The Path of Best Resistance

Today, although dubbed a minor holiday by some, we celebrate a man who was anything but minor in terms of how he shaped history.  Although not perfect and not by any means the sole architect of the Civil Right's Movement, Dr. King became the face and voice for freedom when this country needed it the most.  We still might not be in a societal Shangri La, but through him a promise began to be fulfilled that was mandated in blood a century earlier during the Civil War: that mankind could have a free and equal opportunity to pursue their dream regardless of their culture, beliefs, or skin color.

It is easy to focus on the end results of the efforts of King and others because they were paramount to a change in a cultural ideology, but even more telling is a glimpse into his methods.  Taking a cue from a philosophy put into words by Henry David Thoreau and put into action by Mahatma Gandhi, King embraced nonviolent resistance to achieve his goals.  He recognized what many of his contemporaries could not, that belligerency and violence would only compound the obstacles African-Americans faced on the path towards social adequation by reinforcing the negative, false stereotypes white America had of minorities.

Even though many in this nation have come to embrace the idea of a "peaceful protest," Dr. King's methods still have yet to be fully harnessed in today's world--not just in terms of passive resistance in action--but in terms of a need for non-antagonistic speech.

When people think of the Civil Right's Movement King envisioned, they probably picture him giving his "I Have a Dream Speech," Rosa Parks refusing to budge in Montgomery, or black students realizing the ruling of Brown vs. The Topeka Board of Education and attending a previously "white only" school in Arkansas.  But it was the rhetoric of King and not just the actions of those who echoed his philosophy that allowed the downtrodden to rise up to a place of equal footing on the social ladder.

Martin Luther King Jr. and his constituents found success where John Brown and Malcolm X did not because he saw the pitfalls of portraying those he disagreed with, or even was completely at odds with, as absolute enemies.  He chose the communicative path of love and reconciliation rather than hate and vitriol.  In essence, he realized that using loaded language and employing a terse temper would only push both sides farther apart rather than closer together.

I started contemplating how important this decision was while watching, of all things, "The Lorax" with my 7th grade students. A benign movie to be sure and based on the Dr. Seuss book, the movie is laced with environmentalist themes that, for the most part, hit home with the viewer.  However, the Lorax himself fails to convince The Once-Ler to change his ways and quit harming his natural surroundings in part, I believe, because of how he delivers his message.  Instead of explaining in a rational, calm, and understanding way how the Thneed salesmen's actions will have detrimental consequences, the Lorax is loud, aggressive, and antagonizes the Once-Ler and his family with insulting diatribes.  He even goes so far as to send the potential beneficiary of his advice literally, "down the river."  Admittedly, I have since wondered why I am looking so closely and critically at an innocent and fun children's movie, but it is often through the most simple materials that the mind is prompted to engage in discerning thought.

Imagine if people learned from the mistakes of "The Lorax" and many ardent advocates of social change, both past and present, and instead adopted the tactics of Dr. King.  How much better of a world would we be living in if instead spouting belligerent barbs we instead utilized words of healing that would bind rather than break.  A partisan Congress wouldn't be deadlocked on a multitude of important issues while the nation hopes for improvements, the internet could be a venue of social debate and reform rather than a platform for venom, and on an even more micro-social level, broken families could be brought back together instead of split asunder.

Instead, we listen to the media focus on sensationalist stories using dramatic jargon, we listen to music and watch material that emphasizes and even embraces conflict and violence, and we use social technology as an outlet for venting insults and perpetuating extreme views.  The other side isn't just wrong, it is the devil incarnate.  Barack Obama isn't misguided on some issues, he is a Socialist Thug hellbent on dragging America into the gutter.  Pro-choice Americans are baby killers without a single care for human life.  Advocates of gun control are usurpers of the Constitution.  Supporters of Gay rights are evil to the core and absolute antagonists to the will of God.  Seekers of environmental reform are deranged hippies without an ounce of understanding of what it takes to live in the modern world. And on...and on...and on.

Although I consider myself an Independent in terms of party affiliation, I admittedly sway to the right on most social issues.  I don't support an amendment to redefine marriage, I am pro-life, I disagree with Obama's current stance on gun control, and I don't think the world in facing impending doom because of Greenhouse gases.  However, I also am a Lutheran--not in terms of religious belief--but rhetorical reasoning.  Nothing in the world is going to be changed for the better through painting an abominable caricature of the opposing side and pushing the wedge that has created a chasm between two groups further down.

If you don't believe hateful speech  plagues society, simply look over your Facebook Feed, peruse some Tweets, read a "news" article--or better yet--scroll down to the comment section of said article.  It seems that mocking and abuse are the current tools of choice to seek change rather than conciliatory correspondence or polite, but meaningful, debate.

Now this long and bloated piece of blogging is not advocating the adoption of the philosophy, "everyone's views have merit" or "just be patient and things will eventually get better."  No, that is not what I am not saying at all.  Anything important in history has come about because of hard work and action.  At times it has even become necessary for man to take up arms and fight for what dialogue could not achieve.  However, taciturn stereotypes, misguided labels, and antagonistic rhetoric has and will never be the best vehicles of improvement.  That's what Dr. King taught us.  That's why we honor his memory.

We live in a tumultuous time in which, it seems, we seem on the precipitous of calamity on many issues.  In many instances, it seems our interaction with others, especially those we disagree with, seeks to push us over the edge into chaos and anarchy rather than back into the arms of civility and reason.  That's why the Minister from Atlanta's legacy has never been so important to remember.

So in this month of resolution making, make a commitment to be softer in tone and more considerate in action.  Rather than having the emotional perception of a sea sponge, try to empathize with those you thought you could never empathize with.  When engaging in necessary debate, use phrases like, "I understand where you are coming from, but..." or "I think your position has merit, but this is what I believe and why."  Try to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.  Mend rather than tear apart.  Reconcile rather than rudely remonstrate.  Do this and you will be sharing the same dream King echoed nearly fifty years ago.  Do this and you can change the world.

Why the Blah?

There is nothing a solitary spirit desires more than affection.  I don’t have it…I am lost, I am broken, I am in a funk that cannot be affected and I am struggling to keep going…but I know that out there, somewhere, anywhere, is someone I can love and who will love me.  She will be my everything, my universe, my panacea.  I want her here now.  I want to be hers.  I want her to be mine.  I want to hold her in my arms and adore her without condition.  No matter this frail existence’s tremulous and turbulent waters, I want us to find solace in the fact that we will always sail on together…sometimes drifting.  

I don’t know when she will arrive.  I pray to god that it will be soon.  Faith is tricky though.  It requires not only belief in something external, but something internal as well.  In order to believe in God and his timing, I have to believe in myself.  I have to believe in my eternal worth and that what I feel, at times, to be a withered shell of a soul was,  in actuality, a beacon forged in the cosmos—unending  light.  If I believe I have a purpose, than I believe that God created me with a reason…if I believe God created me for a reason, I can trust that he knows how to navigate the treacherous shoals until I arrive at the desired port.  

Maybe my purpose is not to be adored and loved by my eternal ally at age 25.  Maybe it is.  Maybe the girl I am hoping will call me right now has not even given me a single, brief musing this entire day, or maybe the same frenetic anxieties have enveloped her mind as well. Maybe I am destined to walk this world alone a little longer…or a lot longer…but maybe not.  I forge my own path, but God knows best what shape my journey should take and when the turning points will manifest.   With his help I can navigate this or any nexus in my life.  My trust in him keeps me going because I know that, eventually, he will lead me through the siren’s song—in whatever form it takes—to my Portia.