A pause in the silliness parade

[anagramofbrat]

It is Martin Luther King Jr's birthday today.

I keep meaning to read "Letters from a Birmingham Jail" since I don't really want to be one of thse people that can quote the Dream speech in its entirity (though honestly, I like his last one about seeing the promised land from the mountaintop much better) but don't know much else about the man. And I feel he deserves to be known in a greater way other than a few familiar warm-fuzzy soundbites, groundbreaking though they were at the time, and excuses for chicken joints (and apparently schools?) to have specials. Yes, this happens. The ads are out there. I'll let you google them.

The thing that gets me at this point in my life was that MLK was a human being, not much older than I am right now, who helped fundamentally change the world. Saying he did it singlehandedly discredits all the rest of the people who participated in the civil rights movement, but he seems to make a... friendlier? figurehead than his other contemporaries that got themselves shot for their trouble in the sixties, so I do understand why he gets the holiday. Plus the man gave some excellent, resonant speeches that we all need to review and take to heart if we're going to rescue this world from the shambles its in.

So yeah, I'm taking a moment to acknowledge the man, his oft-quoted Dream, and reflect on the huge debt I owe him and the other freedom fighters of his time. Goodness knows I wouldn't be sitting here in this spot and in this moment, having my life and typing this tribute without them.

Comments

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

The thing about King that I find most telling nowadays is: just before his assassination, he was working on something that sounds like it would have been very, very similar to The Occupy Movement.

[gwenlianna.livejournal.com]

I think if the occupy movement had goals that were that clearly stated, they might get a bit farther. King was willing to tackle the issues he saw, a couple at a time, and gradually move toward the world he hoped to see. The Occupy protesters, the last time I listened to them, were pretty adamant about not "limiting" the discussion to any particular group of issues...

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

Please take a look at comic number 13 on this page.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Another LJ friend of mine posted a very insightful article on MLK's contributions that you should read...if you haven't seen it already.

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Amen.