I’l say this about the MLK quote. Just because a great man says something… doesn’t mean it’s automaticaly true. In the context of his letter it definatly applied as what we wish would happen, but like communism… it’s not how the human brain is organized. It’s a dream.
I love shindler’s list. It’s sad. The nazi’s suck! But I am not going to feel the same pain as a jewish person watching the movie… cause it doesn’t apply to me. That’s the problem with Kings quote, this is our nature. The person who does feel the uber-empathy is rare and often has to almost make themselves (train themselves) how feel that way. It’s ok if they do, it’s a noble goal. It’s just not normal.
Here is a test that’s personal to me: Ask yourself if you are 100% in favor of a war in Iraq just because his people were being killed by him, that’s a great liberal belief. I salute it. It sounds great. Like killing the germans was justified becuase of the holocust. It sounds AWSOME! If the bad guys are doing bad things we should not suffer their evil. It goes with Kings quote right? That’s what i used to think.
The current war in Iraq. I went. We saved them from the evil that is totalitarianism. We didn’t do it in a popular way, that’s for sure. But we stopped that particular injustice. That was injustice in the world, mass graves… a mini-holocust. MLK’s quote would apply right?
I found out not. I hear on a daily basis from people that I never should have been there and it’s not “our” bussiness if sadam was killing his people in mass. ( ironic because many of those same people want something done in Dafor, Sudan) Yes there a few people in the media that say were were there doing good but htey jsut hate the way we did it. Those people are few. Mostly I get told that it wasn’t our problem. We had no bussiness being there. This is the mainstream oppinion. So… Jon stewart, Dave Leterman, and most of our society has stated and continues to demonstrate that Kings quote doesn’t apply.
It is impossible to believe in Kings quote and think we were wrong for going into Iraq. You can thnk we did it poorly, but you can’t say we never should have been there and also believe in kings quote.
If U did… you’'d be in favor of Vietnam, and every war we’ve ever fought. If you do believe in the quote and you apply it across the board- Well you are a better person than anyone in any political party, govt, media or lecture hall!
But chances are most of us fall short and aren’t. We mostly tend to only care how it applies to ourselves or our immediate neighbors.
I hate the idea that my friends died for the freedom of people that they didn’t care anything about. If you agree that my feelings are ok, than that’s admitting that Kings quote is a pipe dream. If his quote is correct I am a bastard for feeling this way. ( I am a bastard- but for other reasons lol!)
If the quote were true we would teach in every history class that we should have declared war on the Soviets in 45. We should have invaded Cambodia in 77. We should have invaded Uganda in the 70’s.
The list goes on and on about how Kings quote is not only not in practice (which, duh we know it isn’t)… it’s just a pipe dream. Plus the right wingers and left wingers don’t want it… cause it would be a hard road to travel down and would get in the way of their political and social ideas. It’s unrealistic. It’s unnatural. And it’s not the human way - despite what Star Trek says.