"Remaining Awake Through a great Revolution" (Martin Luther King, Jr)

[H2O Man]

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last Sunday morning sermon was delivered on March 31, 1968 at the National Cathedral (Episcopal) in Washington, DC. I want to share a brief quote, in hopes that my friends on DU will consider it in terms of how it relates to the death of Paul Johnson.

"Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made this world a neighborhood and yet ... we have not had the ethical commitment to make it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers. Or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God's universe is made; this is the way it is structured.

"John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms --'No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent-- a part of the main.' And he goes on to say,'Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind. Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.' We must see this, believe this, and live by it ... if we are to remain awake through a great revolution."

Please think about this. Consider the implications of your words when you post on here. If we are to be successful in bringing about change in this nation, we want to be in the same frame of mind and spirit as was/is Rev. King.

[Nlighten1]

1. Who are the great left-wing orators of today?

Are there any?

[H2O Man]

2. Interesting question.

I think that there are a number of capable orators today. In my opinion, King stood apart, because he had a moral authority. People saw that this man would put his body and soul on the line. I love this speech that I quoted, because he knew he was going to die very soon, and he was delivering a message he knew people had to understand in order to reach that Promised Land.