Posts Tagged → MLK
What would MLK say today?
Today is Martin Luther King Day. It’s one of just three days in America named for a person, and MLK earned that recognition. The guy was a force of nature and achieved a lot of healing and correction of injustice that America needed in order to live up to its full promise.
But it is a curious thing, now. What would MLK say today about race relations, voting rights for blacks, and the advancement of racial equality, the things he risked and sacrificed so much to achieve?
Obviously so many things have improved since MLK’s most active times, the early 1960s. Voting rights for blacks and other minorities are no longer a question, in terms of accessing polling areas and casting a vote in person. And racial equality is beyond a success, with blacks and most other minorities receiving enormous advantages in job hiring and college enrollment. In business, all minorities are doing fantastic, with the sky being the limit to what someone can achieve, if they but want it.
These are all wins for minority rights in America, and we can rest assured MLK would be proud of these achievements. There are blacks and other minorities well represented in every business sector, every level of government, etc. America has Thomas Sowell, Winsome Sears, Larry Elder, Carol Swain, and so many other roundly recognized leaders and thinkers.
And yet, even in our day of triumph, there is an evil attempt to not only pretend these achievements have not happened, but that 1960s-style and levels of racism and discrimination are still rampant and hurting minorities. Moreover, the proponents of this nonsense are promoting the message that all “white” people are bad, and racist, and inherently inferior, and worthy of experiencing severe depredations…for their skin color.
In other words, we need to be racist in order to correct racism. What would MLK say about this garbage, that flies in the face of his “content of character” test for achieving equality?
What would MLK say about the DIE business? You know, the so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion crap that is even more racist than the KKK was in 1960.
What would MLK say about NAACP President Derrick Johnson dismissing justified and well-earned criticism of brazen academic plagiarist Claudine Gay as “political theatrics advancing a White supremacist agenda“…?
And what would MLK say about black DAs Alvin Bragg, Kim Gardner, Fani Willis, and Letitia James falsely prosecuting “white” people as well as President Trump on absolute trash accusations that do not meet any real legal test? I mean, if you are a law-abiding “white” person anywhere near these four lawless DAs, you are going to flee. Run for your life. Because these people are not interested in standing up for the law, but rather illegally using it as a political and social weapon.
I think MLK would say “Whoa now, people. Do not do a disservice to what we stood for. We have come so very far, let’s not go overboard and become that which we opposed, and thereby destroy everything that has been achieved.”
And he would be right.
The man knew no hate for anyone. A real Christian
Fake impeachment ruins MLK Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. may have been a flawed man, but in his best moments he was the conscience of America in his day, and he embodied the hope that America represents for everyone who works to make it the best it can be.
Flaws make people into real people, and King’s “I have a dream” speech was so effective and moving because it was his own original work, worked out over several years of sermons and political speeches across the South and Northeast. He had spent years honing a message of de-segregation, equality of opportunity, and valuing character over skin color when he delivered his most famous speech.
Simultaneously, King struggled in his personal life, surrounded by adulating women attracted to his charisma. His own personal struggles were reflected in his self-reflection and resulting inner strength. Just as America has struggled with its own flaws, and worked hard to improve itself.
Fast forward a bunch of decades, and MLK Day is annually devoted to remembering and practicing the best, most basic lessons America learned from this amazing man. And yet, the one political party that emptily claims to represent the interests of the American Black community has chosen MLK Day 2020 to begin a complete sham of a political impeachment attack on the US president. That is, MLK Day has been kicked to the curb by members of Congress Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and Jerry Nadler, in their lust for political carnage to cover up the many crimes committed by the Obama Administration (e.g. Joe Biden, Adam Schiff, John Kerry) in Ukraine.
Clearly the politicians who now head up the Democrat Party value the very worst of shallow, meaningless political shenanigans over emphasizing the very best of American character. What a damned shame. Maybe this is due to the fact that the great awakening occurring among American Blacks (“Blexit” as represented by Candace Owens among others) has these politicians looking ahead for new victims to add to their voting base.
Anyhow, here is MLK and his amazing I Have a Dream speech, which is worth watching and listening to every year, at least, to remind us of how incredible America is, how it was designed to improve itself from the very beginning, and how it has improved itself with the devotion and sacrifice of people like Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK’s white privilege?
What would Martin Luther King, Jr say and do about the current racist accusation of “white privilege” against all Caucasians, especially against Caucasian men?
It is the most racist thing I have ever heard in my life, this worthless, evil allegation that skin color makes and determines if a person is inherently bad, immoral, wrong, evil, etc. Weren’t we told by generations before us, including by MLK himself, that skin color does not determine a person’s character or value?
Does this same accusation of unfair “privilege” also apply to the majority black men on the African continent, where whites are the vastly outnumbered minority? I mean, the population dynamics behind this accusation hold equally for everyone everywhere, right?
Or are “white people” (whoever that is) really, truly said and believed to be lesser humans due to their skin color?! If this is truly the belief, then those “white” people had better wake up, because they are being openly marked for genocide. Just like Adolph Hitler openly stated his goal of eliminating Jews, Gypsies, Christians, gays and others, and then followed through, when you are openly targeted for destruction, you should take the threat seriously and take concrete steps to protect yourself.
So back to MLK, as today is an American holiday dedicated to remembering him.
Would MLK today be condemned for his “white privilege”?
MLK benefited from “white privilege” more than anyone else in the civil rights movement, because he was propelled forward by whites. White money, white religion, white culture, white capitalism, and so on. He benefited personally and professionally, and he succeeded because of the participation of so many “white” leaders and institutions in his wonderful effort to eliminate racism.
So what would MLK say about this racism from the black community aimed at all white people? What would he do? I think, no, I know he would denounce this destructive movement, not only because it is immoral and wrong, but because it carries the risk of boomeranging back. Falsely accusing good people eventually alienates them, and causes them to leave those whom they once trusted.
As hard as MLK worked, along with so many white people arm-in-arm with him, he would be disgusted at how easily all his achievements could be so easily reversed by those who benefited most from him, and who evidently forgot how much effort it required to set all American people on the same plane of opportunity.
Watch here for what MLK had to say about the evil of racism. All racism. His words mean something to me, and apparently mostly to other white people, who were and who remain struck by the simple fairness of MLK’s just color-blind demand.
What Would MLK Say?
Today is a national holiday honoring and remembering a great American leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Like great leaders across human history, King captured a moment in time, crystalized it, and put a flame in it that later generations of people can touch and be inspired.
Below is the famous I Have a Dream speech that King gave in Washington, DC, probably the last great speech given in that swampy town.
However, before we get teary-eyed and inspired by Dr. King’s honest speech and honest goals, let’s ask a simple question.
Today, the word “racism” and “racist” have become immediate responses for just about anyone who disagrees with liberal ideas. Any ideas, not just the subject of skin color.
This includes debates about the role and place of Islam in a democracy and republic. Islam is not a race, it is a bunch of ideas. Race has nothing to do with it, unless you are looking at the skin color caste system in most Muslim countries, or how Arab slavers started the African slave trade and continue it to this very day. Those things aside, race is not a component of Islam.
And yet proponents of American security, freedom, and Judeo-Christian culture are called racists if they do not accede to demands for unlimited Muslim immigration with zero acculturation and assimilation.
Accusing people of being racist even now takes off from completely unrelated subjects, as in “You said you follow the Bible, and it is not pro-gay. That is almost like racism. In fact, it is just like racism. It is like being racist. You are a racist.”
Don’t laugh, I have seen it happen in person and in writing.
So that “racism” becomes the standard synonym or fill-in for any kind of discrimination or bigotry or even self-selective behavior based on thousands of years of human history, at best. At worst, it becomes an empty accusation that as soon as it is uttered is seen for what it is, fake.
And let’s not even delve into the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, or even the Congressional Black Caucus, where members accuse someone of “racism” if they merely sneeze, and where brutally racist statements are made nearly daily. The NAACP has become one of the most racist organizations in America, and it is enabled by the outrageously bigoted Southern Poverty Law Center. Which is funded and run by white liberals. Ditto for BLM.
When one of these groups says “You are a racist until we say you are not,” it is meaningless, because they have misused, abused, and failed on this claim for decades. By making it partisan, where racists in one party are excused because they are from “the correct” political party, and members of the other political party are always shamed and accused and never excused, these self-appointed arbiters of right and wrong are exposed as hypocrites. Their credibility plummets as a result.
If you are having trouble following this, try this: What results from the misuse of accusations of racism is a watering down of the word and idea.
If racism becomes subjective, and not quantifiable, then those wrongly accused of being racist will burn out and lose their yearning for fairness. After all, they themselves are being treated unfairly, accused unfairly.
Hijacking the word can only boomerang back. People stop listening. Oh, they care, but they no longer ascribe credibility to the NAACP, BLM, SPLC, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the other fakers who have long overreached and overplayed that hand.
Yes, it is true that there are many things worse than racism, but if we are going to value a racism-free America (a good thing), then we must reserve that word and its connotations for when it really applies. We must not misappropriate it, nor may we engage in racist behavior and then accuse the subjects of our abuse themselves of being “racist.” Especially when there are simply legitimate disagreements on policy and law.
“Racist!” cannot be a crutch. That will only undermine everything MLK fought for, and what he got the vast number of Americans to buy into: The idea that we are all meant to be free, we are all meant to be equal, we all deserve to have equal opportunity and no artificial barriers between us and our dreams and goals. An America devoid of discrimination is an America full of its greatest promise.
So what would MLK say about today’s misuse and watering down of the white-hot word that used to galvanize tens of millions of Americans to do the right thing?
What would MLK say about how the Left has turned nearly every American institution into a force of discrimination and persecution against those with whom the Left merely disagrees, politically?
What would MLK say about the fake accusations of ‘racism’ to cover up the internecine mass murders among young black men occurring daily in nearly every single American city… That is done to obscure and excuse the utter and complete failure of nearly all of America’s black leadership, so that fifty-four years later, the American black community is in some ways in much worse condition than when Dr. King had his dream?
Some thoughts on MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Our family just sat down to watch Martin Luther King Jr. deliver one of America’s most powerful speeches, his 1963 I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Thank you to YouTube for publishing this historically important footage.
We had a discussion about it, and here are some thoughts that resulted:
MLK’s face is clearly moved, the righteousness of his words providing a passion that cannot be ignored then, or now. How refreshing is that.
The causes of justice, freedom, voting rights, and integration were true tests of just how honest America was going to be, how accurately it was going to live up to its promises. Genuine race and fairness issues are almost gone today, due to that passion.
How refreshing it is to hear true righteousness, and dignity, and careful measure. Few leaders since MLK have been able or willing to lead listeners down different paths simultaneously.
In the context of Georgia Congressman John Lewis’s crazy comments about November’s election results, MLK stands out as a real outlier. Race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are phonies, and Congressman John Lewis has been riding on his one real achievement from fifty years ago. Are there any honest brokers remaining on race issues? What I would give to have MLK back with us today. America could use his gentleness, his insights, his vision. His truthfulness.
After all, a great deal of the goals MLK put forth in his speech have been achieved. What has not been achieved could easily be ascribed to the destructive methods of Sharpton, Jackson, and now Congressman Lewis, whose personal attack on the president elect brought a swift and accurate rebuttal. American blacks are more the victims of their regressive “leaders” than they are of any racism.
One of my favorite bits of knowledge is that MLK was an ardent gun owner. He was not politically correct. Oh, I don’t believe he was a violent man, bitterly clinging to his Bible and guns in preparation for some racial Armageddon. Rather, he was a hunter, a target shooter, and a practical self-defense-oriented American who believed it was better to defend one’s home from violent intruders than it was to die unarmed.
Unfortunately, this great man left America far too soon, but like all righteous martyrs, MLK’s murder inspired great change in the greatest nation ever on Planet Earth.
Thank you for your many gifts to us, Martin Luther King, Jr. We thank you for the biggest one, your ultimate sacrifice that America might live up to its best hopes and dreams.
It doesn’t get any better or more American than this
MLK speaks from the heart in a speech that can never be replicated, and which bears hearing again and again…Note “dignity and discipline.”
Was today’s MLK event in DC a sham and partisan pep rally?
How odd that none of the following black leaders were invited or present to speak at today’s MLK event on the DC Mall: Clarence Thomas (US Supreme Court), Condoleeza Rice (US NSA), Dr. Ben Carson, Professor Thomas Sowell, Congressman Allen West, Alan Keyes, or sitting US Senator Tim Scott, the only black US Senator…among many other candidates who might have had something to say about MLK and civil rights.
Partisan activist Donna Brazile coordinated the event, but exclaimed surprise that no Republicans spoke much less attended.
Wonder if today’s event was really just a partisan pep rally?
On the other hand, THIS was a genuine human rights rally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs
50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr march
On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s nation-changing march, let us look closely into what has been achieved since that time, and what has failed.
On the list of achievements we have the definite growth in black voting and a far-reaching acceptance, even embrace of dark skin color among European-Americans. The Negro saga in America is both a painful story, and also a story of redemption, as blacks have found their way into any and all professions they desire, including baseball, football, tennis, track and field, medicine, technology, theology, law, academia, entertainment, and government.
That said, there is a key failure that King would have never imagined, and that is the self-segregation of much of the black community, and the seeming desire for perpetual victim status contrary to the facts and opportunities presented. Today, despite enormous advances on every front, black unemployment is three times higher than whites.
I say this in the wake of months of debate about Martin and Zimmerman, and newly surfaced and long-suppressed news items about black-on-black violence and nakedly racist black-on-white violence.
The failure of much of the black community is no secret, and people like me are not going to stand by idly and watch it happen, and we will not fear being called “racist” for identifying the problem and proposing solutions. Nor will I become a racist in reaction to someone else’s racism.
Racists believe in racial determinism. Racists believe that skin color is an indication of both physical and mental ability. Like the vast vast vast majority of European-Americans, I reject those goofball notions. I do embrace a color-blind America that rewards citizens for the quantity and quality of their work, and for the content of their character.
My commitment to the success of the black community is to say that good, well-meaning people like me are here to help, to lend a hand, to support you and your local institutions. I will say that the anti-white racism in the black community is both sad, and alarming. But I will not say that America is a racist nation. Racism is a corrosive, destructive, evil thing, and it eats the people who live it.
When I watch MLK’s speeches, I am overcome with feelings of inspiration and love. MLK saw an America that had potential, whose equal opportunity was the signature of a free society that the American dream promised. Call me naive, but I am sticking to my silly ideas of equality and brotherhood. MLK wanted it that way.
We all have a shared dream
One of America’s greatest speeches, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” on the Washington mall, still inspires Americans.
The question is, who does it inspire?
In my opinion, the vast majority of Caucasian Americans are the audience today most inspired by King’s speech. They have fully accepted upon themselves not only words of King’s speech, but its spirit. It was that great majority that elected Barack Hussein Obama. Inspired by the opportunity to elect an American of color and prove wrong those who claim America is a racist place, Americans voted in Obama. The same Obama who, as Candidate Obama said he would change the dialogue on race, and who, as Candidate Obama, challenged long-held victimization identity in the black community, but who as President Obama has allowed the black community to languish in its self-inflicted pain, whose Justice Department advances anti-white racism by black racists in the name of defeating “racism.”
Mostly to its benefit, America is awash in black culture. White kids want black clothing, black music, black humor, black life partners, black sports players, black heroes, and black friends.
Americans elected a black president. America’s most conservative whites tried to elect another black president, candidate Herman Cain, who remained my top pick even after he stopped his campaign. Alan Keyes and Allen West remain political heroes to the most conservative of whites, who themselves are wrongly labeled as racists by black racists.
Racism is not a white problem today, it is a black problem, a result of an unwillingness by most blacks to accept that blacks have been accepted by the vast, overwhelming number of whites in America. By an almost universal unwillingness to either break out of ghettos and inner cities or reclaim them, to remain largely inactive where all institutions have failed, even the legendary black churches.
And I know this to be true, because I inhabit a largely white world, where the number of racist comments or experiences I witness can be counted on one hand year after year, after year, and because I inhabit a largely black city, where the problems of fragmented black family and community are played out daily on our streets to the point where I have long since lost count.
Black Americans, my fellow equal citizens, I say to you as a white American that you are as precious to me and to the vast majority of other “whites” in our great nation as are any other group of American citizens, and perhaps more so due to your longer presence here and greater sacrifices on our behalf. Skin color is irrelevant to 99.8% of white Americans. Culture, shared values, and the good content of character are relevant to 99.8% of white Americans.
American culture is the great equalizer, accepting all and any to its ranks, with the simple expectation that each citizen both appreciate and promote the America of its founding. The greatness of constitutional America is that it is designed to change, to improve, and having heard MLK’s call, arisen, and changed, it remains the greatest nation in the history of the planet. It is a place to be proud of.
Today, we are especially proud of one of our great American leaders, MLK. We all share the dream that his message will reach not only the intended white audience of 1963, but the black audience of 2012.