Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy MLK Day

Today we celebrate the legacy of a great America--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A man who was once seen as a great dividing force by those clinging to the evil relics of codified racial inequality has now become a symbol of non-violent action and hope for many.  One need not agree fully with all of Dr. King's actions or positions to admire the man, for he leaves much to admire. I, for one, greatly admire Dr. King's commitment to racial equality and non-violence. He was a true enemy of the state, and bless him for it.

Below is an excerpt from King's famous "Loving Your Enemies" speech.

To our most bitter opponents we say:

“We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering.

We shall meet your physical force with soul force.

Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.

We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws because noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

Throw us in jail and we shall still love you.

Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and we shall still love you.

Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you.

But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.

One day we shall win freedom but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory.”