“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” Martin Luther King Jr.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
This statement was used by Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter to the clergy written in the Birmingham jail. Martin was attempting to answer questions as well as appeal to the higher good in his fellow clergymen, who were very critical of the civil rights movement. Many clergymen viewed him as a rebel rouser that needed to leave well enough alone. The clergy believed that he shouldn’t be agitating the agitators, the movement should be patient and in due time things would change. King believed that the time for change was now; and anytime a man-made law, ideal or thought contradicted God’s law, that law, ideal or thought was not just and should be corrected immediately. Amazingly, his Birmingham letter was written in April of 1963. This is some 100 years after President Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, the final Emancipation Proclamation. With it, he officially freed all slaves within the states or parts of states that were in rebellion and not in Union hands. However, as part of Reconstruction, two new amendments were added to the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in June 1865, granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in February of 1869, guaranteeing that no American would be denied the right to vote on the basis of race. And yet in April of 1963, Dr. King is being asked to wait for something that is nearly a hundred years overdue. Yes, all three branches of the U.S. government were complicit in withholding these rights.Throughout history it was believed that while governments are sometimes self absorbed, the religious institutions acted as God’s police in matters of human rights, they would argue the case for the poor, broken and forgotten. The church needed to fulfill their role as being a thermostat setting the right temperature for human rights, but it acted as a thermometer only reporting the temperature and doing little to change it. During this period it is clear that the religious institutions were in lock step with the government. To know that the clergy stood with the three branches of U.S. government and not with basic human rights, is nothing short of breath taking. I know Dr. King had to be horrified to have all of the major American institutions, fighting to keep the status quo. He had to have wondered why. Well the reason is very simple, the civil rights movement was hurting Birmingham economically and it threatened the economic structure of many U.S. cities and states. Just imagine if every major U.S. city had a similar movement it would potentially destroy the economic fabric of the entire nation.This for the clergy as well as the government was interrupting their inward flows of cash. All economic systems need certainty to maximize profits long term. When things are uncertain, people stop spending. The fear of this paralyzing the economic system was severe; therefore, the plan for the clergy and the government was to maintain the status quo. Well, to maintain the status quo would be to continue to perpetuate racism, which many believe to be the crux of the problem, however racism is not what this article is about.
In essence, greed is the crux and the root from which racism stems. Greed “is an inordinate or insatiable longing, especially for wealth, status, and power.” Thomas Aquinas, a philosopher, once stated that greed "is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal thing.” Meher Baba, an indian mystic, stated that "Greed is a state of restlessness of the heart, and it consists mainly of craving for power and possessions. Possessions and power are sought for the fulfillment of desires. Man is only partially satisfied in his attempt to have the fulfillment of his desires, and this partial satisfaction fans and increases the flame of craving instead of extinguishing it. Thus greed always finds an endless field of conquest and leaves the man endlessly dissatisfied. The chief expressions of greed are related to the emotional part of man."
THOMAS AQUINAS
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, it distorts and perverts, which requires a level of blindness and self imposed ignorance by the individual. After a while, a man’s conscience will convict him and light will shine through that darkness. To continue in darkness once light has appeared, one would have to convince himself that his evil is somehow justified, that this is what God intended, “Voila” racism. This allows him to deal with his conscience while continuing in his darkness. At some point systems have to be created to twist minds and pervert conscience. These perverted systems produce ways of thinking that is passed down from generation to generation. Systems are created to produce a desired end. They come with instruction and guidelines that are there to control the results. These systems began to manufacture racism and racism became America’s best selling product. It was taught at home, at school, at church, it became integrated into every fabric of American Society. It was not one area of society that was not infected with the disease of racism. It was the de - humanization of one group so that another could justify their sins. All to cover the real culprit, economic gain, GREED! I am merely suggesting that while many of us are focusing on hate, racism and all aspects of division. The other group is running out of the back door with wealth and privilege, depriving the masses of access. They have the prosperity and the masses have the manufactured distractions of hate, division and poverty.
Over the last few days after the slew of killings of defenseless African American men and the brutal sabotage of innocent police officers. Many are asking why. How could this happen? What can we do? Let's start with a basic understanding of systems. Systems and institutions in and of themselves are not evil, generally they are neutral, however they will rise or fall to the level of character of the individuals participating. It seems the masses look to government to solve all of its societal ills. In many cases we seek legislation or a new law to somehow right a wrong. But the truth is that governments move slowly, and the wheels of justice often move even slower. For some strange reason we forget, a righteous law carried out in a unrighteous way taints that law. It not just the laws. It’s not the systems, it's the people. Therefore, if we want to change America we must first change ourselves. As Gandhi said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Every society has risen or fallen due to the character of it citizens. This is true for an individual, a home, a community, a state or country. This is also true for systems and institutions. Who are the people that are participating and what are the instructions and guidelines for running that community.
If we return to our foundational principles, and the instructional documents to the American system. Then we must live up to those instructions. In congress on July 4, 1776 our Declaration of Independence was signed into law.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The committee of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson, understood that this document would be the blueprint of our independence. It was created to be the navigational system of a nation. If we ever became lost we could refer back to this document to find our way. Abraham Lincoln understood this and referred back to this in his Gettysburg’s Address on November 19, 1863.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln
“We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Greed and selfishness, are evil in all forms and have always been. Our future depends on our ability to understand the brotherhood of all mankind. We are forever linked together by God. If I ignore your circumstances, someday your circumstances will become mine. Whether I like it or not, an injustice anywhere is truly a threat to justice every where . Our hope lies in a return to the principles that our great nation was founded upon, and a continued reach towards the goals laid out in our founding documents. Then and only then will we fulfill the great promise of America.
Author: MARCUS TURNER
EDITED by: THOMAS GOINES, PATRICK MCELYA, DEXTER SAMUELS, TIMOTHY BLIGE, LINETTE SMITH
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