MLK, Then and Now

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of a very brave man. A man who stood up to challenge the status quo. To end the systematical and entrenched policy of treating full citizens of the USA as second class citizens. While he was not solely responsible for bringing about changes to civil rights in the this country, he was the face and the voice of the movement.

On a day to celebrate what is good about America, CNN chose to run an article to show how bad things are by comparing today’s political rhetoric to the atmosphere prior and during the civil rights movement. In the first few sentences CNN writes:

“Casey Hayden knows something about hate. She’s seen how hateful words can cause people to demonize their political foes, grab guns and commit murder. She’s a survivor of one the most brutal episodes of the civil rights movement. Long before the January 8 shootings in Tucson, Arizona, sparked debate about the role of heated rhetoric, Hayden and other civil rights veterans worried about the nations recent political tone – and what it might wreak.”

This article really does the whole civil right movement a disservice by attempting to relate the political climate today to how things were back then. While I did not live through that period of our history, one only needs to read history to see how different the environment really is. Today, we don’t have members of one side of the debate dying at the hands of the other side of the debate. We don’t have National Guard troops having to protect the rights of the minority. We don’t have protesters being knocked down by water cannons.

Bruce Harford, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, “said it’s virtually inevitable that rapid social changes in America – electing the first black President, the influx of Latino immigrants – will be accompanied by violence”

This concerns me because CNN does not challenge Mr Hartford to point to any violence committed against the President, either real or imagine, because of the color of his skin and any violence against Latinos. People talk about to further the discussion, the rhetoric needs to end.  If the media doesn’t challenge those on the left to back up their statements with facts, the people on the right are always going to feel the left is talking out their backside.

Hartford goes on to say; “There is almost an undercurrent of violence in this country that emerges as a reaction to the advancement of a despised minority’s rights.”

Because Obama didn’t receive 100% of the white vote instead of the 60% he did receive those that didn’t vote for him despise him because he is black? It has nothing to do with his leftist policies like universal health care at tax payer expense? His cap and trade policy where Obama states that energy prices will necessarily have to be high? His utter lack of experience, unless you count his 130+ days as a Senator and time as a community organizer?

Or how about the ILLEGAL immigrant issue? Does he really think that the white population hates Latinos just because they are Latino? Has he even thought that we don’t like have 12M illegal immigrants in this country who don’t pay taxes, who’s allegiance is to another country, and who are a burden to this counties social service to the tune of billions without actually contributing to the tax base?

Talk like this does not do the whole issue any favors. If white people are always demonized then the other side either won’t “come to the table” or if they do, they already have a chip on their shoulder. If my attitude towards minorities is that they are no better nor worse than anyone else, why should I be told that I need to be on the defensive or there is something wrong with my thinking? If the guilt of the past being carried around by the left like a badge of courage could be eliminated from the whole equation, it wouldn’t surprise me if the whole issue of race dried up completely. I don’t carry around race issues, my black and Latino friends don’t carry around race issues. Only those on the left carry those issues and continually shine the spotlight on them.  Michelle Malkin has a rundown on how many on the left continue to make a non-story a story.

By-and-large, the CNN story is quite one-sided. For most of the article, CNN talks to people on the left side of the debate. They do throw in a couple of sentences from the right, but for the remaining 90% the undercurrent is that the right needs to watch what they say or else they will incite violence.

I case you are interested he is a link to MLKs “I have a Dream” speech on YouTube.