Contrasting Legacies

It is with cruel irony that we celebrate MLK Day concurrent with the advent of another four years that promises to expand authoritarian rule under a Trump presidency. 

In a speech delivered at Stanford University a year before his assassination, Dr. King issued a warning to the nation to be on guard against the three evils of racism, poverty, and militarism working in concert to impede fulfillment of a vision of America wherein the values of being an agent of peace throughout the world, a society in which equality and human dignity are held as sacred, achievable ideals worthy of our collective attention, and the elimination of debilitating poverty, which has prevented the lifting of all boats to a place of economic security heretofore  reserved only for a privileged few. 

MLK’s vision stands in sharp contrast to the promise afforded by the incoming administration, which exalts an historic wealth inequality with a pledge to widen the gap by further decreasing the tax burden of the ultra rich, many of whom will occupy key positions within the new government; seeks to promote and approve the renewal of the defense industry’s contracts that will perpetuate a world-wide imperial network the existence of which requires perpetual military presence and likely violent intervention on behalf of a corporate empire beholding to its economic interests with scant regard for the human toll such an enterprise has always entailed; and actively supports and encourages the most base instincts among the population to revive and promote long-standing racist sentiments and white supremacy, festering just beneath the surface for countless generations only to be reawakened and cynically exploited by a demagogue dedicated to use whatever means necessary to further his narrow self-interest while remaining woefully indifferent to the real needs of ordinary citizens many of whom have ironically supported his candidacy. 

While Matin Luther King would be saddened by this turn of events, it is

also a certainty that he would now implore his fellow brothers and sisters to be vigilant in the pursuit of an American dream consistent with his vision of a society bound together by mutual respect, non-violence, economic justice, a desire to preserve Mother Earth, and a deep regard for our common humanity. Would that we honor his memory by making such a thing manifest in this world.