Tomorrow we are heading to Ocracoke, N.C. for a long weekend. I don’t think I’ve been to Ocracoke since a 1 was the first number in my age. That’s a shame as I have always been fascinated with the N.C. Coast, its history, ecology, and culture. And Ocracoke is unique as its only accessible by ferry.
The wonders of the island aside, where we are staying ain’t exactly “wired” – at least when it comes to the introwebs. And I say good. I need to unplug every once in a while. So… see you on the other side.
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Why on earth would I ever try to say something about Martin Luther King when someone who is smarter, and has more of a chance to continue Dr. King’s ideals:
Unity is the great need of the hour – the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it’s the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.
I’m not talking about a budget deficit. I’m not talking about a trade deficit. I’m not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.
I’m talking about a moral deficit. I’m talking about an empathy deficit. I’m taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother’s keeper; we are our sister’s keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.
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So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others – all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face – war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.
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… That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words – words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.
–Barrack Obama
It does this speech no justice to read these quotes:
Go read it.
Go watch it.
