Dr. King! “A Man For ‘All’ Seasons & Reasons!”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who longed to see mankind dwell in peace. He strove towards making America become a true land of liberty and justice for “All!” But because of that, his life was snatched away from him at the early age of 39. We’ve heard so much about how his life was snatched away but very little about why. Dr. King wasn’t killed because of his “Dream”, his life was snatched away because of his determination towards making poor people not poor any longer. He was talking about “Economics!”. He was talking about turning his dream for this country into a reality.

Dr. King was not just a preacher but he was also a “Social Activist” and that was the major reason why he became a threat to America.

When he gave his opinion re: the Vietnam War, I do believe that was the moment that the decision was made that he could no longer be allowed to exist. Why?  Because his move towards addressing the economic status of this country, as it pertained to the poor, was the most dangerous thing that he could have done. The powers that be should have understood that Dr. King, being a preacher, was about turning America’s eyes and ears  towards the words of God re: the poor, which says in Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor reproaches, mocks, and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors Him. Proverbs 17:5 “Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he that is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent or go unpunished!”

Let me share with you the words of Dr. King re: Poverty which are in his “I Have A Dream” book: “Poverty”

1) Our nation is now so rich, productive, that the continuation of persistent poverty is incendiary because the poor cannot rationalize their deprivation.

2) We have yet to confront and solve the international problems created by our wealth in a world still largely hungry and miserable. But more immediate and pressing is the domestic existence of poverty. It is an anachronism in the second half of the twentieth century. Only the neglect to plan intelligently and adequately and the unwillingness genuinely to embrace economic justice enable it to persist.

3) Poverty-especially that found among 35 million persons in the United States-is rooted not in a lack of resources, but in a tragic defect of human will.

4) The inseparable twin of racial injustice is economic injustice…..The systems of segregation exploit both the Negro and the poor whites.

5) God never intended one people to live in superfluous and inordinate wealth, while others know only deadening poverty. God wants all of his children to have the basic necessities of life, and he has left in this universe “enough and to spare” for that purpose.

In his book “Why We Can’t Wait” Dr. King said: You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right  in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks  to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.

“It seeks to dramatize that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.”

These words of Dr. King were the beginning of the decision that caused him to be considered a national security threat which had to be eliminated. This is why, as to this day, you mostly only hear about his “I Have A Dream” speech and not the ones that highlighted this subject!

“Dr. King, You will “ALWAYS” be remembered and cherished for what you tried to do for the poor, for you knew that they would always be a part of society. Thank you for being willing to put your life in jeopardy for us. Hopefully, one day America will realize this and strive towards making it a reality. If not, they will only have themselves to blame for what evolves as the result of them not doing so.

This is “Lillie’s Point Of View” and I’m just having my say!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!