Martin Luther King Jr. Day

[chuck kottke]

I can imagine that Bono would, after all, she was the torchbearer and wind that lifted Martin to great heights.

Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and Yale bestowed upon him an honorary Doctorate degree in that same year. But for all the hoopla, it is his heartfelt core values, so eloquently articulated, that made his name synonymous with justice and equality, the resonant quality of that message still echoes on today as important as ever, for all the gains in social justice have not been paralleled with economic justice, and that we must change.

[rudy_o]

One question: Why do kids in Mount Horeb, WI have to go to school today while Madison kids don't? :|

 

/best question ever

[chuck kottke]

One question: Why do kids in Mount Horeb, WI have to go to school today while Madison kids don't? :|

 

/best question ever

 

Does this have something to do with it?

 

"This year our students do not come to school on Friday, January 20, because that is the date of one of our six (6) inservice days. However, in the draft 2012-2013 calendar, the inservice day will be held on Monday, January 21 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) so students will have off on this national holiday."

> I suppose since it's so close to MLK national holiday, the inservice will be the day the kids get off instead (?) But the school cafeteria is busy cooking meals for some gathering, perhaps for a day of education and celebration of Dr. King and the movement's importance to us all? I'm only guessing, but many schools do a teach-in on that day, some give the day off to the kids, as appears to be the case with Madison's schools. You could head down to Middleton for the celebration there Rudy!;) Wait! To the Rotunda!!

 

From the world of Wiki, I have gleaned: Some schools are closed for the day, while others remain open and hold seminars or celebrations of Dr. King's messages. aka Encyclopedia Galactica

[chuck kottke]

What will change the patterns of injustice, to end the subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination, to bring about greater economic prosperity and dignity for all? Because this is still a land of the two Americas, one where there is both extreme poverty and extreme wealth, and little has changed to bridge that gap, to open up opportunities to those in poverty, or to compensate fairly those who work the land.

Some background, still as pertinent as ever today: Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander on Injustice | BillMoyers.com

[chuck kottke]

Please, give this interview a listen:

Michelle Alexander: Jim Crow Still Exists In America : NPR

[nancyk58]

Please, give this interview a listen:

Michelle Alexander: Jim Crow Still Exists In America : NPR

 

I read the text - very interesting, but also sad reading. Martin Luther King's Dream is still alive and his speech and appeal valid. Not much has changed for the better.

[chuck kottke]

In some ways, things did get a little better since the 50's and 60's - there's no more lynchings, no more fire hoses and dogs turned loose on demonstrators, no separate signs and separate drinking fountains, schools are desegregated, anyone can sit where there's an open seat on the bus, but sadly, the incarceration of so many young men of color is appalling, mostly from minor drug possession, and then the opportunities aren't there, which is a serious issue. 50% unemployment for young American men of African ancestry in cities like Baltimore, that alone shows that poverty and access to employment is an enormous problem. Coupled with the loss of voting rights for those who are released from prison after serving sentences for possession, it's a steep uphill battle just to survive, and it seems that corrections isn't supposed to be excessive nor to deny a person the right to vote.

=======================================================

*The US Constitution clearly states, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted."

It also states in the 13th amendment that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." and then in the 15th amendment, it says "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

So it seems clear that the intent of the Constitution isn't being followed, which is why we occupy. Which is why we need to make office seekers accountable to our will, for otherwise, they do what the biggest power-brokers want, and that can often hurt freedom, justice, and economic fairness in this sweet land of liberty.*

[RedBalloon]

Good "torch relaying".

 

I think there are historical reasons for US to become a miniature of the world to test out New Roads [The Road Less Traveled by Robert Frost - A Challenge and An Opportunity in the mean time]; or if you follow spiritual reasoning, there might be a grander and meaningful lesson set up by higher selves etc [http://spiritlibrary.com/earth-keeper/earth-keeper-chronicles/the-law-of-attraction-how-when-it-works-why-it-doesnt-part-3]. By my knowledge and limited experiences, there have been worldwide spiritual waking-ups/quests in blossoming generations by generations. A global reflection upon the past not limited or merely within a nation or territory [thanks Internet or not; Please go through the stereotype Walls or any oversimplification/manipulation via Great Minds of any culture - Read and Read.... You fear less and you let go a bit of your Ego [personal or national] and see a whole connected unlimited horizon for ALL] becomes more prominent or a possibility. It is about the patterns, if we are not consciously seeking or questioning ourselves as Masters, to silently allow the destructive/unsustainable ones wheeling faster, faster to degrade. We are still here to repeat the regrets or sorrows or hatred or fears of the ancestors. I guess I want to say, to seek Spiritual energies to question the ones making up constitutional realities, a transformation may start.

 

Again, it is not a mere statement from Martin Luther King Jr. for a country; it is a dream as well as a quest for All. How preconception or memories serve or influence your current state or decisions; cause and effect? How forgiveness can be given reasonably to ensure the massacre will not be given allowance to Happen [http://www.irischang.net/] again – Blowin’ In the Wind [http://www.frontlinefilms.com.au/videos/blowin.htm]? It starts simply: from a Relationship, from families, workplaces, communities, subcultures, countries etc. The violence has different forms, and it starts from your own “careless”.

 

I hope there are more people to meet with Dr. Brian Weiss’s books and wisdoms and love as well as Masaru Emoto's <<Water Knows Answers>>.

 

http://www.irischang.net/ Front Page Statement [watch out, who is still doing the atrocity!!! It starts from LIES]:

 

I want the Rape of Nanking to penetrate into public consciousness. Unless we truly understand how these atrocities can happen, we can't be certain that it won't happen again.”

“If the Japanese government doesn’t reckon with the crimes of its wartime leaders, history is going to leave them as tainted as their ancestors. You can’t blame this generation for what happened years ago, but you can blame them for not acknowledging these crimes.”

“Denial is an integral part of atrocity, and it’s a natural part after a society has committed genocide. First you kill, and then the memory of killing is killed.

“Please believe in THE POWER OF ONE. One person can make an enormous difference in the world. One person — actually, one idea — can start a war, or end one, or subvert an entire power structure. One discovery can cure a disease or spawn new technology to benefit or annihilate the human race. You as ONE individual can change millions of lives. Think big. Do not limit your vision and do not ever compromise your dreams or ideals.” — Iris Chang

 

http://www.frontlinefilms.com.au/videos/blowin.htm

Director's Statement (David Bradbury)

This is a film that very much wanted to find me. I tried to fend it off, exhausted from making environmental and political films on shoestring budgets that told hard truths to my fellow Australians that they needed to hear but preferred to ignore. In today's climate of self censorship, and public broadcasters who fear that their political masters in Canberra will still further cut their budgets if they support these sorts of films, fellow filmmaker Peter Scott and I pushed on regardless. With a hard cash budget of $12,000 and a beg, borrow or make do philosophy...and a lot of favours, we've pulled together this doco I know you'll never see on 'your ABC'. The picture it paints and the consequences for us all if we don't raise our protest loud and long to this new military alliance with the United States is too devastating to ignore.

The Paddy McGuinness's, the Gerard Henderson's and Greg Sheridan's of this world with their sycophantic attitudes towards their media masters and ruling class elite will have a field day in attempting to put this film down, to write it off as 'propaganda', typical anti-American sentiment with no substance. It's time for all of us to draw a line in the sand, to acknowledge whether we are in fact happy to be the 51st state of America.

More than ever, it's time for us all to stand up and be counted for the decency and genuine moral values of what I believed as a kid it meant to be 'a fair dinkum' Australian. Not a false, jingoistic patriotism that is built on fear, that justifies war crimes in the name of the so-called War on Terror. Rather, I embrace a healthy nationalism that acknowledges who we are as Australians with compassion for the underdog and giving everyone a fair go. In a humble but sincere way, I hope this film made with a lot of heart and commitment can play a small but important role in galvanising a lot of us to do just that.

 

 

I met a street blues musician in Kansas City, reaching out to me to offer a song as there are fewer Asian faces around and he said: There is one race, Human Race. I feel the resonance of Martin Luther King Jr’ s voice relaying on.