Forty years ago today shots rang out that’d change the course of a nation and how it views itself domestically as well as the world’s view of us from the outside looking in. Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the death of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. A nation in sorrow mourned his death wit the utmost sincerity but it’d appear that his death has been marked by silence and the fact it may well have been for nothing.
Dr King along with Jesse Jackson and members of his entourage are seen here on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis , Tn. Moments later King would lose his life to an assassin’s bullet. picture courtesy of wikipedia.org/lorrainemotel/memphis/tn……..
Whatever it was that King had been striving for seems to have been lost on today’s youth as well as some of its adult population . And those who were said to be the torchbearers of his legacy. As it is now, the efforts that he strived for have all been but stripped down by the federal and state governments. And this country is no better off for it at all. It’s still caught in that stain of guilt and the fact of the matter is that this country may now be even more divided than it has ever been . And that division is not just along racial lines but also socio economic lines too. Yes one can work and strive to make their lives better but not at the expense of losing the very freedoms that King and others have fought so courageously for. The advent of this being is that at a time in the nation’s history where an unprecendented event is taking place politically we’re still entrenched not only about race and social and economic injustice but also about bigotry.
Shots rang out and witnesses point to where they believe the assassin’s bullets came from. King’s body lay on the balcony whilst aid was given , but it was all to no avail. picture courtesy of images.google.com/king assassination ……..
The things that King stood up and preached against are the very things that we’re now being confronted with once again and that is dividing the nation. But there are those who’d rather paint a rosy picture of the nation’s well being. At this time nothing could be further from the truth . The misgivings that many of us now have are rearing its ugly head and we shouldn’t be at loss to see the reasons why. Politically the country is spent and redundant of ideas as to how to deal with many of its most basic needs and internationally its view of itself is one filled with rhetoric straight out of an ideology that has no basis in fact. The respect and authority it feels that it has garnered is myopic at best. And the missteps made by successive administrations have only brought about a wealth of conflict and confrontation among enemies that not too long ago were viewed as allies.
Dr King is taken into custody and arrested in Selma , Al . picture courtesy of africanamericans.com/images2/martinlutherkingarrest.jpg
While there may not be immediate solutions to all of the nation’s ills the diagnosis isn’t all that great. Differing views as to the prognosis are plentiful but even that is of little help. And when we look across the landscape as to the very leaders out there who we can turn to and trust to see what direction we should be heading in. They offer very little by way of assurance. They paint platitusdes as to what they envisage as to what the future holds for us based on experiences of the past. However it’s the immediacy of now is what they’re failing to understand. I’d like to have believed that what Dr King had envisaged for this country can still be attained but the indifference being shown by the nation’s leaders as well as parts of the population leads me for one to believe that we’re in for some very dire times ahead. Plain speaking is something that seems to be lost on our politicians nowadays. They tell us what they’d like us to hear rather than telling us what we need to hear and the solutions that they may have to deal with the issues that we face. Something that genuinely one could say that Dr King was never at a loss for and that was to tell us the plain and simple truth no matter how painful it might be. His words were always honest and reverrential and spoke to us and not at us. We weren’t left feeling like we were children there to be merely tolerated for the moment . He words gave us hope and if anything painted as a positive light as to how the country ought to be rather than what it was.
The Lorraine Motel in Memphis , Tennessee where Dr King was slain on 4th April 1968. The motel itself is now a museum filled archival facts and is deemed a national monument by the federal government. picture courtesy of images.google.com/kingassassination …..
And though his loss is celebrated with the advent of a national holiday celebrating his birth for which many felt was ill serving to the nation as a whole. I for one feel that it is a fitting tribute to a man that shone a light on a nation’s ills and in many ways told us what we could aspire to be if we’re prepared to work together rather than being adversaries along the way. Plain words from an eloquent man who’s sorely missed by a nation in need of guidance. We’ve leaders abound in walks of life but they only speak of their own wants, needs and very little to the needs of those that they’re entrusted to either guide or serve. King’s view may have painted a broad biblical picture as to the land of milk and honey. But there’s a bitter and unpalatable taste in the land at present that many of us have no room for and yet we tolerate it merely from the fact that it’s the way we’re told that things are meant to be.
A pensive looking Dr King perhaps realizing that his time was near ? picture courtesy of images.google.com/drmartinlutherking…..
Though the day will be commemorated in many ways here’s hoping that Dr King’s wishes aren’t lost on us now as a people , a nation and to the world as a whole. Few men are prepared to walk the walk , talk the talk and at the same time do the right thing. Dr Martin Luther King was this and more to a great many people who admired him and held him in the highest esteem imagineable. We in return ought to hold his dream true and as a testament to what is achievable when we set our minds to doing something the right way.
topshouse ………….aka tophatal