The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands
in
moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge
and controversy.
The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige,
and
even his life for the welfare of others.
- The
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love (1963)
A new low … until the next one that is….
You think that we would have learned not to underestimate
his inhumanity by now: what is this, like, the 7,842nd new low? (Or
is it the 29,712th? I’ve lost count.) Yes, that was the President of
the United States having peaceful demonstrators tear-gassed so that he could
stage a photo-op by standing in front of a boarded-up church and holding the
Bible so awkwardly that you know that he has no familiarity with it whatsoever.
Two Corinthians, indeed.…
On one level, of course I’m outraged: what decent human
being isn’t or can’t be by such a fundamentally disrespectful and craven act?
But on another sadder, more resigned level, I’m just tired: tired of the
inhumanity, tired of the immorality and tired of the immolation of the country
that we hold dear.…
So how do you respond to such a sickening act of depravity
and the abdication of leadership? Not in kind. As angry as any of us may be,
let’s not give him the excuse to focus on anyone else’s lawless behavior. And I’m
mindful that there are right-wing groups mixing in with the legitimate protesters,
committing acts of vandalism and trying to incite even greater chaos: film
them, call them out and then let them go.
Then get back to the business that should be our primary
focus for the next five months and a day: getting as many fellow citizens
registered to vote and then marching in massive protests on Tuesday, November 3rd,
to the place where we can truly be heard: the polls. Truth be told, it almost
doesn’t matter what happens between now and then, as long as every single
person in the streets now and every person of good conscience shows up on
November 3rd.
Don’t get me wrong, I realize that there will be plenty of
new lows and deliberate provocations between now and then, but we have to
ignore them: to engage with this depraved inhuman and his enablers is both a
complete waste of time – as is painfully, lethally clear, they’re not going to change
– and a distraction from our singular focus, which is to restore some modicum
of decency to our executive and legislative branches on November 3rd
and to their judicial counterpart thereafter.
As with so many other things in modern American life, the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was correct in observing that “a riot is the
language of the unheard.” But, as usual, we’ve chosen to remember the phrase
and not the full context in which it was uttered. Here’s what the Rev. Dr. King
said in a September, 1966, interview
with Mike Wallace of CBS News:
I will never change in my basic idea that nonviolence is the
most potent weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for freedom and
justice. I think for the Negro to turn to violence would be both impractical
and immoral.
And I contend that the cry of Black Power is at bottom a
reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary
to make justice a reality for the Negro.
I think we’ve got to see that a riot is the language of the
unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear
that the economic plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few
years.
As I find myself doing so often in adult life when mystified
and saddened by our world, I turn to Dr. King … so this current conflagration
is no different: I can find solace only in his incision and guidance.
Yes, it’s sad – maddening, even – that what he expressed
more than a half-century ago is still true: that violence is both impractical
and immoral as a long-term strategy for social change, that the largely white
power structure in our country has made too few of the kind of changes
necessary to make justice a reality for the vast majority of African-Americans
and that, in light of record economic inequality, the plight of poor People of
Color has worsened in recent years (on a relative basis for sure, and, by some
measures, on an absolute one).
But we have to be smarter and better in our response to the
injustice we experience and to that, more broadly, that all of the dispossessed
experience, especially as nefarious groups whose agendas include provoking a
race war have organized to incite disorder and violence that seem to flow so
naturally when pent-up anger is released. In sum, as Dr. King advised so long
ago – and so frustratingly to so many at the time – we have to respond
forcefully and yet nonviolently to the continuing, unaddressed injustice and
inequality in our society. And the best nonviolent protest is to vote.…
Let’s not get it twisted: we are indeed experiencing the
most inept, corrupt and immoral administration in memory and likely in history,
but the solution to this most vexing of short-term challenges has to be the
ballot box. Peaceful protest is a great thing, both to summon and demonstrate
humane solidarity, but it’s still secondary to the ballot box.
And violent protest? Let’s just not: in the end, it distracts
from the real issue – the profound inequality and injustice in our society –
and enables corrupt elites – and even those who think of themselves as
reasonable – to focus on the wrong thing and thereby avoid responsibility for
engaging to address its cause.
Especially in this moment, we cannot be provoked into
providing a distraction and an excuse for this administration to expand its
inhumanity. In fact, I would argue, that given its track record, we should
pretty much disregard it for the next five months and focus solely on
registering every eligible adult in this country and having them all turn out
on November 3rd. Nothing else will matter as much as this, now or in
the future.…
I abhor our president and his enablers. Shame on us that we’ve
given them the ultimate seat of governmental power. But we can learn from this
mistake and change this unfortunate reality on November 3rd. So, if
you’re called to march in the streets peacefully today or any day, great:
please do so. By contrast, if you’re called to be disruptive in a violent way,
please don’t: each such action provides justification for the continued
immorality of the current regime. So whether you feel compelled to express
yourself peacefully or not, be aware that the most important time for you to
express yourself is in five months and a day and that the most important place
to do so is at the polls.
As long as we can keep it peaceful, I’ll see you in the
streets. But for the love of each other and this country, we must see each
other again – all of us – on November 3rd. If every single one of us
exercises his/her/our right of expression on that day, then it’ll be the
greatest protest in American history and, more than this, the beginning of a
new American Dream, one that includes us all.…
Returning hate for hate
multiplies hate,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive
out hate,
only love can do that.
- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love (1963)
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