MLK's Unfinished Revolution (by Mary Nelson)
Martin Luther King's sermon at Riverside Church linked the devastating Vietnam war to the struggle over poverty. I began working that year in an under-resourced community and wore a "Bread not Bombs" sweatshirt to anti-war demonstrations. Sadly, not much has changed. The amount spent on the Iraq war (CBO estimate $9 billion a month, up to $1 trillion total), if directed elsewhere, would virtually ensure universal education, universal health care, and affordable housing.
King called for a revolution of values from racism, materialism, and militarism. Little has changed in 40 years for people in my low-income community. Racism still dominates. It is less overt now, but has expanded from divisions of black—white to Latino, Asian, Arab Muslim, and immigrants. Katrina pictures reminded us of how little progress we've made on economic disparity. Economic progress is measured by consumer spending. Environmental issues threaten our future. King ended his speech saying, " Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter—but beautiful—struggle for a new world."
My Sojourners Sweatshirt says, "HOPE is believing in spite of the evidence and watching the evidence change." Despite the evidence, I am strangely hopeful. I see young people wanting a better world, working for candidates, working in community and on environmental issues. I know generous people who share resources and skills to forge new opportunities for jobs. Economist Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty) and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus (Creating a World without Poverty) outline specific ways to change the disparities. Now let us dedicate ourselves to the long yet beautiful struggle for a new world.
Mary Nelson is president emeritus of Bethel New Life, a faith-based community development corporation on the west side of Chicago. She is also a board member of Sojourners.
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Prophets have authority and also the call, to speak to the great and the small
They call down kings and lift up the poor: Behold there's one at the door.-Pastor Gary Vance
In the '60's two black men in America; one a Christian and one a Muslim shared a similar dream with different philosophies and means to achieve them.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. had "a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed... that all men are created equal."
Malcolm X's radical creed was, "Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you're not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we'll have to change you."
Both men dreamed of a world freed from the bondage of prejudice and racism, a world in which their children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. While King consistently advocated for a brotherhood of all peoples and persisted in only nonviolent actions to achieve it; not until after a pilgrimage to Mecca, did X evolve in his spirituality and thus reject his separatist beliefs and begin to advocate for unity and a world wide brotherhood.
Both can be said to have fully understood that there are "truths that are self-evident: That all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights;…[and] that, to secure [those] rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it."- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
Both men engaged in the struggle to wake up good people whose ears were not ready to hear, whose eyes were not ready to see and whose hearts were not yet pierced to bleed for the least and oppressed of humanity. Both men were shot dead before either could see any of their dreams realized.
A few weeks before Rev. King bled to death on a patch of pavement in Memphis, he said: "Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with all our might to protect its right to exist…I see Israel as one of the greatest outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy."
King died ten months after the 40 years of Israel's Military occupation of Palestine began.
On May 14, 1948, The Declaration of the establishment of Israel proclaimed: "On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations."
The Hebrew prophet Amos prayed:
"Let JUSTICE roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."
I contend that if King and X had lived, they would have followed the call of Amos and would be at the front of the line in next Saturday's convoy to Gaza that begins in Tel Aviv.
I believe this because it has been said that the Palestinians have become the 'N's' of the world, while in the '70's it was women:
"We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she's young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb"
-John Lennon, "Woman is the "N" of the World"
The governments of Israel and America contend that they cannot speak to the democratically elected members of the Hamas government and thus they have sanctioned atrocities and abominations upon the 1.5 million innocent civilians [approximately 2,000 are Christian] who endure in the largest open air prison in the word.
In November 2006, I read an article written by Father Manuel, the parish priest at the Latin Church and school in Gaza who wrote:
"Gaza cannot sleep! The people are suffering unbelievably. They are hungry, thirsty, have no electricity or clean water. They are suffering constant bombardments and sonic booms from low flying aircraft. They need food: bread and water. Children and babies are hungry...people have no money to buy food. The price of food has doubled and tripled due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground here as it is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have no income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no hope...Without electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No oil or candles...Thirsty children are crying, afraid and desperate...Many children have been violently thrown from their beds at night from the sonic booms. Many arms and legs have been broken. These planes fly low over Gaza and then reach the speed of sound. This shakes the ground and creates shock waves like an earthquake that causes people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself weigh 120 kilos and was almost thrown from my bed due to the shock wave produced by a low flying jet that made a sonic boom...Gaza cannot sleep...the cries of hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and women who are just sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope, no love. These actions are War Crimes!"
I shudder as I imagine the facts on the ground in 2008, which are that: "The occupation of the Strip did not end with the "Disengagement"; on the contrary: the passage of persons and goods, in and out of the Strip, was made far more difficult by the Israeli authorities, no one can get in or out, by land, sea or air, except with the permission of the Israeli Security Service. As far as Gazans are concerned, Disengagement did not bring any liberty, but just made occupation that much worse!
"However bad the suffering is of the inhabitants of Sderot, Ashkelon and the Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the area under the barrage of Qassam missiles, mortar shells and sniper bullets, it is in no way a justification for a cruel siege which severely damages a million and half civilians - men, women and children. The siege is an immoral act and a violation of International Law - and from the practical point of view, increasing the bitterness and suffering in Gaza leads to an intensification of attacks towards the Israeli side, not to their end."
http://gush-shalom.org.
As a Christian of The Beatitudes, a global citizen of the world and patriotic American, I grieve that the inhabitants of Sderot and the inhabitants of Gaza are seen as enemies of the other, for both are the victims of the brutal and vicious policy by the empire: the government of Israel aided and abetted by my American tax dollars!
But being one to always make lemonade out of lemons, I herald the good news that good people are doing something in the spirit of a sister and brotherhood and heeding the call of the ancient prophets to WAKE UP the world that only JUSTICE and EQUALITY for all people can lead to security and peace for any and all.
The very good news is that not the religious, but secular society have become the prophetic voice that has risen up in the Holy Land and we truly do "have it in our power to begin the world again" [Tom Paine] and next Saturday, on the border of the Gaza Strip it begins with a protest rally on both sides of The Wall!
People of good will are coming together this Saturday to demand the Government of Israel end the siege of Gaza and have united Israeli, Palestinian and Internationals that will illuminate to our political leaders THE WAY they must go: if there is ever to be security for Israel and peace in the world.
Israeli participating organizations are being led by the good works and altruism of Gush Shalom, Combatants for Peace, Coalition of Women for Peace, ICAHD - The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Bat Shalom, Bat Tzafon for Peace & Equality, Balad, Hadash, Adalah, Tarabut-Hithabrut, Physicians for Human Rights, Alternative Information Center, Psychoactive - Mental Health Professionals for Human Rights, ActiveStills, Student Coalition (Tel-Aviv University), New Profile, Machsom Watch, PCATI (Public Committee Against Torture), will be joined on the other side of The Wall by Palestinian human rights activists, intellectuals, academics and business people from Gaza and the West Bank.
ALL are united by a commitment to peace, human dignity and human rights for all people and are guided by ethical and moral responsibility and international law which affirms that all people are equal and justice must be served.
The children of Sderot are not served when the children of Gaza are forced to drink polluted water, but current reality is that hundreds of commodities needed for the maintaining of a normal daily life are not being allowed into the Gaza Strip, by order of the Government of Israel. Even the entry of water filters - vital for purifying the water drawn from Gazan wells, which are heavily polluted by brine, oil and sewage have been prevented for more than half a year because of the sanctions imposed upon the innocent for daring to democratically elect a party deemed as a "terrorist organization" for rising up against the occupation of their land.
Gaza has become the largest ghetto in the world, a regional disaster, and an abomination unto God that also puts innocent Israelis in danger because of the actions of their government.
But the good news is that on January 26, 2008 a convoy of justice will roll down like waters in a righteous and mighty stream as Israeli's in the forefront are delivering massive quantities of water filters and basic foodstuffs such as flour, rice, oil, salt, lentils, beans to be freely given as gifts for distribution to Gaza inhabitants who have been driven by the siege to extreme poverty, despair and hopelessness because the leaders of the world have failed to see, hear and feel in their hearts that they are just human beings!
Civil secular society is leading and guiding the religious and atheists alike-as did Rev. King in the battle for civil rights –as sisters and brothers committed to peace in respect for human dignity, and driven by ethical and moral standards.
If you have ears to hear; hear!
If you have eyes to see; see!
If you have a heart of flesh may it bleed for the least among us, who have become the "N's" of the world for we truly do "have it in our power to begin the world again"-Tom Paine
If we all DO SOMETHING!
Be a part of "the change you want to see in the world" [Gandhi] in this righteous flowing stream of justice, peace and nonviolent action by following the lead of the secular Jews at Gush Shalom, ICAHD, and others this Saturday,
And may the Mystery of the Universe fill you with PEACE: Shalom, Salaam that you did something for the least among us. In celebration and in honor of Reverend Martin Luther King's Birthday I offer this paraphrase from Luke 4:14:22:
May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you. May He/She/? Anoint you to bring glad tidings to the poor. May He/She/? Use you to proclaim LIBERTY to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and that in the offering of a drink of clean water to the least of all, that we may in sister and brotherhood proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord; for all are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; such as clean water and food.
Prophets have authority and also the call, to speak to the great and the small
They call down kings and lift up the poor:
Behold there's one at the door
And many will be at THE WALL 01/26/08
eileen fleming
WAWA
Posted by: eileen fleming | January 22, 2008 4:47 PM
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. had "a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed... that all men are created equal."
A few weeks before Rev. King bled to death on a patch of pavement in Memphis, he said:
"Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with all our might to protect its right to exist…I see Israel as one of the greatest outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy."
King died ten months after the 40 years of Israel's Military occupation of Palestine began.
On May 14, 1948, The Declaration of the establishment of Israel proclaimed:
"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations."
The Hebrew prophet Amos prayed:
"Let JUSTICE roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."
I contend that if King had lived, he would have followed the call of Amos and would be at the front of the line in next Saturday's convoy to Gaza that begins in Tel Aviv.
I believe this because it has been said that the Palestinians have become the 'N's' of the world, while in the '70's it was women:
"We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she's young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb"
-John Lennon, "Woman is the "N" of the World"
The governments of Israel and America contend that they cannot speak to the democratically elected members of the Hamas government and thus they have sanctioned atrocities and abominations upon the 1.5 million innocent civilians [approximately 2,000 are Christian] who endure in the largest open air prison in the word.
In November 2006, I read an article written by Father Manuel, the parish priest at the Latin Church and school in Gaza who wrote:
"Gaza cannot sleep! The people are suffering unbelievably. They are hungry, thirsty, have no electricity or clean water. They are suffering constant bombardments and sonic booms from low flying aircraft. They need food: bread and water. Children and babies are hungry...people have no money to buy food. The price of food has doubled and tripled due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground here as it is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have no income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no hope...Without electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No oil or candles...Thirsty children are crying, afraid and desperate...Many children have been violently thrown from their beds at night from the sonic booms. Many arms and legs have been broken. These planes fly low over Gaza and then reach the speed of sound. This shakes the ground and creates shock waves like an earthquake that causes people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself weigh 120 kilos and was almost thrown from my bed due to the shock wave produced by a low flying jet that made a sonic boom...Gaza cannot sleep...the cries of hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and women who are just sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope, no love. These actions are War Crimes!"
I shudder as I imagine the facts on the ground in 2008, which are that:
"The occupation of the Strip did not end with the "Disengagement"; on the contrary: the passage of persons and goods, in and out of the Strip, was made far more difficult by the Israeli authorities, no one can get in or out, by land, sea or air, except with the permission of the Israeli Security Service. As far as Gazans are concerned, Disengagement did not bring any liberty, but just made occupation that much worse!
"However bad the suffering is of the inhabitants of Sderot, Ashkelon and the Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the area under the barrage of Qassam missiles, mortar shells and sniper bullets, it is in no way a justification for a cruel siege which severely damages a million and half civilians - men, women and children. The siege is an immoral act and a violation of International Law - and from the practical point of view, increasing the bitterness and suffering in Gaza leads to an intensification of attacks towards the Israeli side, not to their end."
http://gush-shalom.org.
As a Christian of The Beatitudes, a global citizen of the world and patriotic American, I grieve that the inhabitants of Sderot and the inhabitants of Gaza are seen as enemies of the other, for both are the victims of the brutal and vicious policy by the empire: the government of Israel aided and abetted by my American tax dollars!
But being one to always make lemonade out of lemons, I herald the good news that good people are doing something in the spirit of a sister and brotherhood and heeding the call of the ancient prophets to WAKE UP the world that only JUSTICE and EQUALITY for all people can lead to security and peace for any and all.
The very good news is that not the religious, but secular society have become the prophetic voice that has risen up in the Holy Land and we truly do "have it in our power to begin the world again" [Tom Paine] and next Saturday, on the border of the Gaza Strip it begins with a protest rally on both sides of The Wall!
People of good will are coming together this Saturday to demand the Government of Israel end the siege of Gaza and have united Israeli, Palestinian and Internationals that will illuminate to our political leaders THE WAY they must go: if there is ever to be security for Israel and peace in the world.
Israeli participating organizations are being led by the good works and altruism of Gush Shalom, Combatants for Peace, Coalition of Women for Peace, ICAHD - The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Bat Shalom, Bat Tzafon for Peace & Equality, Balad, Hadash, Adalah, Tarabut-Hithabrut, Physicians for Human Rights, Alternative Information Center, Psychoactive - Mental Health Professionals for Human Rights, ActiveStills, Student Coalition (Tel-Aviv University), New Profile, Machsom Watch, PCATI (Public Committee Against Torture), will be joined on the other side of The Wall by Palestinian human rights activists, intellectuals, academics and business people from Gaza and the West Bank.
ALL are united by a commitment to peace, human dignity and human rights for all people and are guided by ethical and moral responsibility and international law which affirms that all people are equal and justice must be served.
The children of Sderot are not served when the children of Gaza are forced to drink polluted water, but current reality is that hundreds of commodities needed for the maintaining of a normal daily life are not being allowed into the Gaza Strip, by order of the Government of Israel. Even the entry of water filters - vital for purifying the water drawn from Gazan wells, which are heavily polluted by brine, oil and sewage have been prevented for more than half a year because of the sanctions imposed upon the innocent for daring to democratically elect a party deemed as a "terrorist organization" for rising up against the occupation of their land.
Gaza has become the largest ghetto in the world, a regional disaster, and an abomination unto God that also puts innocent Israelis in danger because of the actions of their government.
But the good news is that on January 26, 2008 a convoy of justice will roll down like waters in a righteous and mighty stream as Israeli's in the forefront are delivering massive quantities of water filters and basic foodstuffs such as flour, rice, oil, salt, lentils, beans to be freely given as gifts for distribution to Gaza inhabitants who have been driven by the siege to extreme poverty, despair and hopelessness because the leaders of the world have failed to see, hear and feel in their hearts that they are just human beings!
Civil secular society is leading and guiding the religious and atheists alike-as did Rev. King in the battle for civil rights –as sisters and brothers committed to peace in respect for human dignity, and driven by ethical and moral standards.
If you have ears to hear; hear!
If you have eyes to see; see!
If you have a heart of flesh may it bleed for the least among us, who have become the "N's" of the world for we truly do "have it in our power to begin the world again"-Tom Paine
If we all DO SOMETHING!
Be a part of "the change you want to see in the world" [Gandhi] in this righteous flowing stream of justice, peace and nonviolent action by following the lead of the secular Jews in Israel and may the Mystery of the Universe fill you with PEACE: Shalom, Salaam that you did something for the least among us.
In celebration and in honor of Reverend Martin Luther King's Birthday I offer this paraphrase from Luke 4:14:22:
May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you. May He/She/? Anoint you to bring glad tidings to the poor. May He/She/? Use you to proclaim LIBERTY to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and that in the offering of a drink of clean water to the least of all, that we may in sister and brotherhood proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord; for all are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; such as clean water and food.
Prophets have authority and also the call, to speak to the great and the small
They call down kings and lift up the poor:
Behold there's one at the door
And many will be at THE WALL 01/26/08
eileen fleming
WAWA
Posted by: eileen fleming | January 22, 2008 4:54 PM
"Spiritual activity isn't revival until it changes something"-Jim Wallis
"The times they have a changed"-Bob Dylan
Racism and Materialism are being challenged with faith and hope for change this Saturday Jan. 26th when all roads out of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beershaba will be clogged with convoys of secular Jews leading THE WAY to END the Siege of Gaza.
Details: WAWA blog January 21, 2008:
Prophets, Doors, Walls: MLK, X, Lennon, Gaza and Thee
WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Posted by: eileen fleming | January 22, 2008 5:02 PM
This was a great speech , Thanks for sharing this .
Forgiveness , Love and Hope . He articulated his Hope for America , his love of all mankind .
As a Christian , he is a citizen of the world .
He also makes a great point of supporting our own troops . That element appears to be missing so often today . He put a face on the people we were fighting . That made him dangerous I guess ?
He says he loves America , amazing but I find that coming through all over his speech .
The man was real patriot . What a damn shame .
Posted by: Mick | January 23, 2008 5:38 PM
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