The Message of Dr. King
 

I was just reflecting back on the King Holiday and Brother King and what he stood for, and I realized that today he would be considered a flaming liberal. King was staunchly anti-war, anti-poverty, and supported unions. What does that say about our current society that we pay lip service to Dr. King and his Dream, but oppose his agenda?

I wish you all could have lived while he did -- but without the injustices. It was a remarkable time. He was a remarkable man.

I wish that he was alive to see the changes from then until now -- many of which he was largely responsible for.

It seems that the progressive, or "liberal" forces are the ones that have done the most for this country and the world. From labor laws to civil rights to social security, the progressive forces have indeed progressed our society. Dr. King was undeniably part of the progressive forces.

There's an interesting dichotomy between progressives in King's day versus progressives now. Back in King's day, progressives drew their largest strength in numbers from faith-based communities. Think of how many of King's young adjutants went on to become men (and women) of the cloth. These days, most liberal progressives steer clear of faith-based communities because of they associate these communities with intolerance, especially with respect to gay rights, abortion rights, and the place of faith in public life.

What a lot of contemporary progressives fail to understand is that without an ethic that is based in love -- much like Dr. King's ethic -- that their movement is doomed to failure. What a lot of faith-based people fail to realize is that without an ethic of openness -- meaning that all are welcome, none are judged -- they're turning people away from their initiatives and communities in droves.

The other dichotomy, at least in my mind, is that in the present day, fundamentalist religion seems a large part of the basis of conservatism.

Don't you think that the Southern Baptist Church would be considered conservative today?

Things have changed pretty dramatically.

Or am I simply going crazy?

Carter, an evangelist, converted the religious to his camp in large crowds. Following that Regan swung them over to the Republican side. Those you label as "Conservative" and "Republican" have historically been considered the most progressive.

If you're bored and want an interesting read: Robert Fogel's The Fourth Great Awakening.

-Rudey
--Then you might become a bit cooler than the other kids on your block.

I don't know... He might have been considered a conservative. He would have been against affirmative action and most of todays labor unions.

There aren't any kids on my block -- you've gotta be at least fifty to live there.

That makes me old enough to remember Martin Luther King when he was alive.

I don't think I've labled anyone besides Fundamentalist Christians (the way I was raised and later rebelled against) and Southern Baptists as "conservative." And that was as question.

There was no way that Dr. King was considered a conservative in his time -- at least in my memory.

I'm also interested in why anyone would consider him anti affirmative action.

Finally, some unions were among his strongest supporters as I recall.

I think King was a supporter of unions if I'm not mistaken. He also participated in a few labor strikes, I think.

I think a lot of the liberal community today does stress love, but you're right in the fact they there seems to be an avoidance of religion as a main talking point. I think that has more to do with feelings of repression with regard to religious doctrine than actually spirituality or faith.

Indeed, which is why I'm amazed -- not to bring this around to a racial discussion or anything -- that black Americans continue to stay away from the conservative movement and/or the Republican party in droves.

I think that's because most Black Americans don't want to "conserve" the old ways of the United States; but really most Black Americans are conservative, we just don't like the Republican Party. The Republicans don't really attempt to speak to the issues that affect the everyday lives of alot of Black Americans in a manner that's receivable to us. As far as political parties go, if the Republicans started focusing racial profiling, equal opportunity hiring practices, and poverty as part of their core issues, I'm sure plenty of Black Americans would rethink some of their political leanings. Those aren't liberal vs. conservative issues, but do effect the everyday lives of Black Americans.

I read in a paper (forgot which one) that Bush's faith-based initiatives were designed in part to appeal to African-Americans.

But, in regard to the Southern Baptist Convention--they were formed in part as an attempt to maintain the status quo; they opposed the national body's opposition to slavery and its prohibition within the United States (among other things), and broke off. That unwillingness to change strikes me as conservatism.

Actually, neither do most modern/centrist members of the GOP. Listen, I'm not some plant for the GOP, just a sister who is really, really tired of the way the Democratic party has taken advantage of Black people.

At some point being aware of our history is a good thing, but if we keep making decisions/building traditions on past injustices then a lot of us wouldn't have gotten as far as we have today. We either need to wake up and seriously consider the other viable option (the GOP) or -- like you suggested in another post -- come up with a strategy to create a viable alternative to both the Democratic party and the GOP.

There's a point in there somewhere, I'm sure of it. ;)

I agree with you, and like you I looked at the Republican Party as a viable alternative. They just aren't speaking to the issues that effect the everyday lives of so many African-Americans while Democrats are. Don't get me wrong, I know the Democrats don't do much more than talk, I'm not a fan of that party either, but I've had a few experiences with the College Republicans at my school that fit the stereotypes of Republicans all too well. Combine that with some of the former leadership of the party such as Strom Thurmond and Trent Lott, and I don't see how the Republican Party is supposed to be attractive to voters of color.

But back to my original point, if we're going honor what Dr. King stood for and his legacy, then we need to do it properly instead of feeling better about ourselves because we took one day to do some community service and talk about how much we've progressed.

Champions never rest on their laurels.