Today we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (actually January 15th.) Tomorrow we get back to having fun here in our little corner of the blogosphere. But since The Red Man binds us by no rules, I write to you today with stone sober seriousness.
As a man who does not believe in hero worship, Martin Luther King, Jr. is my hero. How is that? You may ask. A Polish Catholic from Cheektowaga? White guilt? No, I don't go around singing negro spirituals in an attempt to empathize with my black brothers while telling everyone that Wily Mo Pena couldn't make it in Boston because he's black. The fact is, I don't know the first damn thing about what it's like to black in this country, and Wily Mo can't hit a curveball.
You see, Dr. King's words transcend the Civil Rights movement from which they were born. He righteously fought for equality for black people, but sent a message far greater. While pointing out the hypocrisies, and the cowardice of the segregationists, he asked us to ponder a simple question. If our similarities outweigh our differences, why do we divide ourselves? Why do we let hatred fester?
Although many of his supporters urged him to lead a violent revolution, he resisted. By treating his white oppressors with respect and dignity while they refused to act in kind, he taught us that we have evolved past the need for violence and war, and in fact, when such a course is taken, there are no real winners. He said, "When one man suffers directly, all men suffer indirectly."
I do love the irony that Ronald Regan, who quite staunchly opposed a Martin Luther King holiday was forced to sign it into law in 1983 by a veto proof majority in the then Democratic congress, despite protests by the likes of Jesse Helms who stood on the Senate floor and questioned if Dr. King deserved such an honor.
Really, if not Dr. King, then who?
MLK's speech in 1963 at the March on Washington, is in my mind the greatest speech ever given. I don't remember the first time I ever heard it, and I can't even remember the first time I understood it's magnitude. But, I can tell you this. I have heard that speech hundreds of times, and I still cry. I don't believe in any sacred text. But that speech is the closest thing to evidence of God on this Earth that I have ever seen.
When George Bush says, "They hate us for our freedom." I don't know what he is talking about. I ask Mr. Bush before he goes throwing around the word freedom like some American battle cry, that he listen to this speech, and reflect not on the hatred others have for our freedom, but on our own self loathing. Then decide what course of action will best serve us citizens.
I had originally intended to inject this post with quotes from the "I Have a Dream" speech, but I thought I would let you hear from Dr. King himself.
Respectfully submitted,
Z
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