How Long Shall They Kill Our Prophets?
As a blog focused on civil liberties I would be amiss if I did not mention one of the greatest leaders towards equal rights in our history. I could try to use eloquent words to describe this legendary figure, but I can’t say anything that has not been said before. He speaks better for himself, so below is his “I have a dream” speech.
If I were to choose one word that I personally think describes this man it would “prophet”. I’ve always thought of MLK as a modern day Moses. He thought of himself this way as well. Scott at Powerline points out where this was testified.
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Something of interest to note is that his birthday is the same as Jone of Arc. Perhaps a better word to describe him would be “martyr”. But, like I said..descriptions are inadequate.
With all of this said, remember that times have changed and that while we may still have a long way to go to reach ‘the dream’ it will take work from all races. In today’s times there is a huge sense of ‘white guilt’ and way too often the race card is played in places it shouldn’t be. The reality is that there are differences in races, and while that can divide us, it can also provide a sense of heritage, pride and individuality.
With this I will point you to Jeff Goldstein’s excellent post, and a small excerpt:
THE POINT of all this being that to think of race as somehow socially constructed is to think of race, ultimately, as something essentially essential. Because what makes your memories yours, what makes your heritage yours, and what makes your culture yours is your insistence, ultimately, that it is yours by right, yours by birth, yours by essence. And so race, as it turns out, is either an essence or an illusion. Those who believe race to be an essence (say, the KKK, who base their ideas on bad science) have no need for a project of qualifying race as a social construct; and those who believe race to be non-essential have no grounds, theoretically, for promoting racial identity other than that same bad science (which, it turns out, underlies the constructivist argument), or else their social concern that we somehow need to continue the project of racial identity, for whatever the political reasons.
AND PERHAPS they are right. But maybe it’s time to seize on the lessons learned in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks; that is, maybe it’s time we put aside our differences in order to construct a singular American identity. After all, we are each individuals, which is what makes us, ultimately, a nation.
Make sure to read Jeff’s entire post, and happy MLK Day.
Email This
Posted by Jay on January 15, 2007 7:09 pm
» Filed Under ACLU
Trackback URL:
- The Political Pit Bull: Remembering MLK Jr.
Comments
3 Responses to “How Long Shall They Kill Our Prophets?”
-
-
-
Affiliations
The Giants
Advertise
-
-
Our Store
- Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
-
- More blogs about the ACLU
Syndicate Me
What do you think MLK’s position on Iraq would be ?
Of course he was an early critic of the war in Vietnam.
John Ryan,
That’s like asking what Bull Conner’s position on Affirmative Action would be?
Sounds like you’re quite the fan of “Jone” of Arc.