Still Dreaming...

Every year, I put up a post on Dr. King's day about how far we have come in terms of civil rights. This year, I honestly can't do that. In the last year, we had a racially motivated act of violence that belonged in the 1930s not 2015. We had the front runner for the GOP nomination call for an ethnic group to be banned from entering the country.

And we had the stark reality of a deeply biased criminal justice system that continues to disproportionally target young, black males. Dr. King's mission is never more needed than it is today.

One of the biggest impediments we have right now is that we seem to have trouble admitting that there still is a problem. There are many people in this country (and, yes, most of them are conservatives) who think any or all of the following:

1. Blacks play the victim too much.
2. Racism is a thing of the past.
3. Race baiting occurs more often than racism itself.
4. Our criminal justice system isn't racist. Blacks just commit more crimes.
5. Black Lives Matter folks are criminals and probably terrorists.

All of this BS has one chief theme: A DODGE OF RESPONSIBILITY.  Synonymous with the age group (adolescents) they so often behave like, people who continue to have this view of the world don't have the balls to own society's problems, especially this ever present and ongoing one. Perhaps the biggest challenge we have today is destroying every one of the myths listed above. Certainly, it won't be easy. We know from all of the various neurological studies out there that people let emotion drive reason and are often not rational.

If Dr, King were alive today, he would be marshaling his forces and directing them in efforts similar to Black Lives Matter. In fact, I think he would have been one of the main people sitting in protest on I-94 in Minneapolis. Even in the age of social media, peaceful, civil disobedience still has an enormous impact.

He would also argue against the passivity that the digital age has created. Social media can be a powerful tool in support of spreading one's message. But it also can be a distraction or worse. Dr. King once said

We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

As we remember Dr, King's legacy today in 2016, these are the words we need to embrace.