Since Martin L. King is mentioned so much lately, here's what he really said

[Armstead]

Since Martin Luther King has been used by various candidates and pundits in this primary season, it is important to remember that he was not a "safe" person when he was alive. His version of "change" was very directly progressive and confrontational, in a clear unapologetic way.

He was (even with his strong religious overtones) firmly on what we today call the "left" in terms of the core issues of Wealth and Power. He was challenging the very forces of entrenched power on issues that went beyond racial equality. He also saw the struggle in terms of class, and structural problems in the economy.

I'm not posting this to endorse or slam any particular candidate. I'm posting it because, regardless of who is the ultimate nominee, we should all remember that MLK was advocating for a much more fundamental version of "change" than symbolic snipping around the edges:


http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational_talks/political/martin_luther_king_talks/where_do_we_go_from_here/

Where De We Go From Here? (1967)

Excerpts:

...The problem of transforming the ghetto, therefore, is a problem of power-confrontation of the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to the preserving of the status quo. Now power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change. Walter Reuther defined power one day. He said, "Power is the ability of a labor union like the U.A.W. to make the most powerful corporation in the world, General Motors, say 'Yes' when it wants to say 'No.' That's power.".....


....I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we talk about "Where do we go from here," that we honestly face the fact that the Movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society. There are forty million poor people here. And one day we must ask the question, "Why are there forty million poor people in America?"

And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I'm simply saying that more and more, we've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society. We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life's market place. But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

It means that questions must be raised. You see, my friends, when you deal with this, you begin to ask the question, "Who owns the oil?" You begin to ask the question, "Who owns the iron ore?" You begin to ask the question, "Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that is two thirds water?" These are questions that must be asked.

Now, don't think that you have me in a "bind" today. I'm not talking about Communism.

What I'm saying to you this morning is that Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the Kingdom of Brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of Communism nor the antithesis of capitalism but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a higher synthesis that combines the truths of both.

Now, when I say question the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

If you will let me be a preacher just a little bit - One night, a juror came to Jesus and he wanted to know what he could do to be saved. Jesus didn't get bogged down in the kind of isolated approach of what he shouldn't do. Jesus didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop lying." HE didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must stop cheating if you are doing that." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must not commit adultery." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, now you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing that excessively." He said something altogether different, because Jesus realized something basic - that if a man will lie, he will steal. And if a man will steal, he will kill. So instead of just getting bogged down in one thing, Jesus looked at him and said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again."

He said, in other words, "Your whole structure must be changed." A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will "thingify" them - make them things. Therefore they will exploit them, and poor people generally, economically. And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. What I am saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, "America, you must be born again!".....

MORE

[groovedaddy]

1. Yeah, MLK nailed it and when he joined the peace movement and

promoted getting out the U.S. out of Vietnam, many in the civil rights movement ostracized him for it. He saw the larger picture. They did not.

It's also why, in this campaign, the statements of the candidates on Iraq must be watched very closely. Would Obama get us out of Iraq? When? Clinton has said she would, but refuses to get specific about and even implies that the U.S. could still be in Iraq through her first term. At least Edwards says he would get the U.S. out of Iraq within a year of taking office.

[Armstead]

3. One of King's anti-war speeches

Very powerful stuff

http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational_talks/political/martin_luther_king_talks/beyond_vietnam/

Excerpt:

...Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.

This is the message of the great Buddhist leaders of Vietnam. Recently one of them wrote these words, and I quote:
Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the hearts of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.

If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately, the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horrible, clumsy, and deadly game we have decided to play. The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam, that we have been detrimental to the life of the Vietnamese people. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war. ....

[ellacott]

2. Great post

Most people can only recall the I Have a Dream speech and of that they only remember the part about ....content of your character....

He was also criticized for his Poor Peoples campaign.

MLK was definately progressive.

[groovedaddy]

5. Yes, he was progessive and what made him a real threat to the establishment

is that he had a substantial following. That's why he was yanked from the stage.

[ellacott]

6. Exactly n/t

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

4. MLK was also pro-gay according to his widow Coretta

That is another example of how his vision went beyond racial equality. He was murdered over a year before the Stonewall riots, which is considered the birth of the gay rights movement. So although he didn't publicly support gay rights, had he lived a few years longer, he would have. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

[DrFunkenstein]

7. Even Malcolm X Came Around to Believe We Had to Work Together

Don't forget that MLK's message was love. I know that sounds cheesy, but it is supremely profound. We don't win by rearranging the battlelines. We win by eliminating them.

[Armstead]

10. True....But love is not surrender

King knew he could have limited himself to the issue of civil rights, and not risked offending those who were afraid of different kinds of change.

However, he recognized that in order to make a real difference and be true to his goals, he had to confront deeper questions and confront bigger issues too.

[ellacott]

11. Very true

After Malcom went to Mecca and found Muslims came in all colors he changed his worldview.

Many people don't fully understand what love is. It's not a weakness.

[BeyondGeography]

8. I wonder who Martin would be rooting for in this election?

[Armstead]

9. Depends on what level, I think

I studiously avoided mentioning any candidates in my OP, because I was aiming for a larger point.

[Sulawesi]

12. It seems to me this is all great poetry, but it lacks the specifics to get anything done...

I much prefer a 12-point plan that lays out what specifically can be accomplished within the committee structure that we now have in congress. </sarcasm>

[Armstead]

13. Point One:Locate geographic coordinates of Shining City on the Hill

[Armstead]

14. kick