The Greatest American Ever

Martin Luther King Jr.(MLK) was the Greatest American Ever for dedicating his life to Social Justice.

Founding fathers, Presidents, Generals that won wars, scientists, researchers, etc. have all contributed to building a Great Nation. However, Great Nations are not great without Social Justice for all. Good times for the few can easily be created at the expense of exploitation of the many. Greatness, prosperity, and security is meaningless unless it is inclusive and just.

Inclusiveness and Social Justice is the most relevant national and global issue today, and that is where MLK excelled.

Quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and their relevance to our life today...

For those whose life is filled with just fulfilling the basic needs of existence, and for those who fill their life with noise, trivial pursuits, pointless activities, and are always busy rushing from one task to another: "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity".

For those who care about themselves only, and assume global events won't affect them: "Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality".

For those who plan to do the right thing, but will do it next time or tomorrow: "The time is always right to do what is right" and "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now."

On ignorance and stupidity which is not only acceptable today, but is actually fashionable: "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

For those who believe that good things will come to them if they do things right and wait: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed".

For those who are busy with their life, or are still studying the situation, and see pros and cons in both sides of the story: "The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict".

For those who believe that right and good things are not being done because we don't have money or government support, and are waiting for mass movement or other opportunities and resources: "There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will".

For those who believe that hard work and good decisions made them successful: "Again we have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that Capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor – both black and white, both here and abroad".

For those who prefer to remain silent and make excuses why they are silent: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".

For those who are asked to tone their speech and use soft words or risk losing your audience: "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative".

For those who 'respect' the law and think it makes them good citizens. Obey and comply with the law, there is no need to 'respect' the law, as there are several laws which are unjust: "Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress", and "Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal".

A quote for Neo-Liberal strongholds such as Canada, where 'peace' is achieved by sucking the life out of every working person to feed the government and the old, established, and connected families. Working people live paycheck-to-paycheck in basements and tiny apartments, while government officials and old, established, connected families live in tax subsidized palaces without ever having done any work. Dissent is politely, gently and legally suppressed by the corporate media, academia, and institutions, to achieve 'peace': "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice".

For those who are looking for a purpose and meaning in this world: "Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in".

For those who are asked what their cause is, and asked to work on a specific cause: "The problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated".

For those change-makers who are told that people won't 'get' what they are saying: "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better".

At the age of 35, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize.

"To be so black and so visible and so dangerous to the status quo for so long meant that the bullet was already on its way toward him". No wonder he was spied on by the CIA and the FBI, and assassinated at the age of 39. [1] [2]

Martin Luther King Jr. life is summed up by Hanif Abdurraqib: "And it’s funny how that works. The people who have the most justifiable anger, the most rightful case for rebellion are the ones most frequently told to settle down, to embrace nonviolence. They are the ones told to follow the example of a man who met his end with a bullet, fired from a racist’s gun".

Those who share his values continue to strive for Social Justice, and will never rest.

"You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream".

May the Greatest American Ever Rest in Peace.





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