If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Were Alive Today

If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, and saw the condition of the world what would he write about?

It is difficult to say what he would be writing about. His famous speech known as the "I Have A Dream" speech has not been a dream come true yet, but it was a starting point for people to realize that all men and women of all colors and ethnic origins should find a way to live in peace and understanding. The speech was given at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC., on August 28, 1963.

Doctor Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Four years later he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of peace, but the movement he was credited with leading, was not peaceful at all. There was so much brutality during that time without any recourse. When you look at the old news videos you see man's hatred towards man. Protesters were brutally beaten by the police as they were arresting them.

Are there more people today who adopt the views of Martin Luther King, Jr.? Have the boundaries of racism and prejudice been torn down like the walls in Berlin so many years ago, or have a few holes been punched in them here and there, that, thankfully, no one bothers to seal up?

We have seen the progression towards the "solid rock of brotherhood" that was spoken of by Dr. King, and it is my opinion that it is still a progression and the destination has not been fully met. I wonder if it can ever be fully met. It is not just a racial destination, but man vs. man, and man vs. woman, and all that no matter what race. There are always nations at war, and injustices being done to other people within the same race.

Disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti, are a wake up call for all of us. Our life can be gone in an instant. What good is it to live a life a hatred, and die having served no good cause or helped your fellow man?

Over the past year and even the past month we have seen several celebrities die too soon. Even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had his life cut too short by a assassin in 1968 at age 39. If he were still alive, I believe he would be happy to see the progression of the world towards the removal of hatred, yet saddened that we have not advanced further.

The residents of Haiti have seen their home devastated by a natural disaster. They need all the help people from all over the world can give them at this time. If all you can give are your prayers, then be sure to pray. God can work miracles, and prayers should never be saved as the last resort, but should be the first resort.

Several people have already donated large sums of money, and relief is in Haiti and more is waiting on ships. There is going to be more help needed. Disasters can happen anywhere to anyone. If you are blessed with what you have, share that blessing by helping others. If you have never taken time to help anyone in need, I urge you to do so.


While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's life and struggle for racial equality was directed towards a nation, his feelings can be directed to the world. Lets join together and help a nation recover from the earthquake that devastated it.

For a list of places to donate please click here to go to Bloggers Unite, or contact your local Red Cross chapter, or the Salvation Army, or any of the Bloggers Unite recommended charities.

Image via Wikipedia

I was looking for something to say as a follow up to my last post and ran across this posted on a blog 5 years ago. Somehow it seemed fitting to repost this since it is the common sense of the famous Will Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935). I wonder if people today know who Will Rogers was? He was the Jay Leno, or Conan of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was a Mark Twain sort of person, too. Back when you went to a town hall, or a music hall to get your entertainment, or read a newspaper to see what someone would comment using their right to free speech. His life was part of the silent film era, too, and he got to perform in those early films. Will Rogers was sought after for his skill with a rope, and his skill at commenting on the news of the day.
Those were the good old days? 1932 was not all that good according to the history books, but the USA survived it, and became stronger. Just as one day 2010 will be part of someone's good old days, when we could find information on computers, and had so many forms of entertainment it was mind boggling.

Here is the URL of the site where I found this article, and thanks to them for letting me quote it. About.com was the source and a site about liberal politics.

Rogers' advice, "Go Fishing Until the Election" is as true, and funny, today as it was in November 1932. Enjoy!
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"There should be a moratorium on candidates speeches.

They have both called each other everything in the world they can think of. From now on, they are just talking themselves out of votes. The high office of President of the United States has degenerated into two ordinarily fine men being goaded on by their political leeches into saying things that, if they were in their right minds, they wouldn't think of saying.

Imagine Mr. Hoover last night saying "any change of policies will bring disaster to every fireside in America." Of all the conceit. This country is a thousand times bigger than any two men in it, or any two parties in it. These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties.

This country has gotten to where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a super nation....

So you two boys just get the weight of the world off your shoulders and go fishing. Both of you claim to like to fish. Now instead of calling each other names until next Tuesday, why you can do everybody a big favor by going fishing, and you will be surprised , but the old US will keep right on running while you boys are sitting on the bank.

Then come back next Wednesday, and we will let you know which one is the lesser of the two evils of you."

The Letter Everyone Is Talking About

Image by jurvetson via Flickr

I got this in an email, and even though everyone is talking about it, I have not heard anyone talking about it. Have you? Still it is an interesting letter, and pretty much defines why we have elected representatives in the US. From city councils to President, we are fortunate that we get to vote for who runs the government.

We speak with our votes, since that is about all that gets listened to. That is how many people feel when it comes to having their small voice heard.

I thought that since everyone is talking about a letter I never heard of, I should help out and put it on my blog. Whether you agree or disagree is up to you, but at least this talked about letter might get talked about more.

If you are happy, vote for who makes you happy, but if you are not happy, maybe it is time to see who is willing to guide your ship.

THE LETTER EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

This has to be the email forward of the year! Please take a few minutes to read and absorb just what this woman had to say, and then hopefully everyone will pass it to their entire mailing list, and theirs to theirs until it circles the nation! Time is short and arrogance, stupidity and ignorance abound...


The following letter read on Glenn Beck's show, is rapidly circulating around the country. Americans everywhere identify with this 53-year-old woman. She has given us a voice. Once you read this, you will want to forward it to all of your friends...


GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona . She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:


"I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.
There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.
You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels.. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution.
P.S., I'm not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.


Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.


Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.


Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.


Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken -- we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program in one or two states first.


Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there.


Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.


Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?


Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.


Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.


Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk.. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording.. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.


Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist.. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent.. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.


I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not.
It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.


From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.


We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented.. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you.

You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.
We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.


Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this.. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them.. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.
If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one.
We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent?
Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
THE LETTER EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT