By Stan Welch
This past week saw tens of thousands of Americans, predominantly African Americans, converge on the nation’s capitol to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s March on Washington and the incredible Dream speech he gave that day.
Even as a young teen, I already had a love for words and a sense of their power and majesty. I was absolutely enthralled by his words that day, and by the way he wielded them. The rhythms of the black Southern preacher were clearly felt as he took us with him to that mountaintop.
Fifty years later, I can say clearly that aside from Lincoln, and on the rare occasion, Ronald Reagan, I have heard no other American orator who came close to Dr.King. So powerful was his vision, so visceral his expression of it that it seems almost impossible to realize that fifty years later, his dream for America and for his people remains mostly that . . . just a dream.
His hope, his fervent wish that his children and their children would one day be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character, is a line that can stand with anything from the Gettysburg Address or JFK’s inaugural speech.
Yet today, we see examples all around us where black Americans insist on being judged according to the color of their skin, regardless of the content of their character. We see supposed leader after leader using race as both excuse and shield. We live in a nation with a black president, a black attorney general, a black ambassador to the UN, and countless other high ranked officials. Governors and mayors across the country are black.
We are a nation with more black millionaires than any place on earth. We have the largest, fastest growing black middle class in the world; or we did before the Oconomy went into the toilet. Yet none of these achievements seem to be enough. It isn’t enough that we legislated a society that would float all boats willing to float; we are expected to float even the most lethargic and unseaworthy among us.
We have a president who says we need to have a national conversation on race, while taking every opportunity to make such a conversation nothing more than a media driven shouting match.
Every time something is said or done to offend the collective black sensitivity, our president is quick to weigh in with his views, even if they impact an ongoing trial. But when blacks rob or kill other blacks, the silence is deafening. And when blacks rob or rape or kill white Americans, these incidents fall into a massive black hole of media ignorance.
I should say ignore-ance, because the media is fully aware of the events when they happen; there is a conscious decision to ignore such crimes so as to unbalance the scales as much as possible.
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson shame both their alleged calling and Dr. King’s memory. They are race baiters of the first order. Reverends? When was the last time either man conducted a sacrament or a ritual of the church? Dr. King’s authority came from the strength of his character and from the deep faith from which he demanded that justice spring.
Jackson and Sharpton run their tax exempt organizations and profit by keeping the races at odds with one another. Both have used racial slurs in the past every bit as offensive as anything Paula Deen ever said; but the media gives them a pass. Al Sharpton can be seen on CNN each day spouting vitriol and lies and hypocrisy.
Can a single one of you imagine David Duke or Lester Maddox being given such a forum? A Department of Homeland Security employee, who maintains a website that calls for a race war against the whites, has been suspended with pay. Paula Deen was dragged through the streets and ruined.
I would submit to you all that the American political, economical and social playing field has been more than leveled. Anyone still losing has probably chosen not to play. Or to spend all their time griping about the rules.
Fifty years ago, America was called to account for itself. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t comfortable, but America did what had to be done. Now it is time for America to receive an accounting. Far too many of us have traded citizenship for victimhood. The citizens can no longer support the victims. Something must once again change.
Dr. King’s memory, like this nation, deserves no less.
