I wonder how many Americans who are not black think about Martin Luther King today. I don’t know many people who think about Abraham Lincoln or George Washington on their holidays or about Jesus Christ on Christmas.
It seems we are becoming an aspiritual society, each of us caught up in a life of distraction, anger, greed, and disconnection.
There is little talk about our becoming a fairer, kindler, and more compassionate nation. That’s what Dr. King always talked about.
We honor money much more than the heroes of the past and have plenty of time to sit by screens for hours, young and old. Social media is where so many of us go to hate, not to love.
(Picture, Fate’s Eye)
Martin Luther King was a big deal in my house, and for a while, in my life.
His march on Washington was my life’s most stirring public event, and he gave perhaps the most significant political and emotional speech. I will never forget it. I got to interview him briefly (press conferences) more than once and saw him and his followers beaten and arrested in Mississippi. It was a bipartisan and multi-racial event. At the time, Republicans were permitted to support civil rights, not just eliminate them.
That was a while ago, and to be honest, Dr. King seems out of fashion today.
Young African-Americans are said to have moved beyond him, he was too soft and tolerant, and he sometimes seems outdated and out of sync with today’s harsh and often ugly politics and racial tensions. White kids are obsessed with TikTok and Instagram, not civil rights.
In some states, it is illegal for teachers to talk openly about racism and the world and values of Martin Luther King. I don’t believe that would have happened if Dr. King had been still alive.
His generous and forgiving Christianity seems out of sync with the take-no-prisoners hatred and arguments of our time and the division raging around the country. Even now, in 2023, American still doesn’t want to come face to face with race. Dr. King could give the same speech today, decades later.
It is difficult for any rational and thoughtful person to believe that Dr. King’s dream has become our reality.
There doesn’t seem to be much forgiving; it is difficult for me to forgive all of the hatred as well.
I suppose time gives up on everyone eventually.
You don’t hear many politicians of color discussing segregation these days. Joe Biden’s MLK speech yesterday didn’t even mention it, although it was the centerpiece of Dr. King’s dream and his brilliant and very radical speech in Washington.
In a world of distractions, it is easy enough to forget the pain and sacrifice King sought and accepted in order to try and see his dream come true – the day when Americans and American society had fully integrated black and white people.
It’s been a long time since I had a close African-American friend or lived in anything like an integrated neighborhood.
But I have never forgotten Martin Luther King; he was a rare living hero to me.
His prayer for an integrated nation didn’t happen, and most social scientists and scholars don’t believe it will ever happen in America.
It seems to not be in our national DNA. Freedom is one streak in America, the hatred of others is another. We have never come to terms with it, and because Martin Luther King preached about it, it was almost inevitable that he would pay with his life. Today, neo-Nazis and KKK sympathizers dine with Presidents and parade on the streets with machine guns.
It just needs to be said on this day.
I’m not spending all day honoring Dr. King. I am taking some time to think about him. I think I owe him that.
There isn’t much I can add to what other people say except that what remains ever relevant, inspiring, and honorable has been his determination to treat everyone – even the people who beat him senselessly and threw him in jail repeatedly with respect.
He was perhaps the most influential advocate ever in America for a kindler, gentler nation.
He practiced forgiveness and empathy and never gave up on justice, even when justice gave up on him. He was murdered without ever seeing his Promised Land.
I was a reporter during the Civil Rights movement and went to the Deep South several times, once to Alabama and twice to Mississippi. I saw the darkest side of America and looked closely at Dr. King’s courage and generosity of spirit. I didn’t go as an activist; I went as a journalist. They hated me just as much.
I have never seen such hatred. And I see it now.
But that is not Dr. King’s fault. He gave his life for a kindler and gentler country, and I need to honor him for that on this day.
Behind his gentleness and faith were an iron will – he never stopped fighting for justice.
I took some time to honor Martin Luther King in silence this morning.
That is all I can think of today during a holiday bearing his name.
Jon, I am happy to read this today! Good to hear someone else also (quietly) honors Dr King on this day. I always make an effort to read something about him or listen to a story about him on NPR. My other ritual is to listen to “Abraham, Martin and John (and Bobby)…usually the Emmy Lou Harris version.
I was at a dog show in Chicago when Dr. King was shot and killed. We were scheduled to stay through Sunday afternoon but word was going around about rioting in the streets. We left early Sunday and the Chicago police were out in force. We never saw any anyone rioting or even in the streets. Little did we have any idea that within 5 months the Chicago Police would be rioting in the streets outside the Democratic Convention. A horribly sad day MLK when was killed.
Thank you for your essay.
Dr. King said in a speech the night before he was murdered that he had seen the Promised Land, and that some day his dream would become a reality. While I believe this will all my heart, I also wonder if that will be on earth as well as heaven. I believe we are each and all called to do our little part. Thanks for your posting. It meant a lot to me.
Thank you Kelly it meant a lot to me ll also so does your lovely message jon
Passion and conviction, borne of love – Dr. King had it in his DNA, I think, and he had the courage to share it with as many as he could. He reminds me of Jesus; there was no way either of them could not share their convictions. Their love was powerful, and those “in charge” were intimidated by the power, and had to squelch it. This is a long-running theme in humanity, sadly. Both of these men have shown us how we all have those same fears and prejudices in us, and then how to transform them into love.
Jon, appreciate thoughtful commentary about MLK Day.
Nationally setting aside special days to honor remarkable people is important. It reminds ALL of us to reflect, even briefly, the who, the why, and what we should, can, and what we actually do.
MLK Jr. fought for civil rights and economic justice. There is much yet to do, but it is better. We haven’t thrown our hands up and given-in. That is why the dark side is fighting so hard. They’re afraid, because they are losing.
Many folk practice forgiveness and compassion everyday. We do small acts of kindness . We speak up. We give. We do for others.(inside and outside of our families.)
We support local business, local education, local churches, local needs, and causes; also National and International problems.
ALL this ERODES hate!
I sang Happy Birthday. And said thank you.