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Monday, January 17, 2005
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.- served up by Doctor Bean @ 10:35 PM
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
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I didn’t want to sully King’s beautiful words with my boneheaded commentary, so I put my comments here. If you want to read the entire speech, click on the picture or on the title.
In the past several years it has become popular for conservatives to highlight various negative things that have been learned about King: he was not faithful to his wife, he plagiarized a paper in school (I believe graduate school, but I’m not sure) and his economic thinking was essentially socialist. This may sound odd from a right-winger such as yours truly: I don’t think any of that lessens his stature as a great American. He called on the nation to live up to its own high standards. He demanded only that all citizens be recognized as equally formed in the Divine image. He believed we could rise to what our founding documents expected of us. This is what made him a historical figure and what changed our nation for the better. His many real flaws do not have any bearing on his pivotal role in the evolution of America.
Dennis Prager frequently dismisses people who focus only on the flaws of otherwise great people. He asks us to imagine a time many generations from now when all people become vegetarians so as to minimize animal suffering. A man in such an age may look back and denigrate Mother Teresa since she ate animals. But to do that would be to miss her special role in history. Lots of carnivores didn’t work tirelessly for the poor. Lots of carnivores didn’t live a life that inspired countless others to faith in the Almighty. Lots of carnivores will not be remembered for generations as a symbol of sincere piety. What she ate isn’t the point. Similarly, MLK wasn’t the only socialist, adulterer or plagiarist in the tumultuous 1960s. But he was the only one, when racism was unchallenged and prevalent, who shamed us by reminding us how good we were destined to be.
In the past several years it has become popular for conservatives to highlight various negative things that have been learned about King: he was not faithful to his wife, he plagiarized a paper in school (I believe graduate school, but I’m not sure) and his economic thinking was essentially socialist. This may sound odd from a right-winger such as yours truly: I don’t think any of that lessens his stature as a great American. He called on the nation to live up to its own high standards. He demanded only that all citizens be recognized as equally formed in the Divine image. He believed we could rise to what our founding documents expected of us. This is what made him a historical figure and what changed our nation for the better. His many real flaws do not have any bearing on his pivotal role in the evolution of America.
Dennis Prager frequently dismisses people who focus only on the flaws of otherwise great people. He asks us to imagine a time many generations from now when all people become vegetarians so as to minimize animal suffering. A man in such an age may look back and denigrate Mother Teresa since she ate animals. But to do that would be to miss her special role in history. Lots of carnivores didn’t work tirelessly for the poor. Lots of carnivores didn’t live a life that inspired countless others to faith in the Almighty. Lots of carnivores will not be remembered for generations as a symbol of sincere piety. What she ate isn’t the point. Similarly, MLK wasn’t the only socialist, adulterer or plagiarist in the tumultuous 1960s. But he was the only one, when racism was unchallenged and prevalent, who shamed us by reminding us how good we were destined to be.
I agree with both Bean and Stern here. There are some accomplishments that rise above the rest of the noise. MLK's was one of those. At great personal risk, he stood up to a great injustice, and as a result, changed the dynamic for all posterity.
I will add one name to the short list of real heroes in this respect: Jackie Robinson. If you've never read about him or watched a documentary on him, take the time to do so. Jackie walked proudly and quietly into a world that despised and resented him and everything he stood for. His silence in the face of an onslaught of abuse and threats belied the passion with which he played the game of baseball.
Every word he didn't speak with his mouth, he spoke at volume with an all-out, no apologies brand of baseball that would, alone, have him standing as one of the all-time greats. That he did so with dignity and grace amidst a cacauphony of hatred set the stage for those who would follow.
Like King, Robinson changed the dynamic at great personal risk and sacrifice. I have no idea what his politics were, and I will never care.
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I will add one name to the short list of real heroes in this respect: Jackie Robinson. If you've never read about him or watched a documentary on him, take the time to do so. Jackie walked proudly and quietly into a world that despised and resented him and everything he stood for. His silence in the face of an onslaught of abuse and threats belied the passion with which he played the game of baseball.
Every word he didn't speak with his mouth, he spoke at volume with an all-out, no apologies brand of baseball that would, alone, have him standing as one of the all-time greats. That he did so with dignity and grace amidst a cacauphony of hatred set the stage for those who would follow.
Like King, Robinson changed the dynamic at great personal risk and sacrifice. I have no idea what his politics were, and I will never care.
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