WILKES-BARRE — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist — one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.
Dr. King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Ga.
He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.
Remember Dr. King this weekend and on his day.
Remember him and his words every day.
And be a conduit of kindness and civility — it would make Dr. King proud.
It’s important to recall Dr. King and his words. We should never forget the many messages he sent to inspire Americans to be better.
Here are a few of Dr. King’s words:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”
• “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
• “The time is always right to do what is right.”
• “Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.”
• “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
• “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
• “Darkness cannot drive out darkness — only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate — only love can do that.”
• “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
• ”Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
• “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”
• “When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”
From F. Kennedy’s assassination to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. King, America has felt pain.
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 were a stark reminder of just how fragile this world is.
And the pandemic made us all live with constant worry — of the virus itself or, for many, the fear that we have all been duped over and over again.
This world we find ourselves living in today can not sustain itself.
We have to find a way to get along and to resolve our differences in a manner that does not include constant arguing, filled with the unmovable thought that both sides are always right.
Political discourse is one thing, but thanks to social media and “fake news,” we no longer know what to believe.
How do we ever get to the truth on any issue? We have to find the right path.
Political candidates these days are more concerned about telling us why we shouldn’t vote for their opponents, rather than telling us why we should vote for them.
Issues no longer drive the selection process — shock, untruths, and, yes, “fake news” provide us the “information” we are supposed to consider when making decisions.
We really need to resolve this. We need to bring civility back — especially in our elective process.
And as much as we would like, we can’t hop in the Way Back Machine and return to those better days.
We have to make every effort to make these days much better.
Every election is an opportunity to discuss issues — real issues that affect people’s lives.
Candidates should be telling us their plans to lower gas prices, or to create new high-paying, family-sustaining jobs, or to protect our rights, strengthen our military, improve the education system, cut taxes — especially on the elderly — keep us safe, stop inflation, help our farmers, strengthen law enforcement, and on and on and on.
Issues should drive elections — not negative political ads.
Elections are always important, voters choose who represents them in Congress, in the state Legislature, on borough councils, on school boards, and in courtrooms.
Back in the day, voters turned out to be a part of the process — to have their votes counted, and there were always discussions leading up to the elections. People discussed candidates, and they exchanged thoughts on who they favored and why.
All that was done without fear — nobody was afraid to voice their opinion on who they intended to vote for. And their opinions were respected. Oh, there were debates, and they were often spirited. But nobody was ever demeaned or threatened simply because they disagreed with another’s opinion.
Civility would be required.
Dr. King would be proud.