URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america.html
Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America achievable?
At heart, King was a minister, not a politician. He relied upon the Scriptures to inform his views of equality, along with his own experiences. He studied theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as philosopher-leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And he led interfaith groups on marches, not Republicans or Democrats in their caucuses.
In short, he was more prophetic like Amos or Isaiah than political like JFK or LBJ. The prophets of old presented a vision for their people, whether the people liked it or not.
Similarly, King presented a vision, a modern one where he imagined “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
But is that dream realistic? Are we too constrained by our own natures to realize that kind of harmony?
In Time this month, author Jon Meacham hints at this dilemma when he writes:
“The death of Jim Crow is an epic story, but it is no fairy tale, for the half-century since the 1963 March on Washington has surely taught us that while African Americans are largely living happier lives, no one can sensibly say that everyone is living happily ever after. The dream of which King spoke was less a dream to bring about on this side of paradise than a prophetic vision to be approximated, for King’s understanding of equality and brotherhood was much likelier to be realized in the kingdom of God than in any mortal realm.In Washington to demand legislative action, King spoke as a minister of the Lord, invoking the meaning of Sermon on the Mount in a city more often interested in the mechanics of the Senate.”
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas
Indeed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America is realistic and achievable with this caveat: bigotry will always be a part of every society. Since his famous “I Have a Dream” speech 50 years ago, we have seen significant achievements for which we should be grateful.
Who could have imagined that within 50 years of sharing his dream, the biggest part of his vision would have been actually achieved? Barack Obama, who genealogists say has ties to a slave through his mother’s family, is the most powerful man in a country where blacks and whites once couldn’t drink water from the same water fountain.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist more than a philosopher and a religious leader. He understood justice is the bottom line for “natural” societies. All that has evolved in nature or created by the God were programmed to seek a built-in balance to sustain. Balance is the natural status of all creation; life and matter.
To be unjust was to be unnatural, and he said, “injustice to one is injustice to all.” King was committed to restore the dharma: righteousness. To paraphrase Quran, God said, he does not deprive any of his creation with his love and sends an equalizer (peace maker) to to every tribe and a nation to bring about a balance. And Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says, whenever the societies lose that balance, someone from among them will emerge to restore it. Martin Luther King, Jr. was prophetic in that sense. Otherwise, why would any one chose an enterprise that did not benefit him personally like the Prophets?
I’m in Mulberry Florida today to counter Pastor Terry Jones’ burning of 2,998 copies of Quran. I am using a peace model to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. Just two days ago, I knew no one, and today we have been able to bring together two mayors. We also were in the Mulberry Ledger, Tampa Bay Fox News, and a whole lot of diverse communities to set up our September 11th Unity Day USA event. Humans crave for justness, and its natural for them to gravitate towards it if beckoned.
One of the two mayors I met was Gow B. Fields. He is the mayor of Lakeland and an African-American. It was so good to hear his dream, and we connected instantly. Both of us want to see a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of a fellow American.
With all that hype after Trayvon
Martin about Florida being not a good place for blacks, here is a living proof
of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream. We were gathered as the son of a slave (Gow
B. Fields), the son of a former slave-owner (George Hatch, the mayor of
Mulberry) and me, an immigrant who promotes pluralism. Together, we rededicated
our pledge to one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream lives on.
To read all the columns by fellow panelists, please visit Dallas Morning news at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america-achievable.html/
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| Mayor George Hatch and Mike Ghouse |
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| Mayor Gow Fields and Mike Ghouse |
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a
writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in
Standing up for others
and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on
national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas
Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and
several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work
through many links.
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