Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On the occasion, my hometown newspaper published a wonderful editorial appropriately titled, “Still resonating in America: MLK’s message of peace … and senseless violence.”
USA Today also had an excellent opinion piece titled “MLK was a religious visionary, too.”
Both are right.
King was a visionary on many fronts. Witness his repeated calls for nonviolence, mutual respect and the rejection of hatred and hate speech.
In its editorial, the Statesman says:
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of nonviolence inspired some, but it incited many others. He was only 39 when he was gunned down in 1968, his quest to lead America’s march into an era of equality and peace ended.
As we’ve been forced to realize countless times since that spring night in Memphis, King’s message — usually brought to life in his powerfully moving sermons and speeches — cannot be repeated often enough. The echoes of his words are forever being drowned out by the wailing of sirens heralding another act of violence so horrific it sets the nation on edge. That’s where America stands today, celebrating a federal holiday to mark the anniversary of King’s birth as we bury those killed in the shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., nine days ago.
As we still reel from the Tucson tragedy, King’s words, spoken so many decades ago—his visionary words—still ring painfully true and may be of some worth to revisit again.
Many more of King’s visionary words can be found in today’s Statesman editorial.
Image: Courtesy walldigger.com
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.