Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy

and a gracious and meaningful MLK Day to one and all.

I think that we, as a nation, have come a long way from the days in the late 1950's and 1960's that forced King onto the national and international stage, but the battle now is more in the hearts and minds of the people and less in the courts and legislatures. There has been, there always will be, prejudice, be it racial, gender, ethic or orientation. Anywhere that there are people who doubt their own ascendency, they will want to find others to press down, so that they do not feel at the bottom. Prejudice is the tool of the ignorant, the disenfranchised, the wounded. Those who hate are to be pitied, much like a mad dog. Yes, we must take action to defend ourselves against the poisoned fruits of their hatreds and fears, but in the end our primary visceral, emotional core must be sympathy.

The Twentieth Century produced, at least, two men of non-violence who headed great movements, King and Gandhi. Both died violent deaths. That their influence survived their lives is a tribute to the power of the message of peaceful resistence. Jesus did not arm his disciples and tell them to kill infidels. Jesus did not call down angels to overturn the rulership of the corrupt. His most powerful and enduring act was His death (and subsequent resurrection).

It would be perversely interesting to see what today's media would do with Dr. King. If he was active today, no doubt Fox News would be running commentaries to discredit his message because of his personal failings. MTV would be trying to build a reality show around him. His message would be under seige from those trying to build themselves up by tearing it down and by those trying to make a quick buck off of it.

I think he was, as a leader, unique to his time and place in history. We are better, as a nation and as a people, for his having been.