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MLK Day
"[...]I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fan in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with an its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. [...]" From "The Letter from Birmingham Jail", April 16, 1963
It is words like these that inspired me when so many others from history would not. Why? Because they're words of action, words of conviction, and words of a deep humanistic morality. Forget those who think justice comes from courts, or from divinity... forget those who think that it is enough to know what is wrong but take no action to educate themselves about what really is wrong in the world. MLK was on the moral high ground because he risked everything to fight injustice... and the fight against injustice is the most nobel cause to live and die for.
It is why, now, I look at these words and live in complete shock over what has transpired in the last six years. Afghanistan and the lack of resolve to complete the mission before sending troops away. Iraq and the endless fighting with no victory in sight with hundreds of thousands of innocent people left dead. Astronomical graft and unethical connections between corporations, politicians, and lobbyists. And, what is the biggest cause for these sorts of problems... the great white moderate, doing well enough on his own that he feels no need to move toward change until it is already too late.
For those who think there is no connection between our apartheid past and our war now, think again. Where are our soldiers from? Are their families rich? Who - just who - are they dying for?
We cannot afford to be moderate... we never can, else the wicked horns of injustice will rear up again. Moderation is a form of bad faith... the kind of bad faith that states that "things could be better, but as long as it doesn't affect me too badly, I won't worry about it". No. It affects us all. And for those who wish politicians were nicer to each other, forget it. Too much is at stake for nicities... now, more than ever, do we need politicians willing to stand up and piss people off by steadfastly standing up for justice when it is most inconvenient.
I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fan in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with an its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. [...]" From "The Letter from Birmingham Jail", April 16, 1963
It is words like these that inspired me when so many others from history would not. Why? Because they're words of action, words of conviction, and words of a deep humanistic morality. Forget those who think justice comes from courts, or from divinity... forget those who think that it is enough to know what is wrong but take no action to educate themselves about what really is wrong in the world. MLK was on the moral high ground because he risked everything to fight injustice... and the fight against injustice is the most nobel cause to live and die for.
It is why, now, I look at these words and live in complete shock over what has transpired in the last six years. Afghanistan and the lack of resolve to complete the mission before sending troops away. Iraq and the endless fighting with no victory in sight with hundreds of thousands of innocent people left dead. Astronomical graft and unethical connections between corporations, politicians, and lobbyists. And, what is the biggest cause for these sorts of problems... the great white moderate, doing well enough on his own that he feels no need to move toward change until it is already too late.
For those who think there is no connection between our apartheid past and our war now, think again. Where are our soldiers from? Are their families rich? Who - just who - are they dying for?
We cannot afford to be moderate... we never can, else the wicked horns of injustice will rear up again. Moderation is a form of bad faith... the kind of bad faith that states that "things could be better, but as long as it doesn't affect me too badly, I won't worry about it". No. It affects us all. And for those who wish politicians were nicer to each other, forget it. Too much is at stake for nicities... now, more than ever, do we need politicians willing to stand up and piss people off by steadfastly standing up for justice when it is most inconvenient.
posted by Will at 10:39 PM
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