A long time ago some people started something. They believed that an oppressive government was wrong. They believed that telling someone what religion to choose was wrong. They believed that men were created equal in the eyes of God. They believed in God. Yes they were faulty, yes they did some things wrong and some things right, but this country? This is one of the things they did right.
That was a long time ago. Since then, millions of men and women fought to protect our freedoms. Some fought for what was right, some fought because they were compelled to and others did not fight because they believed differently.
Since that time, many good things have happened, but also many bad things. Criminals kill cops, and others. Sometimes bad cops kill good people and yes, it’s WRONG. But the nation that you are a part of isn’t inherently faulty. Those people who gave their lives and lost them, or were forever changed by their part in protecting our freedoms, those people who stood up and stepped forward when called upon, they did not fight to support racism, they did not fight to support oppression, they did not fight to support terrorism. They fought AGAINST those things.
Our nation is, by many accounts, in dire straits. Now some of us think that this is because we have left our beliefs behind, our conscience, in the name of progress. Others might believe that this is because we have not come far enough in leaving those concepts behind.
But how do you protest that?
How do you say, ‘I want to make a difference’ in a way that does not spit on everything that has placed this nation on the path to greatness that it has been on, and can be on again?
Do you disrespect the customs that brought us closer to equality and freedom? How will that work? Do you stop saying the pledge of allegiance? How do you say ‘This nation needs a change in direction’ without throwing everything that created us away?
I’m not sure the answer to that one.
I believe it is not to create a movement that escalates and embraces violence rather than eschews it.
It is not to protest the founding principles that we held dear for over two centuries, like pride in our flag, pride in our soldiers and citizens.
It certainly is not to suggest violence against people of a particular race or profession, as I’ve come to hear in the last few months.
And, although the foundation of our country gives us the RIGHT to spew hate and vitriol, it does not compel us to do so. Yes, that’s what I said. Just because you have the right to say what you think in a hateful way does not mean you must,- or even should.
Again, when you protest in some of these ways, we actually protest the life work of those who have come before us. Those, if they were here today, WOULD BE OUR ALLIES.
What then?
Again, It seems clear what will not help change our path, but what will?
Maybe getting involved? Joining the political process?
Maybe being willing to have a conversation where you allow the other person to disagree with you without hating them, and investigating if it makes sense to compromise?
If you’re rich, maybe spending that money on things to get the word out, instead of alienating those you want to persuade by actions that at best are easily misunderstood.
If you think cops need more training and you’re a multi-millionaire, how about creating a cause that supports training and support for the good cops?
If you think that abortion is wrong can you state your point without going the extra miles and calling anyone who disagrees with you murderers?
If you’re not rich, maybe taking time to mentor or provide some sort of support for the young men and women that will in the next generation be leading us?
This country took decades to get off the tracks like we see today, and while I think historically I understand why, it doesn’t help us with the ‘ratchet makeover’ that we seem to want. We aren’t going to change it overnight without a full on rebellion and if anyone thinks that this a way to make change all they have to do is look at other countries who followed the same path.
I find this one of the most compelling quotes I have ever heard regarding change and how to do it right…
“I conclude that this award (the Nobel Peace Prize) which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Give the whole speech a read. Definitely worth the time and maybe even worth giving some of his views renewed energy today.