I remember Martin Luther King,
Lord he was the man, baby, that gave us all a dream.
—Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise, “Once Upon a Time.”
It’s been 40 years since Martin Luther King was assassinated.
The day before, at the end of his last speech, Dr. King said the following:
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Here in Indiana, Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning in the Democratic primary when he learned of the assassination. He gave a speech that helped calm the situation in town. (Text of the speech).
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black–considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible–you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization–black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.
Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: “In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
Kennedy himself was assassinated two months later. Nixon went on to win the Presidential election. America went through a dark time.
1968 had to have been the worst year in our country’s history. Well, maybe 1930/31/32 and 1968.
Hard to pick worst years. 1861-1865 were pretty awful as well. It was a really, really bad year, though.
Yeah, I knew when I wrote that I was missing something. I was thinking the Revolutionary War years, or maybe when the Brits burned down the White House in 1812.
But no doubt, the Civil War years were the worst. The loses as a % of population were just huge. Nothing before or since even comes close.
Yeah, using Napoleon’s tactics against more modern weaponry wasn’t such a great idea. Oddly, the World War I generals didn’t really learn the lessons of the U.S. Civil War.
Doug, are you a Civil War buff?
Like I said, I’ve got this sabre, given to my grandmother by a great aunt, but I’ve never done the geneology to find out who exactly it was. I’m pretty sure I know roughly who it was, I think that I have the name, but not a lot more than that.
Other than reading a diary or two of civil war soldiers, I haven’t done a lot of Civil War reading. I probably should do some more.
I’m a history buff generally, but I can’t claim any expertise with the Civil War. There are people who are just fanatics about Civil War history, and I recognize that I pale by comparison. In college, I was a history major and two of my upper level classes were on the Civil War and on World War I. That’s where a lot of my more in depth knowledge, to the extent I still remember any of it, came from.
These days, I seem to have a strong interest in 16th and 17th century Europe. You have your Age of Discovery coupled with the birth or significant development of a lot of our modern civilization — democratic forms of government, the scientific method, finance, etc.
If you want a good, readable book about the Civil War and its influence on the modern South, you might check out Tony Horwitz’s “Confederates in the Attic.” Horwitz travels around the south, often with a hard core Civil War re-enactor he met, describes what he sees today, and relates it to some of what happened in the past. (Then, go read everything else Horwitz has written.)
These days, I seem to have a strong interest in 16th and 17th century Europe.
You should pick up “Farewell to Alms”. It’s economic history, pretty interesting take on why the Industrial Revolution happened when and where it did.
It’s a different take on the same topics as “Guns, Germs, and Steel” (a book that I wasn’t able to finish. I did finish FTA, much better written).
Thanks for the book recomendation. I checked the Lake County Public Library and they have it. Put it on my list.
My list of books to read is now over 40! I’m actually on the last pages of “The Future and its Enemies” and need to decide the next book on the list to read.
Reading,any reading,but hopefully diverse, sharpens thinking and improves spelling. I had not been reading for a few years as I had when I was a younger man ,and one’s capacity to reason and analyze suffers.Then when we edge past 60 or so our minds just aren’t as sharp and we develop as the French say ‘trous de memoire'( memory holes).
Just by looking into the sidebars and clicking up references given in this blog have put me back into an intellectualism that I had slowly abandoned and I thank this blog for that.
Those who have consistently read hold off getting these ‘trous de memoire’.