Martin Luther King: Injustices

Do you ever wonder at our distaste for protest? In a country where we claim to so value the first amendment and the right to free speech, it seems that we hold protestors in such contempt, or at least annoyance. We find their reminders of injustices inconvenient when we’re trying to get lost in the enjoyment of the Olympic ceremonies.

Protests take place at the wrong time, in the wrong way, using the wrong methods, and disrespectful of “authority,” with which we should only ever silently disagree. Some might argue that human rights abuses are inconvenient. Some might argue that a war protest is not disrespect for troops, but an act of love for the precious lives that might be prematurely lost, and the psychological trauma that will not be eradicated over a lifetime, for soliders who will never receive benefits commensurate with the sacrifices they made.

It’s easier for our government to draw negative attention to protestors and away from its own misdeeds than perhaps to succumb to the interests of the people it’s meant to represent. When writing letters and quiet protests are not effective in getting a government to respond, what then should be done? When we don’t have million dollar campaign contributions, what recourse is left to get the attention of our government? If China, deaf until now, was embarassed enough to end it’s human rights abuses, what would we think of the Olympic ceremony protestors then? Would we admire their courage?

If nothing else, even if we don’t agree with the methods used, perhaps we should admire the courage of people who are trying to make conditions better for others. And maybe wonder why we’re not joining in the protests with them.

Again, enough of my blathering.
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We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

Hope you enjoyed this edition of Heros.

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