Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Image of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., by Buddy Poland
Image of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., by Buddy Poland
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Note on MLK, Jr. Day:
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s writing has made me cry.
"You hear sometimes, now that we know the sordid details of the lives of some of our leading figures, that America has no heroes left.
"When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre, where heroism was pretty thin on the ground, I gave that a lot of thought. And I came to believe that heroism is neither being perfect, nor doing something spectacular. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost, even if no one will ever know, even as they realize the walls might be closing in around them.
"It means sitting down the night before D-Day and writing a letter praising the troops and taking all the blame for the next day’s failure upon yourself, in case things went wrong, as General Dwight D. Eisenhower did.
"It means writing in your diary that you “still believe that people are really good at heart,” even while you are hiding in an attic from the men who are soon going to kill you, as Anne Frank did.
"It means signing your name to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence in bold print, even though you know you are signing your own death warrant should the British capture you, as John Hancock did.
"It means defending your people’s right to practice a religion you don’t share, even though you know you are becoming a dangerously visible target, as Sitting Bull did.
"Sometimes it just means sitting down, even when you are told to stand up, as Rosa Parks did.
"None of those people woke up one morning and said to themselves that they were about to do something heroic. It’s just that, when they had to, they did what was right.
"On April 3, 1968, the night before the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a white supremacist, he gave a speech in support of sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Since 1966, King had tried to broaden the Civil Rights Movement for racial equality into a larger movement for economic justice. He joined the sanitation workers in Memphis, who were on strike after years of bad pay and such dangerous conditions that two men had been crushed to death in garbage compactors.
"After his friend Ralph Abernathy introduced him to the crowd, King had something to say about heroes: “As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about.”
"Dr. King told the audience that, if God had let him choose any era in which to live, he would have chosen the one in which he had landed. “Now, that’s a strange statement to make,” King went on, “because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around…. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” Dr. King said that he felt blessed to live in an era when people had finally woken up and were working together for freedom and economic justice.
"He knew he was in danger as he worked for a racially and economically just America. “I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter…because I’ve been to the mountaintop…. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life…. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
"People are wrong to say that we have no heroes left.
"Just as they have always been, they are all around us, choosing to do the right thing, no matter what.
"Wishing you all a day of peace for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024."
To see HCR’s references, go to:
NOTE: The photo used out front was taken by Heather Cox Richardson’s spouse Buddy Poland.
I messed up setting the link correctly, but if you just click on the bolded line it will take you to the site. LOL
Deletejust got up to pee. only took five minutes. by myself. space under right breast is beginning to feel like a broken rib. fun.
ReplyDeleteOh, puddle. I am holding you in the light. So wish I could do something much more tangible that would actually be helpful. sigh... (Susan)
DeleteGood to hear from you, though. Are you in the hospital? How's the grub?
Delete----Alan
Susan, being held in the light is the very best thing. Adore you!
Delete0630 here, dark and foggy. Coffee in progress. Will see if the local newspaper has a photo of the mountains covered in snow; the highway patrol was warning yesterday that people needed to have chains on their vehicles to go up there.
ReplyDelete----Alan
Didn't find a photo of the snow on the mountains. It seems like the local newspaper hasn't had a staff photographer for some time now; the photos that used to be common just don't appear any more. Getting lighter now; can't see across the river for the fog.
Delete-----Alan
Slouching Towards Iowa [Click] “Every four years we convince ourselves that this matters. Until it doesn’t.”
ReplyDelete—Alan
Alan, no hospital. LIKE THE FOOD, BTW. diaphragm breathing really helps
ReplyDeleteSounds good. I will never forget how WONDERFUL the potato soup they gave me in the hospital tasted after being on a diet of clear liquids (i.e. juice and jello). Mysteriously, they classified the soup as a clear liquid. Flavored with a bit of pepper.
Delete-----Alan
snow inch or two leave time --11 o'clock
ReplyDeleteWRONG--noon
ReplyDeleteThe Waking by Theodore Roethke - Poems
ReplyDeletePoets.org
https://poets.org › poem › waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Of those so close beside me, which are you? God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
❤️
DeleteCollected gleanings:
ReplyDeleteRare mushroom sighting near Bristol spawns native fungi cloning project [Click] “Lion’s mane find prompts fungarium to conserve rare fungi at risk from farmers and commercial strains.” Spectacular!
‘It only takes one to be real and it changes humanity for ever’: what if we’ve been lied to about UFOs? [Click] All right, but absence of proof is neither proof of absence nor proof of a cover-up.
Why landing on the moon is proving more difficult today than 50 years ago [Click]
The incredible story of Merlin the spaniel shows how little humans know about dogs [Click]
—Alan
James Webb Discovered Something So Improbable, It Shouldn’t Ever Happen [Click] So far FORTY Jupiter Mass Binary Objects - or JuMBOs, and there presumably are many more.
ReplyDelete—Alan
Frostbite warning for Iowa (as well as other places to the west). Wonder how tough those Iowa Republicans will prove to be.
ReplyDelete----Alan
"The terrible weather in Iowa favors Trump since his voters have a long history of ignoring reality."
Delete~ Andy Borowitz
"IOWA CAUCUS FORECAST: IQs tonight expected to dip into the single digits."
Delete~ Andy Borowitz
Three thumbs up!
Delete----Alan
The impact of the ‘Dean Scream’ 20 years later
ReplyDeleteI do wish they had mentioned that the microphone was noise cancelling. Sigh. Bugs me.
DeleteBut I was glad to see Howard speak to the event himself.
So far I have been unable to create any enthusiasm among my family members for making Toad in a Hole, but I keep noticing recipes for it. Will I make some and eat it all myself?
ReplyDeleteToad in the Hole - Easy Cold Oven Method [Click]
——Alan
P.S.: I do not find it among the recipes in my great grandmother's "Toronto Ladies' Home Cookbook."
The onion gravy in the "easy cold oven method" seems interesting.
Delete-----Alan
It could be far more appetising if it had a different name.
DeleteThe incredible story of Merlin the spaniel shows how little humans know about dogs [Click] “No technology can yet match the uncanny ability that dogs [and some cats] possess to find their way home.”
ReplyDelete——Alan
The Atlantic: What’s Gone Wrong at Boeing [Click] “Behind the 737 Max’s persistent problems is the erosion of a valuable corporate culture. That will be harder to fix than a loose bolt.” Like what happened when the MBA’s gained control of Hewlett Packard.
ReplyDelete—Alan
DT's total in Iowa dipped below 50% but then went back up and is currently 51%.
ReplyDelete"Oh what fools these mortals be."
"IOWA CAUCUS FORECAST: IQs tonight expected to dip into the single digits."
Delete~ Andy Borowitz
I wonder what portion of registered Republicans voted; will investigate and note here if I find it easily.
-----Alan