Trickle-down economics is the first cousin of austerity economics. Austerity is nuts when so many millions are out of work. And as we’ve learned before, trickle-down is a fraud. Nothing ever trickles down. - Robert Reich, "A Story for May Day"
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
A Belated MLK, Jr. Day Acknowledgement
I didn't mean to allow the day to pass without some mention of what Martin Luther King, Jr. and his followers meant to our society and to the world, but I've faced a few obstacles lately...
King? Some liken him to Mohandas Gandhi, and I won't deny the similarities, but King brought an American perspective to an age-old battle. Someone remarked (who? sorry; can't remember) that King's speeches were so numerous and effective that the American media confines its attention today to his "safe" speeches, to topics scarcely controversial, and avoids those that confront the evils of racism head-on. And who among his followers can ever forget "Beyond Vietnam: a Time to Break Silence," and who in today's mainstream media deliberately presents this centerpiece of King's antiwar stance, delivered in the turmoil of 1967?
In short, our society has not wholly absorbed the full impact and meaning of Dr. King's work, and may not yet do so for several more generations. A nation born with a dual classification of human beings... slaves and slaveholders... is guaranteed trouble for its life as a nation. Dr. King offered hope, but not even he could offer solutions to race/class behaviors evoking that much hate.
We must take up the battle as best we can, and not expect it to be won in our own individual lifetimes. A dream? that we indeed have. But what we may actually expect does not include full racial equality any time soon. All we can do is push onward... and push back against the racism newly resurgent in the era of the first Black American president, no matter what we may think of the latter's presidential career.
Keep the faith!
King? Some liken him to Mohandas Gandhi, and I won't deny the similarities, but King brought an American perspective to an age-old battle. Someone remarked (who? sorry; can't remember) that King's speeches were so numerous and effective that the American media confines its attention today to his "safe" speeches, to topics scarcely controversial, and avoids those that confront the evils of racism head-on. And who among his followers can ever forget "Beyond Vietnam: a Time to Break Silence," and who in today's mainstream media deliberately presents this centerpiece of King's antiwar stance, delivered in the turmoil of 1967?In short, our society has not wholly absorbed the full impact and meaning of Dr. King's work, and may not yet do so for several more generations. A nation born with a dual classification of human beings... slaves and slaveholders... is guaranteed trouble for its life as a nation. Dr. King offered hope, but not even he could offer solutions to race/class behaviors evoking that much hate.
We must take up the battle as best we can, and not expect it to be won in our own individual lifetimes. A dream? that we indeed have. But what we may actually expect does not include full racial equality any time soon. All we can do is push onward... and push back against the racism newly resurgent in the era of the first Black American president, no matter what we may think of the latter's presidential career.
Keep the faith!
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Hi Steve!
ReplyDeleteThe FBI Wrote A Letter To Martin Luther King Telling Him To Commit Suicide:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/01/21/the-fbi-wrote-a-letter-to-martin-luther-king-telling-him-to-commit-suicide/
also:
http://inconue.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/g-katrougalos-the-abolition-of-the-parliament-as-the-main-legislative-body-of-the-state-g-katrougalos-l-abolition-du-parlement-comme-corps-legislatif-principal-de-l-etat/
Welcome, Enfant; it's good to see you back on the international blogs.
DeleteMost of what FBI did in that period was documented some years ago along with their COINTELPRO activities against all peace activists of note. Hoover's own propensities... his gayness and his cruelty to opponents of his policy agenda... are known from several sources; the wiki is a good starting point (if you have the stomach for that sort of thing). In today's America, it is a wonder to us that Hoover ever succeeded in blackmailing so many powerful people, but things were different then. In his own time, Hoover was a dangerous man indeed.
I am sorry to see the Greek parliament being abolished. The oldest democracy serves now as an example of what can go wrong as the world looks on. Stay safe if you can. Enfant.
Thank you Steve!
DeleteI am actually very busy posting one or two posts per day on the war on Mali.
As for the international blogs, I am now focusing mostly on international and French sites following the war conjuncture.
Eloquent and beautifully written....
ReplyDeleteThanks, karmanot. One could write tomes about King, but I think short posts suit him better.
Delete