The words of Martin Luther King have been hijacked
"Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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Betraying the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Day precedes the historic inauguration of America's first African American President
by Andrew Hughes January 18, 2009 Global Research
President-Elect Barack Obama, in his speeches,
expresses his desire to inculcate the ideals of Dr. King
in to his decision making and his attitude to his fellow human beings.
He "chokes up" repeating the words of this Man of Peace,
but he'll "hold it together" on Inauguration day.
He'll make America, in Dr. King's words "a land no longer torn asunder with racial hatred and ethnic strife, a land that measured itself by how it treats the least of these, a land in which strength is defined not simply by the capacity to wage war but by the determination to forge peace - a land in which all of God's children might come together in a spirit of brotherhood."
He stands silent as his country aids in the genocide of the Palestinians.
He will forge peace by sending 30,000 American troops
to Afghanistan to intensify the massacre that has left
nearly 800,000 of his brothers and sisters dead.
He stands silent on the more than 700,000 of his brothers
and sisters who have been murdered in Iraq.
He threatens War against Iran, Syria and already destroyed Lebanon.
He remains silent on the murder of his brother Oscar Grant III
by police officer Johannes Mehserle in California.
He perpetuates what Dr. King called "a nation that continues
year after year to spend more money on military defense
than on programs of social uplift".
The President-Elect refuses to bring George Bush, Dick Cheney,
Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger
and the rest of the War criminals
to justice as he looks forward from the mountain top
and points the way to spiritual death.
Would Dr. King,
if he actually held public office,
have voted for invading Iraq,
invading Afghanistan,
sending arms
and money to Israel
and remained silent as his poverty stricken brothers
and sisters were slaughtered?
The words of Martin Luther King have been hijacked
by those would would use his message
to further their narcissistic goals.
His peaceful supplication has been betrayed
by lies and a sickening adulation of meaningless oratory.
His greatest statements of love and humanity have been relegated
to sound bites for mass consumption by a deceived public
who have put their faith in a man who represents all
that Dr. King was fighting peacefully against.
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"Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam.I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation.
The great initiative in this war is ours.
The initiative to stop it must be ours.
"Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten....America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay.
If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination,
history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness--justice" Martin Luther King, 1967.
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The Nonviolent Resister is on the Side of Justice
Martin Luther King's Philosophy
on Nonviolent Resistance --- The Power of Love
By Jessica McElrath, About.com
Nonviolent Resistance is Not Cowardly
King believed that there were six important points about nonviolent resistance. First, he argued that even though nonviolence may be perceived as cowardly, it was not. In fact, it was a method that did resist. According to King, a nonviolent protester was as passionate as a violent protester. Despite not being physically aggressive, "his mind and emotions are always active, constantly seeking to persuade the opponent that he is mistaken.
Nonviolent Resistance Awakens Moral Shame
Second, the point of nonviolent resistance is not to humiliate the opponent, but instead to gain his friendship and understanding. Further, the use of boycotts and methods of non-cooperation, were the "means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the opponent.”The result was redemption and reconciliation instead of the bitterness and chaos that came from violent resistance.
Nonviolent Resistance is a Battle Against Evil
The third point King advanced was that the battle was against the forces of evil and not individuals. Tension was not between the races, but was "between justice and injustice, between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. And if there is a victory it will be a victory not merely for fifty thousand Negroes, but a victory for justice and the forces of light.” Thus, tension only existed between good and evil and not between people.
Nonviolent Resistance Requires Suffering
Fourth, nonviolent resistance required the willingness to suffer. One must accept violence without retaliating with violence and must go to jail if necessary. Accordingly, the end was more important than safety, and retaliatory violence would distract from the main fight. King believed that by accepting suffering, it led to "tremendous educational and transforming possibilities" and would be a powerful tool in changing the minds of the opponents.
The Nonviolent Resister is on the Side of Justice
King's fifth point about nonviolent resistance was that the "universe was on the side of justice." Accordingly, people have a "cosmic companionship" with God who is on the side of truth. Therefore, the activist has faith that justice will occur in the future.
Nonviolent Resistance Rests on the Power of Love
King's sixth point was central to the method of nonviolent resistance. He believed the importance of nonviolence rested in the fact that it prevented physical violence and the "internal violence of spirit." Bitterness and hate were absent from the resisters mind, and replaced with love.
Agape Love is a Redemptive Love , Agape Love is a Disinterested Love , Agape Love Preserves and Creates Community , Agape Love Sees No Color ...
The Catholic Church is not Christian at all
