From Martin Luther King’s Dream to Eric Cantor’s Obsession
In this era of human folly, the natural world conspires to offer a contrast between what can happen to individuals after “All men are created equal.”
As Hurricane Irene postpones a tribute to a great figure of the last century, the dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, the aftermath of this week’s earthquake brings forward one of this century’s puniest, Eric Cantor.
The rain and high winds will prevent Barack Obama’s eulogy on the anniversary of the “I have a dream” speech Sunday, but the House Majority Leader takes the stage with an “I have an obsession” declaration by announcing that any aid to his district, the epicenter of this week’s earthquake, would have to be offset by cuts in the Federal budget.
“All of us know that the federal government is busy spending money it doesn’t have,” Cantor tells constituents while touring damaged buildings.
Forty-eight years ago, at the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King told multitudes that “we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note…that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…’
“Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’
MORE.
3 Responses to “From Martin Luther King’s Dream to Eric Cantor’s Obsession”
So, fiscal responsibility is in opposition to civil rights. Who knew?
Mr. Stein..As a bleeding heart liberal who believes my money is your money, you may find this hard to understand. But I will try.
When someone earns a dollar they can spend a dollar. If they spend two dollars, then they have to pay back a dollar in the future. If they spend four dollars, most likely they will find it hard to ever pay it back, especially if they continue to spend four dollars. And that is what is happening to our country today. (Use a calculator if you can not do this in your head and see what the answer is over a long period of time)
So, when do you propose we stop spending four dollars and begin spending less? All I have read from you is liberal talking points that provide no solutions, just crap that the left’s and Bush Republican’s use to support their massive debt policies.No spending cuts and no taxes to cut our deficit!!!!
As for MLK, I suspect MLK may have had problems with the white mans banks offering loans to the black man knowing the black man would never be able to pay the cost of the loan back with the preditory rates that were used before the housing crash. As a white man myself I am not sure, but I think MLK believed in equality, but it appears to me that the loans given during that time were taking advantage of a group of individuals that would never be able to afford the “American Dream” at the level the banks offered had reason controlled the lending policies.
What we need in personal and governmental policies today is common sense. For many, common sense has taken hold and that is why they are reducing their personal debts (helping to cause a downturn in the economy), while government is still operating on your policy of spend now and let the future generations worry about it after you are dead.
If I am wrong and you do have ideas, please write another article offering those positions!
It’s so nice to be able to remember a time when at least some of the nation was united. We are in shreds and the same forces are at play that were around in 1963….
I went to the march and wrote this song last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_slIO8CxDw
Gerry Segal Singer/Songwriter
http://www.gerrysegal.com
http://www.gerrysegal.com