RUMBLE #21Martin Luther King Jr.'s Democratic Socialist Dream

Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy has been sanitized by mainstream American society, erasing his fierce anti-capitalist and anti-war advocacy. Before he was assassinated, King was forcefully denouncing the "three evils" in America -- racism, militarism and a corrupt economic system -- and arguing that these three evils were all tied together. For this MLK Day episode, Michael Moore shares audio clips and quotes from King that will not be celebrated on the evening news.

"Capitalism has outlived its usefulness" -Martin Luther King, Jr

"I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, viz, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems, it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes."

"As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they asked, and rightly so, “What about Vietnam?” They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government. …"

“I started thinking about the fact that right here in our country we spend millions of dollars every day to store surplus food. And I said to myself: ‘I know where we can store that food free of charge — in the wrinkled stomachs of the millions of God’s children in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and even in our own nation, who go to bed hungry at night.’"

Dr King: "... the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government" [Jim P/Daily Kos]

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrations Overlook His Critiques of Capitalism and Militarism [Zaid Jilani/The Intercept]



Thanks, Boing Boing

School Of Life Monday: History as a Cure for Our Times + Dr. Cornel West Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It can seem as if we are living in deeply, uncommonly troubled and crazy times. We should take a measure of consolation from the example of history, that teaches us that humans have always been cruel and mad – but that civilisation has progressed nevertheless.




MLK DAY BONUS:

How Stevie Wonder helped create Martin Luther King Day

from Boing Boing:

Did you know Stevie Wonder was instrumental in the creation of Martin Luther King Day? I didn't. Cuepoint has the inspiring story.

...In 1979, President Jimmy Carter, who had been elected with the support of the unions, endorsed the bill to create the holiday. Carter made an emotional appearance at King’s old church, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. But Congress refused to budge, led by conservative Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, who denounced King as a lawbreaker who had been manipulated by Communists. The situation looked bleak.

By then, Wonder had matured from a young harmonica-playing sensation to a chart-topping music genius lauded for his complex rhythms and socially-conscious lyrics about racism, black liberation, love and unity. He had kept in touch with Coretta Scott King, regularly performing at rallies to push for the holiday. He told a cheering crowd in Atlanta in the summer of 1979, “If we cannot celebrate a man who died for love, then how can we say we believe in it? It is up to me and you.”

"How Stevie Wonder Helped Create Martin Luther King Day" (Cuepoint)

Happy Martin Luther King Day

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an extremist of love; he was a militant for tenderness. He was a radical for sweetness. He was willing to talk publicly, openly, explicitly, unapologetically about love and love defined as steadfast commitment to the well-being of others. Because of that commitment, King was faced with unbelievable hurt and unbelievable sorrow. But he never allowed that sorrow to have the last word. We look back, in all of his rich humanity, and say, we miss you. We love you. We need you. Happy Birthday."

- Cornel West