In marking the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., I went back 41 years to April 4, 1967, and reread his speech "Beyond Vietnam."
...I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.Read the entire speech and the obvious parallels to Iraq, not to mention some statements of Jeremiah Wright's, just jump right out at you.
After 40 years of beatifying King, it's easy to forget that his "colorblind" anti-poverty and anti-war statements were not fashionable or well-received even among his colleagues within the Civil Rights movement. It's easy to forget that it is possible to have a movement that goes beyond one's own popularity and celebrity.
4 comments:
I think we can agree, that some of the greatest people in history would not survive during this very modern era of media and short attention spans. Andy Warhol was right when he spoke of 15 minutes of fame. I think that is the few things we can agree on. I remember reading an article and seeing a quote that went something like how the Republican Party would have called Jesus a hippie, commie, nut job, who is unpatriotic, if he were to have lived today. I always laugh and think "how true" and Fox News would lead the charge.
By the way on a different subject, this blog has helped with my critical writing essays. I have to make strong stances and coherent arguments. Well when I first made posts on this blog my argument was spread everywhere and so I practiced concentrating my argument. I may disagree with many of this blogs view, but I respect them.
I love the sentiment of this blog: "It's easy to forget that it is possible to have a movement that goes beyond one's own popularity and celebrity." Face time is the key to surviving today, which is so sad because it means that if a face is covered with dirt, that face can still be a mark of relevance. Once again, Im looking for a HUMAN to be in the limelight, unapologetically strong (ahem...Clinton). However much the media tries to convince us otherwise, one dimensional people don't really exist. Even the most narcissistic people pleasers break down and choose Chocolate ice cream over the ever popular vanilla every once in a while.
p.s
^^^Thanx for calming down in a reply, Rob^^^ lol
It's also interesting that Dr. King's legacy is based on his actions that the majority has, mostly, approved of and his
"Beyond Vietnam" stance is one left to be discovered. This again is an example of how the journalistic media is just one big PR job instead of the truth.
I needed to calm down Angelle. I am a very arrogant and short tempered person, those two do not go well together. I also feared alienating myself from people I respect. I idealize Teddy Roosevelt as a politician, but I see why he was such a polarizing figure. People don't like an angry and arrogant person, especially when that person feels that their political beliefs and practices are better than all others. lol, I kid, I kid. I don't want to be so polarizing. I hold politics and history very close to my heart, but sometimes I need to give it a rest. I don't want to die young, angry, and vengeful.
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