Posted on 01/17/2022 6:10:03 AM PST by Kaslin
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is unique among national holidays in that it honors the one American who profoundly described and demonstrated through love and non-violence a picture of the fulfillment of core values expressed in both the country’s founding Declaration of Independence in 1776 and in President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in 1863.
The Declaration’s self-evident truth “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” wasn’t realized when the U.S. Constitution was ratified some 14 years after the Declaration. Nor was Lincoln’s Gettysburg proposition “that all men are created equal” fulfilled through the Civil War’s Emancipation Proclamation that abolished slavery.
In King’s most famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963, it was as if the Almighty was calling America to rise up and fulfill its spiritual destiny. To the self-evident truth of all people having equal value, King added an equally timeless truth, that people “should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
MLK’s message took root because it was grounded in unassailable truth, establishing an ideal and absolute standard for an interracial society not only in America but for the entire world. Were it possible to transport King into the present, he would be deeply troubled by today’s identity politics, hatred, intolerance and division.
King would condemn Critical Race Theory (CRT) on the simple grounds that its training perpetuates negative racial stereotypes albeit in a reversal that denigrates the white race. He would also find CRT fundamentally flawed because it exacerbates division in society rather than bringing people together and finding common ground through constructive dialogue and seeing all people as individuals made in God’s image. It is sad, but true that many of the proponents of CRT want to censor MLK, just as they have done with cancellation and tearing down statues of other earlier American heroes.
King was more than a great pastor and civil rights leader. He had a deep mind of discernment that focused on timeless truths, many of which speak to us today, such as Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he said, “Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed in the renewing of your mind.” King drew on Thomas Jefferson’s statement, “I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” King warned in a sermon as early as 1954, also recorded in his book, Strength to Love, that, “If Americans permit thought-control, business-control and freedom-control to continue, we shall surely move within the shadows of fascism.” Today—nearly 70 years later—we have moved way beyond shadows and now live in a matrix of fascism and communism that effectively operates at various levels within the United States under the camouflage and misnomer of being woke.
There have been few American leaders as strong and clearheaded about the dangers of groupthink than King. He reminds us of Emerson’s words, “Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.” And drawing on Apostle Paul’s teachings, King implored that, “Any Christian who blindly accepts the opinions of the majority and in fear and timidity follows a path of expediency and social approval is a mental and spiritual slave.” But he also saw the positive side of those who went against the crowd, pointing out that, “The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific, and religious freedom have always been nonconformists…[so] in any cause that concerns the progress of mankind, put your faith in the nonconformist!”
That so many brilliant non-conformists are being censored, cancelled and deplatformed today in America provide the clearest sign of regression and loss of the most essential freedom in America. One is reminded of Ben Franklin’s admonition that, “…there is no such thing as public liberty without free speech.”
King’s lesser-known speeches and sermons provide prescient insight for the times in which we live. On numerous occasions, King quoted scripture about the need to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves,” arguing that people need to have a tough mind and a tender heart. He expressed concern that the “prevalent tendency toward soft-mindedness is found in man’s unbelievable gullibility.” He further stated that, “Few people have the toughness of mind to judge critically and to discern the truth from the false, the fact from the fiction…”
King was extremely critical of the media, stating, “One of the great needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda.” He concluded this theme with the warning that “a nation or a civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.” Such counsel is dramatically more pertinent today than it was when he said it some 60 years ago.
If King were resurrected today, he would be shocked by the reversion that has taken place in America in the nearly three generations since he led the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He would condemn the rise of hatred in politics, just as he would find the wholesale desensitization and detachment of young people troubling. He would also reject the eclipse of group, gender and ethnic identity paradigm over the merit and character of the individual as the primary criteria for evaluation, acceptance and advancement—whether in school admission or in the workplace.
Clearly there is much to learn from and reflect on in the life of Martin Luther King Jr. In closing, what is most significant and formidable about the man was the unique, vital and powerful role he played in the unfinished progress of America. In spite of his flaws, he rose to the occasion of fulfilling the course of redemption in American history. Nearly 200 years after the vision expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and nearly 100 years after the bloody Civil War and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Martin Luther King Jr. answered the call and ultimately sacrificed his life to finish the work he described as making people, “free at last, free at last.”
History has already largely forgotten him. The Left has clearly thrown him under the bus, and they’re running things right now. I think making a totem of this extremely flawed, dishonest guy for the Right use as an example of how the Left is screwing things up is an error.
Bkmk
people will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
This went right out the window when it comes to many blacks and their rat counterparts
No
Calling something “progressive” is no way to get me to celebrate. Even the early so-called “progressives” were fundamentally opposed to this nation’s Constitution and the character of its laws. They wanted something more French, where the departments of governance were defined but any and all means whatsoever to achieve those left to the political process … no enumeration of powers reserving all possible powers besides those few actually granted to the States and the people.
“Progressives” wanted a permissive Constitution, not an enabling act for a few functions and no more.
“Progressives” started out bad and only got worse. Now they are truly abominable.
Indeed! To be considered an anti-racist by those vile clowns means you have to judge by the color of skin first to last.
The Left, in general, and Race Baiting Poverty Pimps and the Perpetually Professionally Aggrieved in particular, abandoned MLK’s ideas before his body cooled. Were he alive today he would be “Cancelled” for Hate Speech.
The the moral arc of the universe bends toward chaos.
The left has turned Dr. King’s dream on its head.
It’s no longer about the content of character, it’s all about color of skin.
Read “Coming of Age in Mississippi” as an act of understanding.
But only those blacks that vote for the rat party candidates.
James Earl Ray was Far Left. He supported George Wallace’s run for president in 1968. Escaped Prison and was moving all around but became obsessed with MLK. His only goal became to assassinate him.
There used to be an article online (from Tiqqun magazine) entitled "The Unknown Faith of Martin Luther King" which I used to post or bump here every year. Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared. It explains in great detail that King was dedicated to a purely secular morality (a contradiction in terms) who rejected practically every supernatural dogma of "his" religion.
Secular morality and secular humanism are not based on scientific materialism. Scientific materialism does not lead to a moral or ethical code of any kind. They are in effect new age beliefs based on a belief in a purely natural utopia (the most unscientific concept imaginable) and a Teilhardian notion of teleological evolution and endless "progress," neither of which is the slightest bit scientific. The sooner our side notices this the better.
It's time to restore G-d to His rightful place as source of all morality, and I'm afraid a mere restoration of the enlightenment philosophy of the Founding Fathers would be inadequate to do this.
They are all in with this:
"Your skin color is your uniform." - George Lincoln Rockwell, 1964
MLK and Jesse Jackson liked hookers as they had 2 of them in his motel room the day he was shot.
“Martin Luther King Jr. Day is unique among national holidays in that it honors the one American who profoundly described and demonstrated through love and non-violence a picture of the fulfillment of core values expressed in both the country’s founding Declaration of Independence in 1776 and in President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in 1863.”
I have to admit, given that every single white historical figure is being ripped to shreds for racism, sexism, and every other ism, I’m in favor of applying standards equally.
Which means that Martin Luther King shouldn’t get a pass for his flaws.
2027 should be interesting. Assuming the FBI doesn’t spend the next five years destroying the sealed tapes and records.
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