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Week of 8/25-8/31
Annotated Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech
Bush and Faith (part 2) and
Alabama Tax Reform
Bush's Faith and James Fowler
Martin Luther King, Jr. and
the Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Saturday, August 30, 2003
The Power of Truth Transcends Language
Don Hynes of Vantage
Point sent me a piece written originally in
Hebrew by the former speaker of the Israeli Knesset.
It's power more than survives its translation.
Sometimes crisis and misery give birth to an awful
clarity of vision. Please read
this.
Not Now
Prometheus Speaks suggests that we offer Junior
the job of baseball commissioner as an alternative
to ruining the country. I'm outraged that he would
think of such a thing just when my Royals will
finally be in divisional first place in September
after 18 years. I have a better idea: give George
the current job of Paul Bremer. He has truly earned
that one.
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Friday, August 29, 2003
Bits and Pieces
I've been working all morning as a slave to Cowboy
Kahlil's ambitions writing about what a nice
fellow Christopher Hitchens is. But you won't
get to read it here. It's all Cowboy's fault.
Earlier in the week I panned an article that
appeared in Common Dreams about the Alabama tax
reform. Now, courtesy of Mike Bowen at A
Minority of One, I can strongly recommend
one.
Avedon Carol has a nice collection of Martin
Luther King, Jr. pieces here.
Jeanne at Body and Soul has kept tabs on how
the Bush
administration continues to pander to the Christian
Right--in foreign aid where they think we
won't notice.
Some important pracitical news about a Sunday
deadline and telemarking calls at CalPundit.
Jerry Politex at Bushwatch
linked to the post about the immaturity of Bush's
faith.
Natasha interviews Sandeep Kaushik who's covering
the Dean campaign at Pacific
Views.
Obscure Bible Passage of the Day: Deuteronomy
15:12-15
If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew
woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six
years, and in the seventh year you shall let
him go free from you. And when you let him go
free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed;
you shall furnish him liberally out of your
flock, out of your threshing floor, and out
of your wine press; as the LORD your God has
blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall
remember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore
I command you this today. (NRSV)
Comment
When Cowboy
Kahlil will let me, I'll point you to where
I explain the connection between these verses
and Hitchens' ambition.
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Thursday, August 28, 2003
The Sources of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood
atop the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered
one of the most powerful speeches of the 20th
century. The impact of those words on the hundreds
of thousands gathered in the Mall and on those
who have heard them by less direct means from
that day forward comes in part from Dr. King's
sonorous baritone voice and agile, well-trained
tongue. The depth of his emotion on that day,
even though always kept in check, adds further
potency. It is the words themselves, though, and
their ability to evoke memories of other words
and images that manage to convey the beauty and
hope of King's dream even to a reader 40 years
removed from their first public speaking.
I am reprinting this inspiring address today
in its entirety with one editorial addition. I
have combed through the speech looking for the
warp and threads that Dr. King has woven into
this marvelous tapestry. His quotes and allusions
are indicated by hypertext footnotes so that we
can see revealed the sources of Pastor Martin's
images and phrases and gain a better understanding
of the foundation upon which his dream for America
was built and his hope for our people rested.
Five score years ago (1),
a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we
stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
This momentous decree came as a great beacon
light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who
had been seared in the flames (2)
of withering injustice (3).
It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long
night of captivity (4).
But one hundred years later, we must face the
tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro
is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation
and the chains of discrimination. One hundred
years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island
of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material
prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro
is still languishing in the corners of American
society and finds himself an exile in his own
land (5).
So we have come here today to dramatize an
appalling condition. 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 would
be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (6).
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 which has come back
marked "insufficient funds." But we
refuse to believe that the bank of justice is
bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are
insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity
of this nation.
So we have come to cash this check -- a check
that will give us upon demand the riches of
freedom and the security of justice. We have
also come to this hallowed spot (7)
to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.
This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling
off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate
valley (8)
of segregation to the sunlit path (9)
of racial justice. Now is the time to open the
doors of opportunity to all of God's children.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the
quicksands of racial injustice to the solid
rock (10)
of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook
the urgency of the moment and to underestimate
the determination of the Negro. This sweltering
summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent
(11)
will not pass until there is an invigorating
autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three
is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope
that the Negro needed to blow off steam and
will now be content will have a rude awakening
if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquility (12)
in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship
rights.
The whirlwinds of revolt (13)
will continue to shake the foundations (14)
of our nation until the bright day of justice
(15)
emerges. But there is something that I must
say to my people who stand on the warm threshold
which leads into the palace of justice (16).
In the process of gaining our rightful place
we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let
us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom
(17)
by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred
(18).
We must forever conduct our struggle on the
high plane of dignity and discipline. we must
not allow our creative protest to degenerate
into physical violence. Again and again we must
rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical
force with soul force (18a).
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed
the Negro community must not lead us to distrust
of all white people, for many of our white brothers,
as evidenced by their presence here today, have
come to realize that their destiny is tied up
with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably
bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must
make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We
cannot turn back. There are those who are asking
the devotees of civil rights, "When will
you be satisfied_" we can never be satisfied
as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue
of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels
of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's
basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a
larger one. We can never be satisfied as long
as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a
Negro in New York believes he has nothing for
which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied,
and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls
down like waters and righteousness like a mighty
stream (19).
I am not unmindful that some of you have come
here out of great trials and tribulations (20).
Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells.
Some of you have come from areas where your
quest for freedom left you battered by the storms
of persecution and staggered by the winds of
police brutality. You have been the veterans
of creative suffering. Continue to work with
the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive
(21).
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama,
go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go
back to the slums and ghettos of our northern
cities, knowing that somehow this situation
can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in
the valley of despair. I say to you today, my
friends, that in spite of the difficulties and
frustrations of the moment, 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." (22)
I have a dream that one day on the red hills
of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the
sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit
down together at a table of brotherhood (23).
I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with
the heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four 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. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama,
whose governor's lips are presently dripping
with the words of interposition and nullification,
will be transformed into a situation where little
black boys and black girls will be able to join
hands with little white boys and white girls
and walk together as sisters and brothers. I
have a dream today. I have a dream that one
day every valley shall be exalted, every hill
and mountain shall be made low, the rough places
will be made plain, and the crooked places will
be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together (24).
This is our hope. This is the faith with which
I return to the South. With this faith we will
be able to hew out of the mountain of despair
a stone of hope (24a).
With this faith we will be able to transform
the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we
will be able to work together, to pray together,
to struggle together, to go to jail together,
to stand up for freedom together, knowing that
we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children
will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My
country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside,
let freedom ring." (25)
And if America is to be a great nation, this
must become true. So let freedom ring from the
prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom
ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies
of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped
Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the
curvaceous peaks of California! But not only
that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of
Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain
of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill
and every molehill of Mississippi. From every
mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring
from every village and every hamlet, from every
state and every city, we will be able to speed
up that day when all of God's children, black
men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants
and Catholics (26),
will be able to join hands and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last!
free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free
at last!" (27)
(Source
of text)
For those who are made uneasy by "religious
talk" because of its misuse by the Christian
Right and the Bush administration, Jim Wallis
gives
us a way to discern the difference between
Dr. King and George W. Bush:
"In our own American history, religion
has been lifted up for public life in two very
different ways. One invokes the name of God
and faith in order to hold us accountable to
God's intentions—to call us to justice,
compassion, humility, repentance, and reconciliation.
Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Martin
King perhaps best exemplify that way. Lincoln
regularly used the language of scripture, but
in a way that called both sides in the Civil
War to contrition and repentance. Jefferson
said famously, "I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just."
The other way invokes God's blessing on our
activities, agendas, and purposes. Many presidents
and political leaders have used the language
of religion like this, and George W. Bush is
falling prey to that same temptation."
For many, the symbols, images and words of ancient
religious texts are among the most powerful ways
to communicate about the deepest of longings and
the loftiest of htmlirations. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was as unafraid to use "religious talk"
as he was fearless in the face of the dogs and
fire hoses and jail cells of the segregationists.
He recognized its power to encourage self-examination,
expose hypocrisy and nurture hope. Progressive
leaders of today would do well to study this speech
and its sources to learn how they might speak
using these and other deeply meaningful texts
from outside the Jewish and Christian traditions
to call America back to her true nature and purposes.
Footnotes
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
More on Bush and Faith
Yesterday I wrote about Jim Wallis' critique
of George W. Bush's understanding of Christian
calling and my own concerns about the apparent
immaturity of the President's faith. Today I wanted
to point you to two other very interesting analyses
of what makes Junior tick.
Aslam Karachiwala at Mythic Flow made the mistake
of listening to Tom Friedman on an empty stomach:
"Stuck in traffic last night, on my way
to pick up my mother and a couple of others
from their makeshift mosque at a church hall,
I listened to Tom Friedman on The Connection.
We're in the midst of World War III, he declared,
adding that this time the totalitarianism that
we are fighting is of the religious kind. This
is a very important battle for us, he said,
because it is with a culture that is antithetical
to the liberal principles that we live by. It
could be because I was starving and worried
that my mother would be worried why I hadn't
shown up at the appointed time but I couldn't
take these faux-pearls of wisdom from His Pulitzer
Prize Winnerness for too long. I was getting
a headache trying to figure out how a Born-Again
Christian fights religious totalitarianism by
deposing a monstrous dictator with no religious
leanings."
"My snide remarks about Bush's purported
faith notwithstanding, it's not his religiosity
that makes him dangerous. What is scary is that
his righteousness is empty of the wisdom of
the beliefs that he claims. Precisely the same
can be said about the so called Islamists."
Don Hynes at Vantage Point writes in "Made
in the Image" that he is disappointed
that the insights of depth psychology into the
"hidden drivers of the individual and collective
human psyche" seem lost on the juvenile psychology
of our leadership and culture:
"The most delusional part of our collective
psyche is the addiction to image. When the President
made his appearance on the flight deck of the
USS Abraham Lincoln, dressed up in the costume
of a fighter pilot, he drew applause from those
who supported the image and derision from those
who opposed it. What I felt was a kind of implosive
dread. Could the man who was occupying the most
powerful position in the world be so personally
insecure as to need this phony image to bolster
his identity_ Could the man who had gone to
great lengths as governor of Texas to disguise
and delete his record as a National Guard reservist
be so personally unconscious as to find satisfaction
in portraying an outright lie before service
men and women who were actually in harms way_"
Don then makes the daring move and points us
to ourselves as the ultimate source of this immaturity,
violence and corruption:
"The evildoers that satisfy our fears
are the projections of what we have not faced
within our individual and national boundaries.
The wars we carry on are the violence of our
un-integrated emotions, our unresolved prejudices....The
real action is on the home front, the only real
hope and healing our ability, individually and
collectively, to look deeply within and act
in accord with the resultant vision."
Our journey into the heart of George W. Bush's
motivations, faith and maturity is a trip into
the core of our culture as well. Neither may be
a drive through a pleasant countryside.
The Struggle in
Alabama Continues
"So next month's referendum outcome in
90 percent Christian Alabama may have far-reaching
national implications. A Riley win could lead
to spirited re-examination of state and local
tax systems, on moral and religious grounds.
If Riley loses, on the other hand, we'll have
pretty convincing proof that for all the moral
high ground Christians claim, in a showdown
they open themselves to criticism that they
hate taxes more than they love Jesus."
There are hypocrites in the Church--always have
been and always will be--but readers of this blog
and Bowen's A Minority of One will recognize the
complexities of the Alabama battle go far beyond
Peirce's simple test of Christian faithfulness.
Many forces are doing their best to confuse those
voters who would most benefit from the plan. Distrust
of Riley is a major factor. The complexity of
the plan itself makes it difficult to sell to
voters regardless of their religion.
If Mr. Pearce could drop his clever, snarky attitude
for just a moment, he might realize that among
all the states now in budget crisis, Alabama is
unique in undertaking both a tax increase to continue
services to the poor and a reform that benefits
its least affluent citizens. Why_ In large part
because of Christians like Susan Pace Hamill and
"seen-the-light" Bob Riley whose love
for Jesus has moved them to take a bold and risky
stand.
I've sent a slightly revised version of this
rant to both Common Dreams and the Post-Intelligencer.
Here's Common
Dreams' e-mail if you're so inclined.
Obscure Bible Passage of the Day: Isaiah 6:5
And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for
I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among
a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen
the King, the Lord of hosts!"
Comment
Isaiah, as a prophet called to lead his people,
recognized the connection between his own sin
and the sin of his people.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Crisis of Faith
Jim Wallis has joined Bill
Keller and Martin Marty in expressing concerns
about the impact of George Bush's faith on his
performance as President. Wallis is hardly part
of Coulter's "atheist left;" he
is editor-in-chief of Sojourners,
a progressive Christian magazine with roots in
Evangelicalism, and author of Faith
Works, a book about how faith-based organizations
are changing America for the good.
In "Dangerous
Religion," appearing in the current issue
of Sojourners, Wallis astutely tracks the
course of Bush's development as a Christian from
a theological standpoint:
"The real theological question about George
W. Bush was whether he would make a pilgrimage
from being essentially a self-help Methodist
to a social reform Methodist. God had changed
his life in real ways, but would his faith deepen
to embrace the social activism of John Wesley,
the founder of Methodism, who said poverty was
not only a matter of personal choices but also
of social oppression and injustice_ Would Bush's
God of the 12-step program also become the God
who required social justice and challenged the
status quo of the wealthy and powerful, the
God of whom the biblical prophets spoke_
Then came Sept. 11, 2001. Bush's compassionate
conservatism and faith-based initiative rapidly
gave way to his newfound vocation as the commander-in-chief
of the "war against terrorism." Close
friends say that after 9/11 Bush found "his
mission in life." The self-help Methodist
slowly became a messianic Calvinist promoting
America's mission to "rid the world of
evil." The Bush theology was undergoing
a critical transformation."
Wallis finds it particularly alarming that Bush
seems to believe that he has been especially chosen
for the central role in this "crusade:"
"Bush has made numerous references to
his belief that he could not be president if
he did not believe in a "divine plan that
supersedes all human plans." As he gained
political power, Bush has increasingly seen
his presidency as part of that divine plan.
Richard Land, of the Southern Baptist Convention,
recalls Bush once saying, 'I believe God wants
me to be president.' After Sept. 11, Michael
Duffy wrote in Time magazine, the president
spoke of 'being chosen by the grace of God to
lead at that moment.'"
- usually emerges in adolescence but may persist
throughout adulthood;
- structures the ultimate environment in interpersonal
terms;
- is acutely tuned to the expectations and judgments
of "significant others;"
- beliefs and values are deeply felt and tacitly
held, that is they are not subjected to critical
examination;
- differences in outlook with others are experienced
as differences in "kind" of person;
- authority may be located in the consensus
of a valued, face-to-face group;
and
- the emergent capacity of this state is
the forming of a personal myth--the myth of
one's own becoming in identity and faith, incorporating
one's past and anticipated future in an image
of the ultimate environment unified by characteristcs
of personality.
There should be some bells ringing by now.
While it may be troubling enough that someone
with such an immature worldview occupies the Oval
Office, consider what can happen to an individual
with synthetic-conventional faith under conditions
of stress. Clashes between valued authority sources
or the encounter with experiences that lead to
critical reflection on how one's own beliefs have
formed and changed can precipitate a soul-searching
examination of self and personal values. Fowler
says that the transition from stage 3 synthetic-conventional
faith to stage 4 individuative-reflective faith
is especially difficult later in life:
"When the transition occurs in the late
thirties or early forties it often brings greater
struggles. This is because of its impact upon
the more established and elaborated system of
relationships and roles that constitute an adult
life structure."
How long will George Bush be able to maintain
his personal myth of being chosen by the "grace
of God to lead at this moment" if conditions
in Iraq continue to deteriorate, the economy remains
stalled and the drop in his poll numbers becomes
more and more reminiscent of the collapse in his
father's popularity_ If these increased pressures
produce fissures among his close aids and friends
upon whom Bush depends for advice and perhaps
identity, how will he respond_ If all this brings
on a "crisis of faith," how will his
competence to govern be affected_
Yesterday, I wrote about the self-examination
that Martin Luther King, Jr. underwent as he sat
in a Birmingham jail. He himself described it
as a time filled with "strange thoughts and
long prayers." But King was a man with a
rare maturity of faith who engaged in self-reflection
on a regular basis. What will happen when George
Bush wakes up one day and realizes that his current
situation is not part of God's grand plan for
him and the nation but a disaster that is the
product of misplaced trust in those around him
and his own errors in judgment_ How will he--and
the nation--cope with his inevitable crisis of
faith_
Obscure Bible Passage of the Day: 1 Samuel
28:4-20
The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped
at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they
encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of
the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart
trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the
Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams,
or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to
his servants, "Seek out for me a woman
who is a medium, so that I may go to her and
inquire of her." His servants said to him,
"There is a medium at Endor."
So Saul disguised himself and put on other
clothes and went there, he and two men with
him. They came to the woman by night. And he
said, "Consult a spirit for me, and bring
up for me the one whom I name to you."
The woman said to him, "Surely you know
what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums
and the wizards from the land. Why then are
you laying a snare for my life to bring about
my death_" But Saul swore to her by the
Lord, "As the Lord lives, no punishment
shall come upon you for this thing." Then
the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up
for you_" He answered, "Bring up Samuel
for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she
cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said
to Saul, "Why have you deceived me_ You
are Saul!" The king said to her, "Have
no fear; what do you see_" The woman said
to Saul, "I see a divine being coming up
out of the ground." He said to her, "What
is his appearance_" She said, "An
old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe."
So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed
with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you
disturbed me by bringing me up_" Saul answered,
"I am in great distress, for the Philistines
are warring against me, and God has turned away
from me and answers me no more, either by prophets
or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell
me what I should do." Samuel said, "Why
then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned
from you and become your enemy_ The Lord has
done to you just as he spoke by me; for the
Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand,
and given it to your neighbor, David. Because
you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and
did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek,
therefore the Lord has done this thing to you
today. Moreover the Lord will give Israel along
with you into the hands of the Philistines;
and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with
me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel
into the hands of the Philistines."
Comment
In one of the stranger passages in the Hebrew
Bible, the witch of Endor summons the ghost of
Samuel to answer Saul's desperate questions about
the future. If things continue to worsen for the
Bush administration, will George ask Karl to summon
Lee Atwater_
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Monday, August 25, 2003
If We Say We Have No Sin
Thursday will mark the 40th anniversary of Martin
Luther King's "I
Have a Dream" speech. On Saturday, many
of Dr. King's colleagues and family gathered
at the Lincoln Memorial to remember and renew
the call for justice.
Before revealing his dream for America's future
to the tens of thousands gathered on the Mall
that day, Martin Luther King engaged in a painful
examination of how much progress the nation had
made in the 100 years since Lincoln issued the
Emancipation
Proclamation:
"Five score years ago, a great American,
in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree
came as a great beacon light of hope to millions
of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames
of withering injustice. It came as a joyous
daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the
tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro
is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation
and the chains of discrimination. One hundred
years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island
of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material
prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro
is still languishing in the corners of American
society and finds himself an exile in his own
land. "
Ann Coulter might claim that such a critique
qualified Dr. King to be classified another
liberal who hated America:
"Liberals hate America, they hate ‘flag-wavers,’
they hate abortion opponents, they hate all
religions except Islam (post 9/11)."
How ironic that Coulter tracks the source of
"liberal hatred" for America to secularism.
It makes one wonder how familiar she is with the
Bible.
|
|
Although our iniquities testify
against us, act [on our behalf],
O Lord, for your name's sake; our
apostasies indeed are many, and
we have sinned against you.
|
| God: |
Do not pray for the welfare of this
people.
|
Jeremiah:
(ignoring
God) |
We acknowledge our
wickedness, O Lord, the iniquity of
our ancestors, for we have sinned
against you. Do not spurn us, for
your name's sake; do not dishonor
your glorious throne; remember and
do not break your covenant with us.
|
| God: |
Though Moses and Samuel
stood before me, yet my heart would
not turn toward this people. Send
them out of my sight, and let them
go!
|
Jeremiah:
(lamenting
God's "no") |
I did not sit in the
company of merrymakers, nor did I
rejoice; under the weight of your
hand I sat alone, for you had filled
me with indignation. Why is my pain
unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing
to be healed_ Truly, you are to me
like a deceitful brook, like waters
that fail.
|
| God: |
If you turn back, I
will take you back, and you shall
stand before me. If you utter what
is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth. It is
they who will turn to you, not you
who will turn to them.
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(NRSV
and abridged by AHB)
Like Jeremiah, Martin Luther King struggled with
himself, with those around him and even with God
as he carried out the painful task of a prophet.
In closing his letter written from a jail cell
in Birmingham, Dr. King wrote to the white moderate
ministers who had criticized his call for civil
disobedience:
"Never before have I written a letter
this long, (or should I say a book_). I'm afraid
it is much too long to take your precious time.
I can assure you that it would have been much
shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable
desk, but what else is there to do when you
are alone for days in the dull monotony of a
narrow jail cell other than write long letters,
think strange thoughts, and pray long prayers_"
As Joan Walsh has noted, King looks inside himself
and finds considerable
uncertainty about the middle course he has
chosen and the defense of it that he has just
penned:
"If I have said anything in this letter
that is an overstatement of the truth and is
indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I
beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything
in this letter that is an understatement of
the truth and is indicative of my having a patience
that makes me patient with anything less than
brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me."
King knew well the biblical call to self-examination:
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
(NRSV)
Sitting in that jail cell, thinking his "strange
thoughts" and praying his long prayers, Martin
looked deep within himself, saw his own faults
and limitations, and was empowered to respond
to the criticism of those overly cautious white
ministers in a spirit of humble brotherhood. A
few months later, Dr. King first acknowledged
the nation's sin in failing to live up to its
promise so that he would have the credibility
to call on even his hideously oppressed black
brothers and sisters to dream of a time of fellowship
with whites.
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