Today is the anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shot in 1968 in Memphis Tennessee, he was just 39 years old.
King, and his espousal of non-violence, was one of most important influences in my formative political philosophy.
The previous evening he had given the famously prophetic speech comparing his struggle to lead the Civil Rights movement with that of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt:
"We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
Showing posts with label martin luther king. Show all posts
Showing posts with label martin luther king. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Monday, 18 January 2010
Martin Luther King Day and Jacob Bronowski
On Friday, I wrote that it was Martin Luther King's actual birthday, however, today all across the US they officially observe it as a public holiday.
Nearly a year on since the inauguration of President Obama, I think that it is fair to say that one of the reasons I did not support Senator John McCain's bid for the presidency, (Reaganomics, hardline anti-Soviet Union, pro Nicaraguan Contras, etc.) was that in 1983 he was one of some twenty senators who opposed the creation of a federal holiday celebrating Dr King.
To be fair he did go on to say that he had been wrong, but that was more than a quarter-of-a-century later.
Anyway, the other name you will have noticed in the header is that of the late Dr. Jacob Bronowski, one of my all-time heroes, who would have been 102 today.
He was a scientist, a humanitarian, and a great chess player. As an official observer of the after-effects of the Nuclear Holocausts in Japan, he tried to better understand the nature of violence.I first saw him on the telly in the BBC series The Ascent of Man in 1973.
In one episode "Knowledge or Certainty", he is standing by a pond in Auschwitz, where he had lost many family members during the Nazi era.
He then says some of the most profound words ever uttered:
Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people... It was done by arrogance. It was done by dogma. It was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave... [in the words of] Oliver Cromwell, "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ: Think it possible you may be mistaken".
You can watch it yourselves at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd3lanJHduQ
Nearly a year on since the inauguration of President Obama, I think that it is fair to say that one of the reasons I did not support Senator John McCain's bid for the presidency, (Reaganomics, hardline anti-Soviet Union, pro Nicaraguan Contras, etc.) was that in 1983 he was one of some twenty senators who opposed the creation of a federal holiday celebrating Dr King.
To be fair he did go on to say that he had been wrong, but that was more than a quarter-of-a-century later.
Anyway, the other name you will have noticed in the header is that of the late Dr. Jacob Bronowski, one of my all-time heroes, who would have been 102 today.
He was a scientist, a humanitarian, and a great chess player. As an official observer of the after-effects of the Nuclear Holocausts in Japan, he tried to better understand the nature of violence.I first saw him on the telly in the BBC series The Ascent of Man in 1973.
In one episode "Knowledge or Certainty", he is standing by a pond in Auschwitz, where he had lost many family members during the Nazi era.
He then says some of the most profound words ever uttered:
Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people... It was done by arrogance. It was done by dogma. It was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave... [in the words of] Oliver Cromwell, "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ: Think it possible you may be mistaken".
You can watch it yourselves at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd3lanJHduQ
Friday, 15 January 2010
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today is the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., probably the singlemost influential American Black man of the 20th century.
Without the work that he did as leader of the struggle for Black emancipation in the 1950s and 60s, work carried on by people like Jesse Jackson, we would not have had the first Black President of the United States.
But Dr. King's influence, especially his espousal of non-violence (directly borrowed from Mahatma Gandhi), has a far greater resonance for all peoples everywhere.
One thing that is forgotten about him is that he championed the rights of poor white folk as well, which brings me neatly to what John Denham has had to say about race and class yesterday.
I have always argued that there is much much more that unites in this country than divides us, and that while there may be minor and superficial differences evident in colour and creed, nevertheless what unites us (a sense of fair play and natural justice, rooting for the underdog and standing up to oppression, a visceral dislike of privilege and a belief in meritocracy) is a far more powerful force to be harnessed for the general commonweal.
I can do no better than to quote some of my favourite bits from Dr. King's "I have a dream speech", delivered on 28 August 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.:
* I have a dream that my... children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
* I have a dream that one day... the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
* We will... hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope... transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood... We will work together, pray together, struggle together, stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
* Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
* Let freedom ring... to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Without the work that he did as leader of the struggle for Black emancipation in the 1950s and 60s, work carried on by people like Jesse Jackson, we would not have had the first Black President of the United States.
But Dr. King's influence, especially his espousal of non-violence (directly borrowed from Mahatma Gandhi), has a far greater resonance for all peoples everywhere.
One thing that is forgotten about him is that he championed the rights of poor white folk as well, which brings me neatly to what John Denham has had to say about race and class yesterday.
I have always argued that there is much much more that unites in this country than divides us, and that while there may be minor and superficial differences evident in colour and creed, nevertheless what unites us (a sense of fair play and natural justice, rooting for the underdog and standing up to oppression, a visceral dislike of privilege and a belief in meritocracy) is a far more powerful force to be harnessed for the general commonweal.
I can do no better than to quote some of my favourite bits from Dr. King's "I have a dream speech", delivered on 28 August 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.:
* I have a dream that my... children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
* I have a dream that one day... the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
* We will... hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope... transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood... We will work together, pray together, struggle together, stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
* Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
* Let freedom ring... to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Friday, 9 October 2009
Complete this set, Moses, Martin Luther King, and... David Cameron?
How presumptuous of David Cameron to compare himself to Dr Martin Luther King and Moses.
The latter went up Mount Sinai but never entered the Promised Land, and Dr King famously said, "And He[God]'s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
David Cameron: "There is a steep climb ahead... The view from the summit will be worth it".
On the fiftieth anniversary of Harold Macmillan's general election victory who famously said "that the class war is obsolete". For the Tories to try to be seen as the champions of the poor is equally delusional and really sticks in the craw.
The latter went up Mount Sinai but never entered the Promised Land, and Dr King famously said, "And He[God]'s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
David Cameron: "There is a steep climb ahead... The view from the summit will be worth it".
On the fiftieth anniversary of Harold Macmillan's general election victory who famously said "that the class war is obsolete". For the Tories to try to be seen as the champions of the poor is equally delusional and really sticks in the craw.
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