Commentary – A Pivotal Decade

MLK-REMEMBEREDWhen we look back at the previous century, there have been many decades in which the direction of life on earth endured a seismic seizure. World War I, also called The Great War, The War to End All wars, turned out to lead in18 years to the rise of fascism and World War II. That brought to an end the Great Depression but then we saw the rise of tensions in the Middle East culminating in the formation of Israel in 1948. There has been nothing but recurring conflict in the region since. We are no closer to a resolution than when the first Palestinian-Israeli war started the day after the United Nations recognized the Jewish state.

The Korean Conflict occupied the first part of the 1950s and the escalating of the Cold War. Then a new problem, this time local, arose: The injustice of segregation, particularly in schools, came to center stage with Brown v Board of Education in 1954. Men like Orval Faubus and George Wallace became the voice of intolerance and racial hatred, of divisiveness and violence the like of which we had not seen since the Civil War.

Then came the pivotal decade of the 1960s. It could arguably be said that those ten years brought about more societal change in America than any other time in our history. The inaugural address of John Kennedy was prophetic: “Let the word go forth from this time and place that the torch has been passed to a new generation, born in this century . . . .” Few, although inspired by the speech, could have predicted the fires that torch would ignite changing our country drastically. None were of more importance and lasting impact than the civil rights movement.

January 19 is the day we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Controversial during his short lifetime few would deny that history began a slow arc toward making the words of the Declaration of Independence ring true. This week we must remind ourselves that, though much progress has been made in racial relations, there is much that remains to be accomplished. The events of the past year demonstrate that stark reality.

The civil rights movement was inevitable but had it not been for King and, to the surprise of everyone, President Lyndon Johnson, it would not have happened as early as it did. Others would have stepped forward but much credit goes to King and Johnson for their seminal role.

That JFK, MLK, and later Robert Kennedy, all died of assassins’ bullets marks the decade of the sixties in a tragic way. The violence and the riots that seized the nation during those years remain fresh in the minds of those who lived through them.

The events in Paris remind us that we are living in the midst of an equally turbulent time but there is a striking difference. We understood what the grievances of the African-American community were. Except for the extremists, many who did not support civil rights knew, deep down, that they were on the wrong side of justice. It took a long time, but eventually freedom began to ring. The bell of Liberty, although cracked, is still needs to be tolled.

Unlike the violence of the sixties the current action of the terrorists is beyond any understanding. The murderers, however, are convinced of the justice in their cause. How we can defeat such radicalism is difficult to imagine. It took Christians almost four centuries of the Crusades to realize that Islam was not the enemy. The concept of an Islamic Crusade is as wrongheaded as the Christian counterpart in the 12th century.

On this special day of remembering a martyr let’s hope that we can find that strength to carry on his legacy. Nonviolence is not a sectarian virtue limited to any one set of beliefs. It should extend to all humankind, regardless of race, nationality, or any religious affiliation. Is that a concept too idealistic to be practical?

Let’s hope not. The honoring of Martin Luther King, Jr. each year is but a small step in making his dream a reality.

Hayden Hollingsworth

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