categorically be opposed to this war. I say no one can say what his actual feelings would be, 40 years after and under these circumstances. We can only imagine given his words from 40 years ago.
That being said, a few more quotes of his;
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live. Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Detroit, June 23, 1963
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Martin Luther King, Jr.
All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by:
Lew Waters at January 15, 2007 08:41 PM
due respect to Dr King, but "civil rights" includes way more than equal opportunity et al.
many "civil rights" are under pressure from BOTH sides of the isle notably our 2d amendment rights (weapons ownership), 4th (search n seizure), & 10th (states rights).
too many veterans have served &/or been killed or wounded in securing our rights to easily surrender them to an ever expanding federal govt.
eg - while I support the terrorism investigation laws, they should have a sunset provision.
the govt can only take those rights which we surrender & we should do so grudgingly.
Posted by: OhioOrrin at January 16, 2007 07:01 AM
I had just graduated from college when Dr. King was assassinated. I had a great deal of admiration for him as a man who truly (pardon the pun) walked the walk. It's tragic and the cruelist of ironies that he died by a violent act. Unfortunately, if we heed his teachings without being prepared to defend ourselves, we will end up as he did -- prematurely dead. While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Spook, you may be correct. it is entirely possible that if we love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and respond to ahtred with love, we will die. Still, it is what King advocated. It's also what Christ advocated. it is impossible to say one follows the teachings of either if one rejects that. To say that we must be prepared to torture and kill our fellow man in order to protect ourselves is to say that Christ is wildly impractical.
As it stands now, we hav color coded charts telling us the likelihood that we will be killed, and are running up a massive debt for our children in order to make oursleves safer. We have the restrictions on what we can bring on planes, and are asked to accept that the government can open our mail, monitor our calls, and detain us at will, to keep us safe. Still, many here seem to live in fear.
We've never tried the King approach. maybe we'd cease to exist. Or maybe we wouldn't live in fear.
Posted by: someguy at January 16, 2007 10:45 AM
We've never tried the King approach.
I think we did, after Viet Nam fell and while Carter was in office. We turned our backs on Southeast Asia and made a feeble attempt at answering the invasion and holding of our Embassy personnel in 1979. Even Reagan didn't respond as strong as he could have, but he was also faced with a hostile Congress.
While I fully believe in "give peace a chance," what chance does it have when those on the other side use that as an opening to attack?
Posted by:
Lew Waters at January 16, 2007 10:39 PM
Order Matt and Mark's book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
The difference between liberals and conservatives these days seems to be that liberals want equality of outcome while conservatives want equality of opportunity.
And I'll give you a hint which party accuses the other of racism and discrimination when someone disagrees with their worldview.
It seems to me that Dr. King's message of an equal chance no longer is enough. Unless everyone gets the same, life just isn't fair.
here are some more quotes;
"And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we drop our bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. All of this is saying that, in the final analysis, means and ends must cohere because the end is preexistent in the means, and ultimately destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., "A CHRISTMAS SERMON" 24 December 1967
"World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built."
----Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1964
"I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love."
----Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
"I am convinced that it is one of the most unjust wars that has ever been fought in the history of the world. Our involvement in the war in Vietnam has torn up the Geneva Accord. It has strengthened the military-industrial complex; it has strengthened the forces of reaction in our nation. It has put us against the self-determination of a vast majority of the Vietnamese people, and put us in the position of protecting a corrupt regime that is stacked against the poor.
It has played havoc with our domestic destinies. This day we are spending five hundred thousand dollars to kill every Vietcong soldier. Every time we kill one we spend about five hundred thousand dollars while we spend only fifty-three dollars a year for every person characterized as poverty-stricken in the so-called poverty program, which is not even a good skirmish against poverty.
Not only that, it has put us in a position of appearing to the world as an arrogant nation. And here we are ten thousand miles away from home fighting for the so-called freedom of the Vietnamese people when we have not even put our own house in order. And we force young black men and young white men to fight and kill in brutal solidarity. Yet when they come back home that can’t hardly live on the same block together.
The judgment of God is upon us today. And we could go right down the line and see that something must be done—and something must be done quickly. We have alienated ourselves from other nations so we end up morally and politically isolated in the world. There is not a single major ally of the United States of America that would dare send a troop to Vietnam, and so the only friends that we have now are a few client-nations like Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and a few others."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution
And my favorite one;
"Our scientific powers have outrun our spiritual powers; we have guided missiles and mis-guided men."
God Bless Martin Luther King.
looking4laughs
Thank you for posting those truthful comments from a man possessing both integrity and intelligence. His voice is one that is truly missed and sorely needed at this time. We tend to forget that above all, he was a proponent for peace.
Would Dr. King recognize the "civil rights" movement of today?
A better question would be - Would the civil rights movement of today even listen to Dr King?
We tend to forget that above all, he was a proponent for peace.
I had just graduated from college when Dr. King was assassinated. I had a great deal of admiration for him as a man who truly (pardon the pun) walked the walk. It's tragic and the cruelist of ironies that he died by a violent act. Unfortunately, if we heed his teachings without being prepared to defend ourselves, we will end up as he did -- prematurely dead. While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Dr. King would be pleased to see the success of people like Dr. Rice, General Powell and Ms. Winfrey, whom you've mentioned, and quite a few others. On the other hand, what would he think of almost 70% of African American children being born outside of wedlock, and the putting down of black academic success as "acting white"? What would he think of the hateful names that some black liberals hurl at black conservatives, such as "Uncle Tom", or "Oreo", or some others that I will refrain from mentioning?
Toward the end of his tragically shortened life, Dr. King joined the anti-war movement, as the quotes cited by looking4laughs indicate. I wonder what he thought of communism, especially with its record of tens of millions slaughtered, its hostility toward the religion he preached and practiced, its bitter repression of the basic rights that he sought to have recognized for all Americans, and its denial of the Creator who is the source of these rights. I wonder if he (and the antiwar movement in general) ever asked himself (themselves), "Where are the North Vietnamese who will protest the belligerence of their government?", or "Why don't the Laotians and Cambodians protest the unauthorized North Vietnamese use of their territory?" Had Dr. King lived a few years longer, what would have have thought about the "re-education" of the Vietnamese or the Killing Fields of Cambodia?
While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Good point, Spook. Although the War On Terror and Cold War (of which Vietnam and Korea were parts) are in some ways very different, they have one thing in common. The way to achieve peace is through strength.
Although it is indisputable thwt King was opposed to the Viet Nam War, my guess is that he, like so many others, didn't even realize the truth about that War, relying on the lamestream media of the time, I wonder how he would view the struggle of the Iraqi and Afghani peoples and others struggling against radical Islam today.
Some have said today that he would categorically be opposed to this war. I say no one can say what his actual feelings would be, 40 years after and under these circumstances. We can only imagine given his words from 40 years ago.
That being said, a few more quotes of his;
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live. Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Detroit, June 23, 1963
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Martin Luther King, Jr.
All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
due respect to Dr King, but "civil rights" includes way more than equal opportunity et al.
many "civil rights" are under pressure from BOTH sides of the isle notably our 2d amendment rights (weapons ownership), 4th (search n seizure), & 10th (states rights).
too many veterans have served &/or been killed or wounded in securing our rights to easily surrender them to an ever expanding federal govt.
eg - while I support the terrorism investigation laws, they should have a sunset provision.
the govt can only take those rights which we surrender & we should do so grudgingly.
I had just graduated from college when Dr. King was assassinated. I had a great deal of admiration for him as a man who truly (pardon the pun) walked the walk. It's tragic and the cruelist of ironies that he died by a violent act. Unfortunately, if we heed his teachings without being prepared to defend ourselves, we will end up as he did -- prematurely dead. While we should never abandon the quest for peace, should we simply turn the other cheek to our present enemy, they will gleefully cut it off.
Spook, you may be correct. it is entirely possible that if we love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and respond to ahtred with love, we will die. Still, it is what King advocated. It's also what Christ advocated. it is impossible to say one follows the teachings of either if one rejects that. To say that we must be prepared to torture and kill our fellow man in order to protect ourselves is to say that Christ is wildly impractical.
As it stands now, we hav color coded charts telling us the likelihood that we will be killed, and are running up a massive debt for our children in order to make oursleves safer. We have the restrictions on what we can bring on planes, and are asked to accept that the government can open our mail, monitor our calls, and detain us at will, to keep us safe. Still, many here seem to live in fear.
We've never tried the King approach. maybe we'd cease to exist. Or maybe we wouldn't live in fear.
We've never tried the King approach.
I think we did, after Viet Nam fell and while Carter was in office. We turned our backs on Southeast Asia and made a feeble attempt at answering the invasion and holding of our Embassy personnel in 1979. Even Reagan didn't respond as strong as he could have, but he was also faced with a hostile Congress.
While I fully believe in "give peace a chance," what chance does it have when those on the other side use that as an opening to attack?