Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory

Now is the time, to make real the promises of democracy.

Now is the time, to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.

Now is the time, to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time!

I have a dream...

Every valley shall be exalted.

I have a dream...

Every hill and mountain shall be made low.

I have a dream...

My children will not be judged by the color of their skin. [but upon the content of their character]

This is our home.

Let us rise up tonight...

I've been to the mountain top, and I've looked over and seen the promised land.

I may not get their with you, but I want you to know that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.

I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!

***

The battle against racism and prejudice has changed form; become a game of innuendos and conspiracy theories rather than blatant slurs of days past.

But we can reach the promised land. We have come far since the days of these fateful words that resound with us still.

We have elected a black man to the highest office in the United States, we have forced openly racist elements to the fringe of society where they always belonged.

But these are not the days that the lies and fabrications about the first black president and over those coming here to seek a better life from Mexico will come to end.

These are the days that such bile is standard for the same people who sought to silence Rev. King and continue to abuse and distort his message of non-violence and anti-war stances for their own purposes.

But if you believe you may stand aside, may be allowed to ignore the progression of injustice and those who help maintain its veil from the world, and ever see the promised land for yourself or your children or their children ... you would be gravely mistaken.

Those who stand now in the mighty echo of Rev. King and the Civil Rights Movement must see that failing to carry the torch that lights up injustice is to do an injury and show disrespect to all that was fought for up until this point.

If this country will stand idly by while a white television broadcaster calls a black president "racist" ... then we are further from the promised land than I ever imagined.

If this country will stand idly by while white lawmakers establish fascist racial profiling laws upon those of only brown skin living in Arizona ... then we are further still from the promised land.

The dream has yet to fade into the darkness.

It will take the truly righteous rising up once more, rediscovering our lost value for honesty and truth in the dead of this wretched night.

"Let freedom ring!"

Come Home, America

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew well of what he spoke when he addressed a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, in regards to the Vietnam Conflict:

“Come home, America.”

In Harper’s Magazine, Andrew J. Bacevich made the connection between Dr. King’s words and the current war in Afghanistan. I wholeheartedly agree, and would press further this point by taking a look at the heading-titles from the speech itself:

1. “The Importance of Vietnam [Afghanistan]”

I believe it well past the point in terms of the expenditure of American Treasure to the nation of Afghanistan to set a clear withdrawal strategy, and hold to it.

2. “Strange Liberators”

We are not the nation to spread liberty and justice for all across the Mid-East. Whatever preconceptions one may have, the fact remains that stabilization efforts that operate outside U.S. Military influence remained intact while U.S. facilities are destroyed and rebuilt in a constant cycle in Afghanistan.

3. “This Madness Must Cease”

We cannot afford to throw lives and money into a nation with no clear estimation on how long it will take to achieve this lofty goal of terrorist safe-bed being prevented from being formed. The bottom line is we are pointlessly infrastructure-building and policing Afghanistan, and this madness must cease. Sooner rather than later.

4. “Protesting The War”

At this stage, in November of 2009, I do not believe there is a valid anti-war protest platform to take. President Obama is weighing the decisions carefully. However, should his decision-to-come be something to nature of huge troop increases with no time line for withdrawal I believe the voice of the people should be known.

5. “The People Are Important”

The people of Afghanistan are who are important in this issue. The constant fighting takes more and more innocent lives every day. Without a time line and an attainable mission-statement the occupation of Afghanistan is nothing but a quagmire. A quagmire that not only costs American lives but the lives of those caught in the cross-fire.

--

If truly we seek to build up nations that have systemic problems that may effect our national security agenda then, as Bacevich reminded us, then the nation of Mexico would be of primary interest to those in Washington D.C.

The U.S. could take part in other “humanitarian invasions” under these same circumstances.

The entire concept that we can “fix” another nation with increased troops and increased involvement is absurd.

Andrew J. Bacevich -

“Fixing Afghanistan is both unnecessary and impossible. Rather, we should be erecting and maintaining a robust defense.”

I find it rare to find people willing to make the pro-defensive military argument. I applaud Bacevich for this recent article in Harper’s. Worthy of your attention, to be sure.