Would He Be Satisfied?

By: Shawn Johnson
http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/liberalvoice1776

In 1964 President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, legally making all people equal in the United States of America.  The events that led up to this historic legislation were put into motion due to years of oppression of African-Americans in the United States.  Our leaders in Congress and the White House passed this act knowing full well the backlash they would receive from people who didn't share their sense of right and wrong.  Conscience made them act.  The reaction was so big that it actually restructured the Democratic and Republican parties. 

This tremendous act of governmental courage was due in no small part to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who lifted up the oppressed and the poor with a message of hope and peace.  Dr. King, a champion of liberals everywhere, transcended liberalism and became an American icon.  For centuries to come, children will learn about this great man in schools, on television, through books, and from their elders.  Stories will be passed down.  Minority athletes, artists, doctors, politicians, and many other professionals will praise this man over the next two months. 

From now until the end of February, we will learn a little about Dr. King.  The History Channel, LINK TV, PBS and probably a few major networks will run specials, so those of us not alive when King was, can appreciate who he was and what he accomplished.  To say that Martin Luther King Jr. is my idol is selling him short.  To me, if any mortal man enters the realm of the divine, it is King.  This is a very difficult thing for an atheist to say by the way.  I don't believe in human gods, or any gods for that matter, and Dr. King was not without flaws.  But, the speeches that he gave, and the courage that he put forth, and his ultimate message were perfect.  In the face of ultimate adversity, this man chose to fight with his voice rather than his fists.  He chose to forgive those who trespassed against him.  He chose self-sacrifice for the betterment of mankind. 

Now, we as a nation not only have a right, but we have an obligation to honor this man.  Not only over the next month or so, but every single day we live.  But, there is a segment of this population, mostly in the mainstream media, who believes and purports that his dream is realized.  They say things like, "Can you imagine how pleased Dr. King would be, knowing how far we have come as a country? There is an African-American in the White House. Segregation has been lifted in the schools. People from all walks of life work together, go to church together, and even marry outside their race."

I have their answer.  The answer is, while Dr. King would appreciate the fact that we are not medievil bigots we were in the 1960's, he would certainly not be pleased.  If he were alive today, he would be outraged.  He would be verbally tearing apart our government and our corporate media for its unfettered support of illegal wars.  He would be speaking out against those who still oppress homosexuals, women, African-Americans, and every other minority group in this country.  He would march with OWS in a New York minute.

Dr. King would be pleased?  Are you kidding me?  "Oh, Dr. King would be so happy with us that we don't take fire hoses to Negroes anymore! Oh, I would be loved by Dr. King because I have a friend who's colored."  The best one I heard may be from Donald Trump though, saying, "I have always had a great relationship with the Blacks."  His relationship with them was so great, he never had to ask if they appreciate being called, "the Blacks."

Oh, we are such a great country, aren't we?  We're a Christian nation, don't ya know?  We treat others as we would want to be treated!

Please!  Dr. King is rolling over in his grave watching the racist garbage that permeates this country while being passed off as "normal" behavior.  When African-American communities continue to be the poorest in the nation, when the factories that employed hundreds of thousands of minorities are moved overseas, and when the biggest banks took over $7,000,000,000,000 (I put the zeroes there for effect) without any intent of ever paying it back, and you think Dr. King would be like the Russian guy in the 1980's commercials saying, "What a country!"

How do I know that Dr. King would be pissed right now?  Because those that stood with him, that are now demonized by the media and right wing in this country, are outraged as well.  Do you think for one minute that Dr. King, if alive today, would have a shred of credibility with the white community?  He would get about the same treatment from the right wing media that is afforded to Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, Tavis Smiley, Professor Cornel West, Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey, or Andrew Young.  Let's face it; this country reveres Dr. King, because he is no longer alive.  That is not to say all Americans would see it that way, but enough to make a huge difference. 

The other men and women who marched alongside King are told that the problems they were fighting in the 1960's no longer exist.  This is racism in its purest form.  Denying racism is the new racism.  Do you think for one minute that Dr. King would have nothing to say about this?

When he died, MLK had a 25% approval rating amongst the public.  We are simply a country that always has nice things to say about the dead.  This is not an admirable quality.  We need to tell the truth, regardless of feelings.  Most of what MLK stood for is still abhorred by the right wing in this country.  How can they even pretend to honor someone that they never agreed with and still do not agree with to this day.  They don't admire his courage, and they think he was simply a troublemaker that ruined their glorious country.  When they say, "I want my country back!"  They are referring to the 1950's before Dr. King ruined everything with his directive of peaceful protest.

Dr. King would be on the opposite side of right wing voters on an array of issues.  Welfare, immigration, war, torture, woman's right to choose, gay rights, gun rights, democratic socialism, and you name it, King would certainly be chastised as a liberal, socialist, communist, and pretty much every label he was given by the right in the 1960's.  The things that he would be called today would all be code for the word they can't say anymore. 

So please, the next time you right wingers feel the urge to hate liberals with all of your heart, next January make sure that you are working on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  And, yes I am talking to you, Glenn Beck.  Stop patronizing the clinically insane audience that tunes into your radio show every day.  You people have nothing in common with Dr. King or the Civil Rights Movement.   When someone like Sarah Palin looks at a crowd of all white supporters and says, "This is the real America," I am not confused for one second as to what she means, just as I am not confused about Mike Huckabee's meaning when he says, "Obama just isn't one of us."  And, we won't even get into Newt Gingrich's assault on the poor black community. 

Make no mistake; Dr. King would be incensed that this type of blatant racism is coming from those who wish to lead us.  The votes these bigots receive are nothing more than mounting approval for their racism.     

As for the rest of you, who believe in King's message and what he stood for, start honoring him!  Stand up for someone less fortunate than you.  Bring a coat to a cold and tired homeless person.  Tell a poor immigrant that your country is his country.  Donate your time to help kids in poor neighborhoods.  Get your head out of your ass with the President of the United States, and protest until he stops feeding the military industrial complex.  Stop voting for idiots who promise to balance budgets with lower taxes and increased military spending (Mitt Romney).  Mostly, reject racism, homophobia, and social injustice whenever you come across it.  Speak out against it.  Fight for something that may not personally affect you.  Like King once said, "Tolerating injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."



There is a reason that we honor great people.  It is so we never let their sacrifices die in vain.  It is not only to educate the populace, but it is also to create more great people.  The country needs leaders right now.  The only question is, will these leaders ever show up?