Friends, another Martin Luther King day is now upon us. A good tribute to a very cool guy. I think regardless of what bolt of cloth people come from, everyone can kind of respect what the guy was trying to do. Looking past the protests and keen speeches, all the guy wanted to do was level the playing field. Just trying to keep things square amongst folk. If you get on the boat, so do I, and if the boat sinks, we sink together.
My original intention was to pull something from the old "House Of Hell," that I wrote a few years back on Martin Luther King day. Because I wanted to pay homage to the guy, but I didn't want to actually think of anything new. Suffice to say the original text, which I'm pretty sure involved beating Tom Cruise with a baseball bat, is no longer on that website. And that's probably for the best. Sometimes, old ideas just don't cut the mustard anymore.
Instead, I decided to celebrate the day by reading the transcription of the "I Have A Dream Speech." You know, the famous one he delivered on the Lincoln Memorial? The one that every single news channel and PBS special has to show clips from? Yeah, that one.
Funny thing is, I only knew about that speech from television specials. Which means, I only knew what had been condensed into a quick and easy package for my consumption. I had never actually read the thing. And now, that I have actually combed through every single word, I have newfound respect for the man.
You see I, probably much like you, treated that speech as MLK's Utopian vision of the future. Lots of peace with no violence or hatred or discrimination, you know, very Star Trek. Everyone loves everyone and works together to build a new world.
And I don't really buy into Utopia. I've got nothing against the idea, and if it shows up one day I'll definitely hop in for the ride. But to me, the notion is flawed. It doesn't work with egotistical animalistic types like us. So, I had always tipped my hat to MDK for trying to reach Utopia, but always figured the guy was a trifle too optimistic for the real world.
But, now that I've read the speech, I know the truth. Martin Luther King wasn't preaching Utopia, Martin Luther King was pissed.
Allow me to quote one of my favorite passages:
"In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
Comparing the plight of the black man to a defaulted check? Fucking awesome! Martin Luther Kind wasn't talking unity, he was feeling screwed over. Him and his kin had gotten a raw deal, and he was out to vent his frustration. And what's better is he did it with some of the most blunt and brutal words imaginable. That, right there, is skill. To drop some wisdom that is both intelligent and vicious. It's like getting the most polite bitch slap across your face.
So, in the true spirit of Martin Luther King, I shan't preach to you about harmony nor peace. I won't suggest you stop being driven crazy by the world, or by the people in it. I don't ask that you love your fellow man.
I just ask that you give your fellow man the benefit of the doubt.
Go out there and try to assume the best about the people around you. If you see someone who is ethnic, gothic, potentially homosexual, or whatever makes you nervous, try to avoid the stereotypes. Try and treat people like people, and avoid the temptation to associate them with terrorists, rapists, criminals, perverts, blah blah blah.
If a person is a sucky human being, chances are good that they'll let you know in some way or another very rapidly, so presume the best. You ain't gotta love them, but do give them a chance.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
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