The 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The 100th birthday of Rosa Parks.
The second inauguration of our first black president, coinciding with MLK Day.
I can’t help but hope that this
last bit of synchronicity holds a certain power. A power I don’t dare name. A
power that should act on our nation’s collective subconscious to revive Dr.
King’s message of non-violence and universal love. This year, as our elected
politicians confront the immediate challenge of gun control reform, I’m hopeful
that Dr. King’s legacy will ring strong.
As a reminder to self, I looked up
his speeches, in search of his unique poetry: the language that moved
mountains. The two excerpts below stuck with me.
“Man was born into barbarism,
when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became
endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward
another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.” -
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Why We Can't Wait” 1963
“Darkness cannot drive out
darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do
that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness
multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction
of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or
we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” -
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Strength
To Love” 1963
Forty years have passed since these
orations, and the message still holds.
In the wake of the Newtown
massacre, and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, and the
celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King, this last week of January
is heavy with promise. It’s time we evolve into a gentler nation.
