Tag Archive for MLK

Let Me Dream

August 28, 2020 Comments Off on Let Me Dream

Starting in November, no matter who we vote in as President, I fervently hope the spirit of Martin Luther King., Jr. rests upon his shoulders and infuses his decisions with the fire to fight violence and its major cause, injustice, in our nation.  I dream that this spirit spreads from our leader to our lawmakers, who will then regain the respect of their constituents, who will, in turn, reject violence in all its dehumanizing forms and embrace justice for all of our citizens.  From there, they will demand justice for all other citizens of the world and pursue it in peaceful, yet effective ways.

This is a huge dream, even a foolishly optimistic one.  But, just imagine–if everyone shared my dream and worked to make it reality, what would our new world look like?

Let me dream.

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Silence

January 23, 2020 Comments Off on Silence

Again and again we hear people excuse their inaction in the face of cruelty and injustice with the declaration that one person can’t make any difference.  They acknowledge that people are suffering but believe that the problem doesn’t really affect them or their loved ones.  As today’s Thursday Thought quote shows, Martin Luther King, Jr., had a very different view.

  • He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
  • History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
  • In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
  • Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
  • Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

It’s time to speak up!

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My Dreams are Sweet

January 20, 2020 Comments Off on My Dreams are Sweet

SWEET DREAMS

I had a dream—like Martin’s—
But in my dream
            Cats were leashed and dogs roamed free,
            The President was chosen by God,
            All days were sunny, with rain only at night,
            And the whole world loved chocolate.
In that dream
            My friend was interesting, not rich or Black,
            People talked to Gramps, not to me about him,
            Wheelchair basketball was on Monday night TV,
            And dinner was fair-trade chocolate.
Then I saw
            Doctors fighting to save all lives,
            Wardens taking none,
            Soldiers idly playing checkers,
            Now that bullets were just Hershey Kisses.
All that empty space:
            Soup kitchens, with no clients to serve,
            Sweatshops replaced by homes,
            Jails, since the Rule became Golden,
            Plus cups half-filled with cocoa.
I had a dream.  Like Martin,
When I wake
I refuse
To leave it behind.

                                        Jackie O’Donnell

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MLK Day–for Children

January 21, 2019 Comments Off on MLK Day–for Children

Today is Martin Luther King., Jr. Day. What’s important is to focus on what he stood for: peace, equality, and justice.

Let’s start with our children. Encourage them to talk instead of fighting when they find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Ask if they’ve been picked on or have seen other children being picked on, and explore the topic of bullying. When a child does something that physically or emotionally harms another child, get him to put himself in that child’s place to experience what she feels, and decide together what positive action, not punishment, is appropriate to heal the situation.

Read children’s books together featuring a person of another culture and talk about the similarities between the character’s life and their life. Engage them in a game that involves taking turns and sharing, adding a penalty rule for arguing and bonus points for compromising and working out differences.

n short, help your kids think and act in ways that help bring about the world MLK worked toward–one of peace and compassion.

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Is That Legal?

September 6, 2018 Comments Off on Is That Legal?

There’s SO much arguing back  and forth about what is legal. As today’s Thursday Thought quote points out, that isn’t the real issue.

“Something must happen so as to touch the hearts and souls of [all people] that they will come together, not because the law says it, but because it is natural and right.”  — Martin Luther King, Stride Toward Freedom, 1958

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Really, Who WAS this MLK?

April 4, 2018 Comments Off on Really, Who WAS this MLK?

I just learned three things about Martin Luther King, Jr. that I didn’t know but found interesting. I knew that he wasn’t perfect–had some flaws, did some sinning–and that he was the leader that was needed during that part of the history of American social justice.  Here’s what I didn’t know:

  1. He was a champion for the environment. He did it not as a tree-hugger but as a believer in the interconnectedness of all life.
  2. He was a “democratic socialist” (not the same as a communist) long before Bernie Sanders came along.  He preached that we should form the economy in ways that meet people’s needs, not to make a few people richer.
  3. You could disagree with him, but he’d never throw a punch or get nasty.  Even when Malcolm X, another prominent civil rights leader of the time, derided him viciously and called him names.

You can read details about these three facts at CNN’s Three ways MLK speaks to our time.

 

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Handling the Darkside

June 22, 2017 Comments Off on Handling the Darkside

In today’s Thursday Thought quote, MLK  calls us to the bright side.

 

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I Have a Dream, Too

January 16, 2017 Comments Off on I Have a Dream, Too
 .

 

                          SWEET DREAMS

 

I had a dream—like Martin’s—
But in my dream
            Cats were leashed and dogs roamed free,
            The President was chosen by God,
            All days were sunny, with rain only at night,
            And the whole world loved chocolate.

 

In that dream
            My friend was interesting, not rich or Black,
            People talked to Gramps, not to me about him,
            Wheelchair basketball was on Monday night TV,
            And dinner was fair-trade chocolate.

 

Then I saw
            Doctors fighting to save all lives,
            Wardens taking none,
            Soldiers idly playing checkers,
            Now that bullets were just Hershey Kisses.

 

All that empty space:
            Soup kitchens, with no clients to serve,
            Sweatshops replaced by homes,
            Jails, since the Rule became Golden,
            Plus cups half-filled with cocoa.

 

I had a dream.  Like Martin,
When I wake
I refuse
To leave it behind.

                                        Jackie O’Donnell

 


					

									


				
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I Marched With Martin

			
				
	January 19, 2015
	 
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I marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., almost 50 years ago.  Not literally.  I watched the events unfold on our family’s black and white TV.  They didn’t cover it nearly as much as stations would today, but I saw enough to inspire me, to horrify me, and to make me ashamed that my country didn’t allow all of its citizens to vote.


I watched history being born.  I watched a war for citizens’ rights being waged.  I watched victories and disappointments, physical wounds and healing emotional wounds, and people waking up to the stark realization that a large group of Americans didn’t really believe that “all men are created equal.”


It was an exciting, emotional day.


As the scenes in Selma replay in my mind, I’m thankful for how far we’ve come in these last 50 years…and distressed over how much farther we have to go.


 


 

					

									


				
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Thursday Thought: Accepting Evil

			
				
	August 22, 2013
	 
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“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.– Martin Luther King, Jr.


[50 years since MLK’s historic march.  How far have we come? How far do we have to go?]

					

									


				
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