Martin Luther King: Wish You Were Here

It seems to me that today the necessity of peaceful protest and civil disobedience as practiced and taught by Rev. King is clearer and more compelling than ever. Today, thanks to some great posts at some outstanding blogs [Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Firedoglake] I was able to read and actually hear Martin Luther King Jr.'s great speeches on frighteningly relevant topics. These inspiring words link the past and present. The impact of the Vietnam war then, is eerily identical to the impact of the war in Iraq now.

Reverend King's words call out across the decades to us now, reminding us of the price that will be paid if we continue to rely on violence and force to settle our disputes, or worse, attempt to impose our will on others.

Now, I love the internet and I am grateful for the information and contacts that it allows me without having to leave my comfortable chair....but, I see it as a potential hindrance [a cop out if you will] to meaningful action of large groups of people to effect change in the world. I wasn't even ten when he was assassinated, but even then I believe we could all feel that something special in the world had been lost. How would Rev. King have used the internet to mobilize the diverse group of people who shared his dream to make the world a better place?

This is the challenge that those of us who are sick of the direction that our leaders are taking the world in must face up to and act on, to live up to the legacy that Rev. King has left us.