It’s been 40 years.  What have we learned?

Today marks the 40-year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Dr. King was only 39, but the man was eloquent and mature way beyond what his age would indicate.

Since Dr. King's death, how much closer are we in realizing his dream? King was known for his notable participation in the Civil Rights Movement, but he was also against the war in Vietnam and spoke out about poverty.

The mainstream media turned against the Nobel Peace Prize winner because of his anti-war stance, specifically becaue of comments he made about America's involvement in the war:

A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just."

Were King alive today, the disciple of Mahatma Gandhi would most certainly be speaking out against the Iraq War, says King biographer David J. Garrow. However, citing the famous "Drum Major Instinct" sermon King delivered from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta just two months before his death, Garrow says people might be surprised to hear echoes of presidential candidate Barack Obama's controversial former pastor.

"God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war," King said of the fighting in Vietnam. "And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it."

While King didn't go as far as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in suggesting that God "damn America," he predicted that the almighty might punish this country for "our pride and our arrogance."

"And if you don't stop your reckless course," he imagined the deity admonishing, "I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power."

posted by L.W. on 04/04/08 at 08:52 AM

posted by Ironghost on 04/07/08 at 07:33 AM

posted by L.W. on 04/07/08 at 10:03 AM