And Satan's successes are the greatest when
Europe today is only nominally Christian.
In reality, it is worshiping Mammon."
The Truth, The Whole Truth, and....
For
decades now, the corporate media has celebrated Dr. King's "I Have a
Dream" speech. At the same time, the Powers That Be have completely white-washed his legacy.
With one hand, they claim to have joined hands with Dr. King's dream of racial harmony. With the other, they continue to bury Dr. King's teachings on racial and economic justice. With the corporate media now running ads in front of our faces even on platforms that we pay to access, minions of a certain segment of wealthy elite of this country pay lip service to his Dream, while burying his words on the nightmare created by our country's extreme materialism. Buried, Dr. King's condemnation of our nation's unbridled militarism never sees the light of day. Instead we have armed force now policing the world -- and our own streets.
Like Mahatma Gandhi, King's message was not solely political. It was vaster than that. It was Spiritual. Like the Lord's Prayer, it sought to manifest Love "on earth as it is in heaven." These two saints saw clearly that Mammon worship, the soul-sucking evil of materialism/consumerism, was alive -- and unwell -- in the belly of capitalism. There it feeds on the life force of countless human beings.
Throughout it's history, the dark trinity of racism, economic
exploitation, and warfare have maimed and harmed countless beings. The
prosperity
of the capitalist English Empire and it's rebellious teenage offspring,
the USA,
were built squarely on the horrors of genocide and slavery. Though the ascendancy of Trump 2.0 and MAGA are trying their best to bury this fact. Most of us know that truth.
Unbridled Capitalism is fucked up. It the work of the freakin' DEVIL!
A system rooted in greed and exploitation is the dark
side of the force. "Business as usual" is a demonic energy that is taking aim on the survival of our planet.
Mahatma Gandhi saw that clearly. He called it out -- again and again. More importantly, he put his body on the line to do something about it. The non-violent soul force that energized the movement he pioneered sent the British Empire packing.
No Kings but Dr. King!
Dr. King, like Gandhi, was a Bodhisattva, a Holy Man. He dedicated his life to alleviating the suffering created by a political and economic system that feeds on the three poisons identified in traditional Buddhism: greed, hatred, and delusion. Like Jesus of Nazareth and other Jewish prophets, both King and Gandhi threatened the ruling order of bankers and preachers -- and were martyred for their efforts.
Although Dr.
King focused on the evil of racism in his "I Have a Dream" speech that
late summer day in Washington DC, most of this years mainline coverage will not point out that this speech was delivered to a throng
that had assembled for the March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom. This effort, which he had helped organize, not only called out racism, it challenged our nation's systemic economic
exploitation. It demanded bold governmental action to correct the inequity resulting of systemic exploitation of the poor -- of all races.
And, of course, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI claimed the event was inspired by Communists and
lobbied to prevent it from happening.
Yet, Dr. King, the organizers, and the Movement he helped to inspire prevailed. Continuing to preach the power of Love, he championed a
non-violent resistance to a system that relied on violence to maintain its ascendancy. Dr. King knew full well
that he was risking his life to challenge the ruling order -- and he chose
Love and "Good Trouble" instead.
Dr. King's assassination, five
years after the "I Have a Dream" speech, occurred when he traveled to Memphis to support striking municipal sanitation workers as the leader of the National
Poor People's campaign. That campaign demanded an Economic Bill of Rights which included five planks:
1. "A meaningful job at a living wage"
2. "A secure and adequate income" for all those unable to find or do a job
3. "Access to land" for economic uses
4. "Access to capital" for poor people and minorities to promote their own businesses
5. The ability for ordinary people to "play a truly significant role" in the government
When's the last time you saw the Economic Bill of Rights highlighted -- or even mentioned -- in the corporate media coverage of Dr. King's life?
A Time to Break Silence
When Trump's legion of misanthropes, materialists, and
militarists first attempted to loot our country and the world, it was
easy for Progressives to protest. Yet, with the election of Joe Biden,
many of us relaxed and feel into line. Meanwhile, the same collection of neo-con's, foreign policy
"experts,"media pundits, and wealthy donors moved ahead with an agenda that allowed the and the moguls and minions of the military
industrial complex to dominate US foreign policy! The Democratic
administration continued to stoke the flames of warfare in Ukraine and
Gaza. They continued the longstanding goals of de-stablizing Venezuela, Iran, Russian, confronting China in Asia.
At home, despite a number of overtures, even with a Democratic majority in the House and Senatee, the Biden Administration didn't move to enhance the ability of unions to organize or pursue a significant change in the tax code. In the post-COVID United States of America, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer.
WTF!?
Now, the master manipulator, Donald Trump has returned. Claiming a mandate that his 1.5 % margin of victory does not deserve, his administration immediately began to act on the radical course of actions outlined in Project 2025. With Republican control of all three branches of the federal government, they have acted to shred the US Constitution, scuttle our democratic institutions, terrorize people at home and abroad -- and fill their own pockets.
In part, Trump's slim margin of victory was the result of a corporate Democratic party that has lost its soul. Many folks stayed home because the corporate Democratic Party couldn't neither deliver the goods at home -- nor avert people's eyes from our support for the genocide in Palestine. Now with Trump, Steven Miller, and Marco Rubio ranting a raving, all hell has broken loose. This is not just metaphorical. Armed ICE agents and the US military personnel are doing the work of the Devil.
Give Peace a Chance
It's
clear. It's time for those who believe in the creation of a world of
peace and shared prosperity (as opposed to the accumulation of wealth by
the world's oligarchs) to speak out. Dr. King did so, dramatically, on
April 4, 1967, at the
Riverside Church in New York City.
On that
day, Dr. King proclaimed, "these too are our brothers," and came out
against the US involvement in the Vietnam War with a passion and an
eloquence that many believe caused his assassination exactly one year,
to the day, later.
The corporate media today ignores this
speech and remains silent. I hope you don't. Please listen and pass
this along. Then join some folks and speak out -- with love in your
heart!
It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!
Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence
