Today, on the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. I had an epiphany. I decided that in a strange, sad way, it is good that he isn't around today. Today, he would have been 79 years of age, old by any means. When he died at the age of 39, he became a legend of the civil rights era. He will always be known as a man who dreamed for something better for the oppressed, and who died for that dream. Our image of the man is most often idealistic. People talk of him like he was invincible-- the way people talk about heroes. And yet, our world would have eaten the man alive. We have a great desire to see the mighty fall, and heroes crushed and tainted. They would take his dream of hope and find one loose thread to tug until it all unraveled. What would remain would be all that he ever was: an ordinary human being. Then we would brand him. He would be called a racist because he wouldn't settle for superficial optimism about race. He would have been called un-American long before now because he wouldn't be waving a flag and pretending that the fight for equality is over. No, Dr. King would still be dreaming of something better. At least now we hear his inspirational speeches once a year and are reminded that there are people in our past, despite their occasionally missteps, that helped inspire great change in our society. In his death, he has remained largely unscathed-- praised as a civil rights hero. I want to leave you with words of the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who believed above all else that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Please enjoy.
================================================================ "Now, early in the century this proposal would have been greeted with ridicule and denunciation as destructive of initiative and responsibility. At that time economic status was considered the measure of the individual's abilities and talents. And in the thinking of that day, the absence of worldly goods indicated a want of industrious habits and moral fiber. We've come a long way in our understanding of human motivation and of the blind operation of our economic system. Now we realize that dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will. The poor are less often dismissed, I hope, from our conscience today by being branded as inferior and incompetent. We also know that no matter how dynamically the economy develops and expands, it does not eliminate all poverty. The problem indicates that our emphasis must be twofold: We must create full employment, or we must create incomes. People must be made consumers by one method or the other. Once they are placed in this position, we need to be concerned that the potential of the individual is not wasted. New forms of work that enhance the social good will have to be devised for those for whom traditional jobs are not available. In 1879 Henry George anticipated this state of affairs when he wrote in Progress and Poverty:
The fact is that the work which improves the condition of mankind, the work which extends knowledge and increases power and enriches literature and elevates thought, is not done to secure a living. It is not the work of slaves driven to their tasks either by the, that of a taskmaster or by animal necessities. It is the work of men who somehow find a form of work that brings a security for its own sake and a state of society where want is abolished.
Work of this sort could be enormously increased, and we are likely to find that the problem of housing, education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished."
Where Do We Go From Here....
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"I’ve seen my dream shattered as I’ve walked the streets of Chicago (Make it plain) and seen Negroes, young men and women, with a sense of utter hopelessness because they can’t find any jobs. And they see life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit signs. And not only Negroes at this point. I’ve seen my dream shattered because I’ve been through Appalachia, and I’ve seen my white brothers along with Negroes living in poverty. (Yeah) And I’m concerned about white poverty as much as I’m concerned about Negro poverty. (Make it plain)
So yes, the dream has been shattered, (Amen) and I have had my nightmarish experiences, but I tell you this morning once more that I haven’t lost the faith. (No, sir) I still have a dream (A dream, Yes, sir) that one day all of God’s children will have food and clothing and material well-being for their bodies, culture and education for their minds, and freedom for their spirits. (Yes)"
The American Dream...
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You can read more on my MLK Jr. day post...
dreams
