Dr. King And I

"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."
Martin Luther King

On my Mount Rushmore of 20th century beacons of light stand Gandhi, Kennedy, MLK and Lennon (in order of assassination). Lights such as they will not return. We give a lot of lip service to their achievements and principles but that's about it in the end. It's no coincidence each one was murdered. Most of us do not appreciate what the shining light reveals - so we snuff it out. But that only makes things much, much worse (I should know).

I see a lot of people climbing on the back of Dr. King today on the anniversary of his "I have a dream" speech. That makes us feel important and - best of all - requires no self-examination. But to be a beacon of light always first starts with self-examination. One cannot stand for justice, equality and freedom without first granting these to oneself. In these the dark and darker days of the 21st century, those are not traits or qualities that will get you elected. We want someone who makes us feel good about being bad.

Dr. King today would be reviled by many who now praise him. He would be smeared as "the professional left", discarded as "unpragmatic" and worst of all in the heralding the faux morality of compromise: "idealistic". Oh, the horror! Injustice is like cancer: getting rid of only part of it is still fatal. Dr. King understood that. But he would be mocked in his cries for justice as the Conservative Left bristles at the idea of questioning their judgmental outlook. But in they who judge one will not find justice, freedom or equality - even if it's done in their name.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter.”

Today we see policies of the initiation of wars, extra-judicial drone strikes, widening economic inequality, rampant pollution, revocation of civil rights and a general view that freedom is the enemy and truth the agent of our destruction. If there's one thing Dr. King believed in, it was the truth. But which of those above policies would he have believed in? Many of the sanctimonious left have either supported or turned a blind eye to these true agents of our destruction. I've heard it's all about what can be sold as good as opposed to what actually is good. Why is that?

I too have a dream. I have a dream where I don't have to lie to get by. I have a dream a man's worth is realized to be inherent and his need for freedom deemed as absolute as his need for air. I have a dream our love is set free and we finally realize what we can accomplish in a world without the chains of mandate. I have a dream the weapons of war are lost as we find our inner peace. I have a dream that every dream comes true, bringing us together as one at last. But these are not dreams, only realities to come for life to go on.

More great quotes:

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.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

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.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight
of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can
never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love
will have the final word.