ONLY WHEN IT IS DARK ENOUGH, CAN YOU SEE THE STARS

BY:Thebeerdoctor

I was twelve years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. A turbulent time to become a teen, made even tougher with the RFK shooting a couple of months later. It was a fiery time, with a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. I wrote this on the Huffington Post:

Whenever I think of Martin Luther King Jr., I also think of John Coltrane. Both men in the final phases of their lives chose to work with difficult, human spiritual matters. The marginalization of Dr. King's work against the Vietnam war and for economic justice, makes those who praise him as a noble symbol, rather than a living force for change, quite uncomfortable. The same can be said of John Coltrane, whose music was considered demanding and difficult, when he decided to literally "play his way over to the other side". Acknowledging the greatness of these endeavors would mean admitting that most of us suffer from a shallow perception of ultimate, metaphysical reality. Great souls help humankind to recognize that we indeed do have a soul. Truly, a remarkable accomplishment.

Which brings me back to April 2008. I received a campaign e-mail from Michelle Obama this morning, reminding me of the MLK legacy etc. Common wisdom has it that because her husband is the hot presidential candidate, who happens to be black, or fifty percent so, his candidacy represents the continuing legacy of Dr. King. Common wisdom has it that if Martin was around today, he would support Barack Obama. But would he? Putting aside the sanitized Martin Luther King; that version of history that embraces the I Have A Dream speech, but ignores his anti Vietnam war stance, which by today's cowardly media, would probably be called hate speech, you would have quite another take on current matters, including politics.

While doing research on Martin Luther King's last public address, the remarkable I See The Promised Land, a strange coincidence occurred when Barack Obama's 2007 AIPAC speech was found listed in Google, two entries down. Comparing the texts provided some insights.

"It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world, its nonviolence or nonexistence." It should always be remembered that this was spoken by a man who in less than twenty four hours was about to die a violent death. Compare that with this:

"We can refocus our efforts to critical, yet neglected priorities, such as combating international terrorism and winning the war in Afghanistan. And we can then, more effectively deal with one of the greatest threats to the United States, Israel and world peace: Iran. Iran's President Ahmadinejad's regime is a threat to all of us."

So said Senator Obama to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 2007, sounding remarkably similar to Vice-President Dick Cheney. Was the Senator from Illinois, pandering to the Israeli lobby?

"a man can't ride your back unless it is bent." That is unadulterated MLK, like John Coltrane on the album AUM. Not for the timid, or those who accept compromise on matters that should never be compromised. As Jeanette Rankin said back in 1929, war "cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense; for war is the slaughter of human beings, temporarily regarded as enemies, on as large a scale as possible." That was and is the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Strangely I thought Barack Obama was a student of Martin Luther King's teachings. But that must be the Martin Luther King Lite I have heard about. I wonder if Senator Obama is a fan of John Coltrane's music. I can imagine him enjoying albums like Blue Train and maybe even A Love Supreme. But records such as Ascension or Live In Seattle? I can almost hear him saying: "you're wearing me out brother."