Communing With Martin

[H2O Man]

Communing With Martin


This morning, I read an interesting message from a friend called "Hamden Rice," regarding some of the great "what if's" of recent history. What if JFK, RFK, and MLK had lived? These are interesting questions that many of us who are of a certain age ponder, especially on days like April 4.

I have set today aside, to allow myself some time to enjoy Taylor Branch's book "At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68." It is the third in his series, following "Parting the Waters," and "Pillar of Fire." The only short-coming that I can attribute to this volume is that it is only 1000 pages long. This morning, I am witnessing the end of the march from Selma to the state capital.

This reminds me of part of Dick Gregory's classic book, "Nigger." The last chapter (One Less Door) is the most powerful in the book. Dick starts by saying, "A scared Negro is one thing. A mad Negro is something else." Then he quotes from a speech he delivered to a group in Sema.

"It's amazing how we come to this church every Sunday and cry over the crucifixion of Christ, and we don't cry over these things that are going around and among us. If He was here now and saw these things, He would cry. And He would take those nails again. For us. For this problem. It just happened that in His day and time, religion was the big problem.Today, it is color.

"What do you think would happen to Christ tonight if He arrived in this town a black man and wanted to register to vote on Monday? What do you think would happen? Would you be there? You would? Then how come you're not out there with these kids, because He said that whatever happens to the least, happens to us al ..."

On page 769 of his book, Branch notes, "Shortly after the assassination, a grief-stricken Stanley Levison complained that most Americans already distorted the loss of 'their plaster saint who was going to protect them from angry Negroes.' Pride and fear subverted King's legacy from all sides." Today, it is important that we not allow Martin to be a plaster saint, just as it is imperative that we not allow Jesus to be reduced to a stained glass window. They must not be separated from the context of humanity.

"Men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don't know each other. They don't know each other because they can't communicate with each other. They can't communicate with each other because they are separated from each other," King told an audience in 1957. Indeed, men such as Martin and Jesus lived in such a way as to unify people. They were not simplistic fools: they recognized that their sacrifices were not being demanded by "God," but rather were the result of human folly.

One of my favorite books about Martin was authored by his true friend, Ralph David Abernathy. The title of the 1990 book is "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down." I was happy that, towards the end of his life, when Ralph was remembering Martin, he knew that when the Berlin Wall was dismantled, the crowds were singing "We Shall Overcome." Ralph knew that Martin was there.

This morning, as I read Branch's wonderful book, I waited until in my mind, I saw King taking a short break from his labor. I imagined approaching him, and asking, "Martin Luther King, where are you today?" And I hear his beautiful voice, clearly in my mind, saying, "Martin is with Cindy Sheehan today, attempting to put an end to the American violence in Iraq; Luther is in New Orleans, nailing boards on a new home for a poor family; and King is to be found marching with those young people in the southwest, who are only asking that the Bill of Rights be a living, breathing document."

I know that Martin's spirit is also found today among those brave people we call the St. Patrick's Four, who were sentenced in federal court in Binghamton, NY to jail for an act of conscience in protesting the war in Iraq. To paraphrase Martin, we are faced with difficult problems today, and we cannot confront them without sacrifice. And as Dick said, we need to move beyond fear.

I will end with another quote from our friend Dick Gregory, from that speech in Selma: "So it's coming down to this. You have to commit. You're going through the same things today that the folks went through when the Lord was crucified. 'Who else is with Christ?' the Romans asked. And everybody just stood there. And prayed silently. And they went back and said, 'I prayed.'

"No, sister, I didn't even see your lips move. Were you there when they crucified the Lord? It's a nice song to sing. But this time, you hve an opportunity to be there. Sure would be a heck of a thing, twenty, thirty years from now when they're singing songs about these days, and your grand-kids and great-grand-kids can stand up and say, 'Yeah, baby, he was there, my grandfather was there.'

"And when they ask you, you can nod your head and say: "Yeah, I was there.' "

[H2O Man]

1. A photo :

(and an excuse to try to get my lonely thread some attention)

[CatWoman]

5. kicked and recommended!!

:kick:

[CatWoman]

2. I think it's a lot safer in this thread

:hi:


part of my continuing education, I never knew this:

One of my favorite books about Martin was authored by his true friend, Ralph David Abernathy. The title of the 1990 book is "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down." I was happy that, towards the end of his life, when Ralph was remembering Martin, he knew that when the Berlin Wall was dismantled, the crowds were singing "We Shall Overcome." Ralph knew that Martin was there

I had just returned to the States from Germany when the wall came down. However, in my many travels, you have no idea how revered King was over there.

I love Dick Gregory. He used to have a late night show on the local cable station here, and my uncle turned me on to him. Sadly, it's not on anymore.

[Me.]

3. I Wonder What Martin Would Say About Corporations?

Aided and abetted by the GOP, they are a source of most of the diverseness happening today. They are turning people against people, scaring us by saying there isn't enough in this world for all of us. They have tricked us with trickle down and stolen our security and betrayed our trust. Black against Hispanic and white against both, divides and conquers those who should be standing together.

They've also stepped up the culture of scapegoating and hating. If the pugs go and the borders are sealed what will become of that hate energy, where will it be focused? Will the gays bear the brunt of it?

Can we ever let the energy of hate go?

[H2O Man]

14. Corporations:

"Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken -- the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly shift from a 'thing-oriented' society to a 'person-oriented' society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

A Time to Break Silence; April 4, 1967

[Me.]

21. Should Have Known

That he would have an answer and that you would provide it. Many thanks.

[bleever]

4. Thank you for this beautiful post.

:thumbsup:

[DanCa]

6. H2O Man thank you for being here.

Your one of the bright spots on DU. I always learn so much from each of your post and you never put anyone down to prove your point. I am glad your on our side.
:toast:

PS Aprill 22 HBO Box Kilitchgow Byrd 2. Just fyi Danny.

[CatWoman]

8. Isn't he great?

Even tho he teases me about the love of my life, Al Haig :D

[H2O Man]

13. Old Al

seems like a voice of reason compared to the neocons. They didn't care for him in the days of Reagan, as you may recall.

[CatWoman]

17. but that was when he made sense

unlike today :D

[H2O Man]

18. He's an old, old man.

It is strange to watch him today. Now, this may sound off topic, but I think it fits: a couple of years ago, I called Rubin to ask if he was going to be at the inductions at the boxing hall of fame, as someone he was close to was being inducted. He told me that he didn't plan to go, because in the recent past he noticed that some of the guys were arguing about who beat who, or might have beat whom, in 1957. And there were hard feelings about a fight from 1962. Really.

Al Haig reminded me of that, when I saw him on C-SPAN, on a panel discussion about Vietnam. An old fellow talking about war as if it were a sporting event, strangely like the old men who discussed sporting events as if they were wars. Sometimes old men are a lot like little boys.

Despite all the bad things Haig did, when Reagan was shot, he was fully aware of the threat a group posed to the country. He erred in the sense that he wasn't in line to take the reins of power, but he was attempting to stop something worse.

[CatWoman]

22. Would you believe I got into an argument with right wingers about that?

Despite all the bad things Haig did, when Reagan was shot, he was fully aware of the threat a group posed to the country. He erred in the sense that he wasn't in line to take the reins of power, but he was attempting to stop something worse.

They were giving me the "he tried to subvert the constitution" line.

I replied, "That's exactly what Bush is doing. What's the difference?"

Of course I didn't receive a reply :eyes:

[Pithy Cherub]

7. Taylor Branch gave a beautiful rendition of the years

he spent wrting the trilogy on C-SPAN - In Depth in early February. It was very enlightening and he did it in a encompassing way and not as a scholarly academic. Even he was surprised about some of the materials and the impact it has so many years later as he began to write. He spoke to how one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement was Stokely Carmichael. The entire conversation was 3 hours long and filled with stunning anecdotes and even-handed analysis.

http://www.booktv.org/indepth/index.asp?segID=6565&schedID=399
Click on watch

[H2O Man]

19. I saw him

on C-SPAN. Great show. Watching him discuss the topics, much like reading these books, is part of the opportunity we have to educate ourselves about a fascinating part of our history. I recently spoke with someone connected to Robert Caro, in regard to the final book in his LBJ series. I'm looking forward to reading that, too. It offers the opportunity to be a witness to many of the same events, from a slightly different point of view.

[donkeyotay]

9. Some of life's suffering is unavoidable

Such as natural disasters or the fact that we get sick and we die. The only human remedy for this suffering is compassion. But most of our suffering is avoidable and is the result of human agency. We have made this world what it is.

Indeed, men such as Martin and Jesus lived in such a way as to unify people. They were not simplistic fools: they recognized that their sacrifices were not being demanded by "God," but rather were the result of human folly.

[im10ashus]

10. Finally!!! I found a non-McKinney-bashing thread.

This is a wonderful post. It serves to remind us how we can achieve so much more with acts of kindness. We have sacrificed to much that we can't give up now. Thanks for the message of hope, H2O Man.

K&R!

:kick:

[rman]

11. I think that would only be possible if

the situation regarding 'the powers that be' back then would not have been what it was - which is what got them killed in the first place: they were a threat to those powers.

If those powers had not been there, or if they were less powerfully then they were, then we would not be in the situation we are now.

Then Nixon would not have been elected, the Bushes would not have been elected, there would be no war in Iraq, there would not be the problem with the MSM and corporations that we have, etcetera.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Thanks for this!

[robertpaulsen]

15. I can say I was there when they ask me about Iraq.

I was there three years ago, and I'm still here. It felt good last month, marching down Hollywood Boulevard again. But your post, and especially the mugshot photos made me think, WWMLKD?

So I wrote this letter to moveon.org, answering their e-mail request for what I think about future campaigns:



I had an idea for improving our tactics in protesting the war in Iraq. Everyone knows one of the biggest reasons Bush invaded Iraq was to control their oil, anyone who doubted this had egg on their face when the military guarded the Oil Ministry records and let the museums be looted. But now the pusher presumes to lecture the junkie, telling us we are "addicted to oil".

I suggest we throw the pResident's rhetoric back in his face. America is addicted to oil? It's time to stage an Oil Intervention. I propose acts of non-violent civil disobedience to protest the war and at the same time reduce our consumption of oil. Organizing an Oil Intervention means organizing protests at gas stations, effectively blockading them so that no oil can be purchased.

Obviously, certain aspects of such a protest could not be promoted publicly, such as the dates, times and location. But I believe moveon.org can do a great deal to help promote and organize such protests. After helping activists connect with others in their area, they can then iron out the details privately about when, where and how the Oil Intervention will be carried out.

Yes, this is against the law. Yes, we will be arrested. We have to ask ourselves this tough question: how serious are we about stopping the war? Serious enough to go to jail? This question shouldn't be too tough to answer for the committed activist. On this day when we remember the murder of Martin Luther King 38 years ago, I ask you to consider a request to promote acts of civil disobedience that I believe would honor his memory.



So, what do you think? Too extreme, or right on target?

16. People have to be able to reach out

In olden days and currently still in some societies, you were required by custom to help your neighbor, but that isn't so anymore, and we really need that.

From King's mountaintop speech -
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base....

Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this
was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother. """"

My father spent a large part of his life doing work started by King. And I once saw David Gregory at a Greenpeace ship, docked in Chicago.


http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm

[blondeatlast]

20. A timely reminder. MLK faced down nigh impossible odds, adn won for ALL

of us.

Keep the spirit alive.

Thanks as usual, H2OMan. You are one of posters I point out to my friends when I talk about DU.

[stop the bleeding]

23. the last couple of paragraphs really grabbed me, no more needed to say