Almost 50 years ago Saturday, Martin Luther
King Jr. transformed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial into a modern-day
pulpit with his message of faith and hope. He stood before the world
and shared his vision for a different, better America. He inspired all
of us to reach for our higher selves and lay down the burden of racial
discrimination and hate.
Some of us were fresh from the jails of the South -- from the beatings and violence, from attacks by police dogs, billy clubs and fire hoses. We were peaceful non-violent protestors arrested and brutalized for trying to exercise our right to vote, for freely choosing a seat on a public bus or asking to be served at a segregated lunch counter. We had struggled with this form of injustice for nearly 100 years, but we were not bitter. We were not hostile. We were not even angry.
We came in the spirit of love and non-violent protest. We believed, as King wrote a few months earlier from the Birmingham jail, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." We believed that to gain dignity, we had to give respect. To gain justice, we had to show integrity. To gain the benefit of peace, we had to use the power of non-violence. We believed trying to destroy our adversary meant we would ultimately destroy ourselves.
Glenn Beck's event
As I consider Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally that will take place on the National Mall on Saturday, and what has transpired in recent politics, it is so fitting and so necessary for us to review the message of reconciliation that Martin Luther King Jr. sacrificed his life to convey. We have come a great distance as a nation, but our journey toward unity is not yet done. As I listen to the news, and sometimes even to my colleagues in the Congress, I wonder is it possible to exercise our right to dissent without hurting each other? Can we engage in civil debate without smearing the motives of our adversaries?
I know there are those who take issue with Saturday's event at the National Mall, but King quoted William Cullen Bryant when he said, "Truth crushed to earth will (only) rise again." We cannot manage the actions of others, but we can stand firm in our own non-violent convictions. With the knowledge of the truth as our defense, no information or misinformation can stop the power of a committed and determined people to heal a divided nation. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.
Source: USA Today
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is the last surviving person who spoke at the March on Washington in 1963. He was then chairman of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee.
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