Yesterday on the fourth of July we didn’t barbecue, entertain or leave the house. I did not feel the need to celebrate something that was not meant to encompass me or people that did not look like me. I’ve grown weary of the hypocrisy. If I hear that “it takes time” one more time I fear I may not be able to contain myself.
My celebration was starting a new book. I am a voracious reader of good books. My sister from another mother Leslie Graves gifted me the book “KING A Life” the prior weekend and I decided that Independence day was a great day to start it.
I’m fascinated by Martin Luther King and the complexity of the man. Martin along with Malcolm X may be the best illustration of how men evolve over time. If you juxtapose Malcolm’s evolution and what the next chapter might have been with the course of this country since 1776 the contrast is startling. On the eve of his death Martin was beginning to accept the idea that he had taken the movement as far as it could go in its first iteration. He was struggling with what the next iteration should look like and whether he was the person to lead it.
Contrast that with a nation built on the tradition of exploiting the labors of the many for the benefit of the few. Two hundred and fourty seven years later rather than realizing the negative impact of that exploitation the new still clings to it for dear life. The American pronouncement to “let them eat cake”. I marvel at how many Americans are totally oblivious to the true character of our nation. I keep waiting for the wake up call to hit them, instead these seem content with blissful ignorance.
The author of the new King book, Jonathan Eig takes a verse from the Bible before getting into the book. That verse reads as follows “They said to one another, Behold the dreamer cometh… Let us slay him… And we shall see what will become of his dreams.” -Genesis 37:19-21 (King James Version).
I want you to ponder those words for a moment and think about their meaning. Can a man’s dream be realized beyond his life. Can a country truly embrace the ideas of its long dead founders? My mind is engulfed by what I may learn from this new perspective on King. Yesterday was a productive day.
Pay Attention!
Think!!
Eyes Wide 👀 👁 Open!!!