Monday, January 21, 2008
Keeping his vision alive
JS Online: "Hope was revived in Milwaukee on Sunday as hundreds gathered in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts to pay homage to a man who will forever be remembered as the nation's symbol for equality, peace and hope."
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2 comments:
The great thing about Martin Luther King Jr. Day is that there isn't usually anyone trying to pretend he wasn't a great man. One thing I hadn't thought about was people using him as a front for ending the war. We walked past a group of people today (on campus) holding a huge pink sign that just said "Martin Luther King" but the man was giving out pamphlets on ending the war. I thought it was a little weird for someone to do that, and while I don't argue that MLK would have been for or against the war, I do think it's a little strange and cowardly to hide behind his image for an agenda's sake, however much I may agree/disagree with that agenda.
I was with Chapel when we got the little pamphlets. It starts out with a brief celebration of the point of view that Dr. King had with regards to the Vietnam War. No mention of his work in civil rights, or equality. It then states that " We have been engaged with Iraq since 1990. During this time CMU has been involved in military contracting so extensive that it would take two years to catalog them. Weapons systems developed at CMU has contributed to the war effort." I finishes with " It is an insult to the memory off Dr. King for CMU to take a half day off in honor of his birthday and be working full time as an academic institution finding new and more exotic ways to kill our current enemy." I dont think this was in anyway a celebration of MLK, it was just an cover up to get on to campus to promote an idea. MLK day should not be used as an excuse to advocate anything other than the celebration of someone who did a great service to this country. There are plenty of other days to protest a war. CMU should be more sensitive to this holiday as well, which is about a man's achievements for equality and peace, whether its a day or 1/2 a day. Its not about a vacation.
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