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This spring will mark the fortieth anniversary since the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Both of these figures share something in common other than how they died. The Rev. King was perhaps the last black man who commanded the attention of substantial numbers of white Americans and Bobby Kennedy was one of the few politicians who similarly attracted listeners among black Americans. When Dr. King talked, whites listened and when Bobby Kennedy gave a speech, blacks were hearing his words, right there in the audience. In addition, by the time the spring of 1968 rolled around both were delivering important speeches on the same broad themes of economic justice, combating poverty and racism. King spoke of these subjects as a moral imperative and Bobby as a political one.
All of that ended in the spring of 1968. My recollection is that by the time the elections rolled in November, 1968, whites and blacks had largely retreated into their respective communities where members of the other race were not.
Looking back and then considering the scene today, it is sad to note that while some progress has been made on all three fronts, race, economic justice and ending poverty, there is much which remains the same. Sadly too, there does not seem to one person who has the capacity to speak to these issues and attract a wide and diverse audience heeding the message. Coupling that with the bitterly partisan, personal attack politics of the day and a very large dose of cynicism, the wonder is somehow over the last 40 years, we have managed to make any progress at all, albeit it incremental baby steps.
The other day I had a conversation with a friend, who, like me was in his 20’s in the spring of 1968, he said, “I do not know what it is, but it seems harder for me to figure out what is good or bad for the country these days. Whether it is a candidate for office, a bill before Congress or an idea that is proposed to fix something or other, it takes a whole lot of effort to figure out whether or not I should be in favor or oppose. Then when I do make up my mind I am no longer sure I am doing the right thing. Everything seems much more complicated these days.”
When he said that, I just nodded. What my friend described hit a chord with me. As I made my way home, I came up with this idea – I call it the Martin - Bobby test. The next time you observe a troubling sight, a decaying urban neighborhood or a crumbling school; the next time you read or are told about the old person in your town who faces foreclosure because of a predatory loan or the next time a national figure gives a speech on the Iraq War and really offers nothing new, just more of the same, I want you to think about this question, What would Martin, what would Bobby - what would they do?
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Posted by richwb on 2008-04-05 12:44:53 | Rating: | Views: 92
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You compare the likes of Kennedy with King??? King was a man committed to equality and kinship and he died standing for what he believed in. Kennedy was for nothing but his own desires. He and his brother stood for everything wrong and the only beneficial thing that came out of his demise was his now infamous name. had either of them lived, they would be no better than the girlfriend killing scum kennedy still around. There is no comaparison. Next time you want to ask what would someone do, leave the kennedy name out of it, you will be better off!
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Posted by rocky5544
on 2008-04-09 19:25:56
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