MLK thoughts

Yesterday we celebrated the life and work of Dr Martin Luther King.  50 years after his murder in Memphis, we look back on his words and his life with, sometimes a clearer , less reverential eye.  When someone speaks passionately for a cause and is murdered because of it, we make them a martyr for that cause and occasionally turn them into a saint.  Dr King was a fiery orator, in the  style of many Southern Baptist preachers ( as a child, the preacher at my formerly calm Christian church hired a Fire-and-Brimstone guy who scared the BeeJesus out of me rather tan into me, which is a tale for another day) Dr. Kin's speeches ignited the crowd and in the best cases, made people talk and think about their actions and interactions with others.

These days, we have a tendency toward "soundbites" so I doubt an orator of Dr. King's passion would do well today. People probably would not have stood for the time it took, for all the speeches to be made and heard.  The "I have a dream" speech, for instance was seventeen minutes long.  I wonder how many millennials would be checking their phones and looking for a place to get a latte.

We idolize Dr. King, but a lot of what he said, about White moderates goes unnoticed.  He was not happy with the progress of things and knew that unless some of us got out of our comfort zone, things are NOT going to change. He is right, of course. We HAVE come a long way, but we still have quite a way to go.

I was thinking last night about leaders who were assassinated  for their words and what they represented:

Mahatma Ghandi
John F. Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy
Malcolm X
Indira Ghandi
Benazir Bhutto


All came to my mind as leaders who stood for something that terrified someone else enough to kill them for it.  As I go about my day today, I will think of them, the words and anger of Dr. King and try to do more in my life for my community.  It starts here, it starts small but in order for any change to become, it MUST  start.