Monday, January 15, 2007

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. / Part two

Hey folks,

I just posted the now famous "I have a dream" speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963. I wished that now, today, 44 years later, we could ALL just remember both the words and meaning as to what he said.

In the effort to denounce hatred and racism, he warned against his own doing the same. He said,
"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone."

This was a man that was TRULY trying to bring the races together. Truly trying to say that we not only can, but have to work together. I think of these word every time I, as a white male, am confronted by racism myself.

I will occasionally come into contact with a black person, usually an older male, and I am disrespected, called a racist, called names, without the person I’m standing in front of even knowing my name. Why? Because I’m a white male. So in his mind, I HAVE to be a racist. He made that judgement, not based on my words, actions, or anything else, other than the color of my skin.

They you have government funded and supported racism which states that companies and the government itself, must hire the minority over anyone else regardless of their qualifications. Simply based on the color of their skin. The wisdom of Dr. King warned us of this way back then.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I have ALWAYS conducted myself in this manner. I judge everyone on what they do, say, and how they act toward me. I do not care what "color" they are. I do not care what religion they follow. I do not care what sexual orientation they observe. I care about WHO they are, NOT what they are.

"I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

As I pointed out before, this DOES happen. Watch the kids play. All is fine until the adults get involved. Kids love and play with other kids, they also do not care what they are. What they have. Just who they are.

I agree with Dr. King. I think we are closer than some think to,

"And when this happens, When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!""

But first we must get ALL dividers out, allow the uniters to do their thing. We need to rid society from those of ALL races, that do nothing but preach separation and hatred. This includes the "Black Leaders" that WANT to keep them down, so they can make more money and get more fame.

On this day that America remembers one of it’s greatest leaders and visionaries, let us not only remember his actions, but the true meaning of his words as well.
Peter

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