Introduction
"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." (Click on MLK for audio link)-Martin Luther King Jr., December 11, 1964
Dr. King is one of my favorite people. He was such a crusader and champion of civil and human rights. I really love the quote above. One time I visited Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama where Dr. King preached. I actually stood up on the altar where he once spoke to large congregations.
One of the thoughts that came to my mind at the time was what a small church it is, but at the same time what a beautiful church it is. It has red brick on the outside, but is very colorful on the inside with multi-colored stained glass windows. It made me think of Dr. King himself, who had an interior that was as colorful and bright as the inside of that church, but with an exterior that did not bend or break no matter what force was laid upon it.
I believe that Dr. King supported the spirit of the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of justice, and the pursuit of peace with all of his heart and soul. He was someone that believed that all three elements were not mutually exclusive but interwoven together like the multi-ethnic and multi-diverse populations of these United States of America.
During this period of war, of injustice, of violence, I wonder what Dr. King would have said, or thought or felt. I think that Dr. King would be fighting for the justice of humankind and striving to make this world a more peaceful and just world. He would be fighting against the Iraq war, against the Bush agenda, against the corporate machine, against greed and the emphasis on individualism, and against poverty. He would be outraged at the corruption, at the bitterness, at the lack of any coherent community in this country. Dr. King would have taken a stand particularly after this government's (non) response to the impoverished people of New Orleans, many of whom were African American.
I hope to encourage those who visit this blog to express your thoughts on Dr. King, non-violence, peace, what the pursuit of happiness means to you today or any other topic you feel is related or even not related to these subject areas. I will try to respond to you in this forum or simply keep writing down my thoughts as they come.
Peace,
M
posted by MG @ 1:54 PM
18 Comments:
mike, you are one crazy mthfckr. hope its ok to swear. are you being sarcastic about the american pursuit of happiness, meaning that it is no longer a good thing as today it may mean just that americans are self-indulgent and superficial and materialistic and mean?
Not really on point, but here's one of my favorite MLK quotes:
"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."
Mike:
One thought that comes to mind was how the authors of the Dec of Independence defined "men". I think it is understood by your writings that you would define "men" as "all men" but did the original authors mean a selected group?
In response to the MKL Jr. Quote-
Is not violence a core human trait that is hard wired in our brains? Meaning, if needed, just about everyone would utilize violence, when pushed to our limits, for self preservation. Most of us would not stand by and allow ourselves to be harmed (both physically and emotionally) if we could avoid this occurrence by inflicting violence upon someone else (and of course, if no other remedy existed in the perception of the victim). Yes, there are special cases with loved ones, etc. but in general, violence would be used for self preservation, if needed. So, if your current life experience, combined with your mental make-up, leads you to believe that violence is required for self preservation, then it will continue to be used.
My point. This underlying trait exist within humans and therefore is often triggered by influences such as mental perception, poverty, mental illness, drugs, greed, love and hate (and a few more). Without re-wiring the human brain, you would need to remove all the other influences that trigger violence to become a non-violent society. It is an admirable goal but not a realistic goal. Maybe, a few thousand more years of evolution might change this? Maybe that is what MKL Jr. meant by evolve?
lets think about the moral comparison of Dick Cheney to MLK.
The caliber of leadership in this country has really changed has it not?
It seems that many of our political leaders today are re-treads from 30 years ago???
Now we might have legal wire tapping by our government??
It is some what funny how our government is doing the same things that resulted in Nixon's resignation?
Man, Mike, I remember you in the good old days, sitting at the bar with a brewski, hanging with the homies. Now look at you, all righteous and shit. "Pardon me, Mr. Godfrey, while I pull the Declaration of Independence out of my ass." Let me tell you what I think about the pursuit of happiness: Michael takes Magic in the '91 finals. or, the Lakers and Kobe miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. That there is truth. You want happiness? Guzzle down two brews fast, put "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" on the stereo, turn it up and sit back. Now that is bliss.
Naw, I'm just playing with you.
In seriousness, we are all happy to see you pursuing something of meaning to you and good for your soul.
Anon.
Mike, I was just joking with my thoughtless email. I think it's great you have decided to pursue a blog about something important like non-violence. Sorry also for my poor language. It's great you are using it as an exercise to think about values. No need to justify yourself. Let's talk soon. KR
Long live the Llama.
Whos a llama?
I'm a llama.
Llama llama,
duck
Como se llama?
Se llama espanol
Me llama es Miguel
Hey Mike:
A comment about people living in depressed communities with high rates of violence:
People are interesting and have a wide capacity for various behaviors and these behaviors are often dictated by an individual's percetion of the related consequences.
If a person can not perceive the consequences of their actions as it effects both themselves and others, it is difficult for that person to make the right choice when it comes to certain behaviors.
I believe, the more educated a person is, the better that person is at perceiving the future consequences of their actions both on an individual level and on a community level.
For the many people in our country that choose behavior that is destructive (violent), it is because they cannot perceive a better way. Often, because the benefits of not doing something destructive today are detached in time from the actual action.
And, it is not a matter of simply educating these people about how to improve their happiness by not shooting thy neighbor, because they already know this fact.
It really comes down to the fact that the benefit from the choices that people need to make in "violent communities" to change their lives will not be realized for one or two generations into the future. Because of this delay and the human condition of immediate gratification, you see very little changes in these communities over time.
To further complicate the problem, many of the things that our country would need to do in order to change these communities to a more non-violent status would be directly opposed by those that reside in these communities.
mike - i completely understand your being annoyed, outraged and generally distraught at the state of politics in this country. i especially like a quote from rod serling, which sums up my feelings: "the stance of a thinking man is somewhere between apathy and anarchy."
the truth is, however, that most people don't think. they live their lives in a "television stupor" with their brains turned off. as such, it shouldn't surprise you the idiots like george bush are elected to public office. and once they get there, they do whatever they damn well please.
you speak of peace on your blog. i am a man devoted to peace - inner peace. i used to make myself crazy about how this country is being run - emails to senators and congressmen, protest marches, et.al. what i came to realize is the system is so completely and utterly corrupt, from the top down, that my efforts were futile.
peace for me is knowing it's useless to be upset about things over which i have absolutely no control. i can't change the way it is in this country. all i can do is refuse to contribute to the problem.
for example, any elected official who accepts money from any source for any reason has been bought - period. it's no different than prostitution. so i refuse to vote for any elected official who accepts money. harry reid, the senate minority leader, called and emailed me looking for money. he soon stopped after i not so diplomatically explained how i felt about the matter.
thank you for caring, mike. and i wish you the best of luck.
geo - thank you for your comments. much appreciated. I wish more people in this country were aware of their environment, their world, their own communities. People are asleep in their lives. Asleep among their own families. Maybe one day as a country we will realize that acceptance and understanding of different cultures and ethnicities is normal and that bigotry, prejudice, ignorance and hatred are some of the major evils in this world. we have only one life to live, but people will continue to live their lives asleep and ignorant despite having a short time on this earth.
(This response is meant for the first anonymous posting above). Hey thanks for the post. Ultimately, the pursuit of happiness can mean what you want it to mean. I agree, I think that we are a materialistic and self-indulgent society, but I think most people in society don't know how to find meaningful and lasting happiness in their lives. A lot of people simply believe that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of greed and gluttony. I think it has a deeper meaning and can mean that people have a true sense of joy and peace in their community and individual lives. I think the pursuit of happiness also can mean that we look outside of ourselves and try a little to make peace with our brother and sister. That this is a multicultural society and that we have to strive to cross bridges of racism and hate in order to create a society that allows the pursuit of happiness for everyone, of every creed and color. So in essence, everyone has a stake in the pursuit of happiness. It's not individualistic, but community oriented. We cannot be self-indulgent and expect to receive the happiness. What comes around goes around.
My father was a C.O. during WWII with FOR and was married by George Hauser of CORE but as I witnessed his intolerance of intolerance I (artistically) observed the vicimization cycle and realized . .
The mystique of critique
can help judgment lose grudge-meant.
"angels have wings cause they take themselves lightly"-G.K.Chesterton
It seems to be that can be true of anyone making a criticism of anyone regardless of political viewpoint. I agree, we all need to take ourselves less seriousely, but when you have one party holding all the power, it seems easy for those in power to simply dismiss any direct criticism as unpatriotic or useless. But to be fair, wouldn't you make the same statement to those that criticize liberal thinking or see themselves as so-called victims of liberalism?
Hi Michael,
Just got done reading some of your Blog.....very interesting and well written. You certainly know how to express yourself in writing. I may not always agree with you but then that is why we live in America, right? I am very proud of you Mike. You are a very caring, thoughtful and loving human being. God bless you always. With love, Mom
Thank you Mom. Not everyone will agree on everything, but its important to voice our opinions, especially now when the country is being misguided by an imperial president and his administration. Ok, thanks for your support!
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