Dream

Yesterday, our nation took a day to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who cried out for equality and was rewarded with a bullet in his chest for it.

Today, civil rights ‘activists’ take a much different stance than King, and I doubt that he’d approve of their approach. See, King sought equality for all men, and he dreamed of seeing a day where two races could see each other without regard for their skin color, but with regard to their character, integrity and moral standing.

If you can, try to imagine the significance of what it is that King accomplished with his life. He brought together a nation of people that had been divided, and he did so with all of the odds pressed against him. He didn’t have the internet to propagate his messages, either.

This century has seen very few people that have risen to the caliber of King. In fact, I’d say that he was one of the last truly great men that rose to the prominence he did, with the position he had. He didn’t use his position to acquire wealth, fortune or buy expensive real estate. Rather, he practiced was he preached (he was a minister) and he made it his life goal to propagate this mission in his heart.

King didn’t call for violence. He didn’t call for looting, retaliation or even ‘justice’ – which is often seen as little more than ‘revenge’ – rather, he called for equality, brotherhood and a world where children could one day play with each other without seeing their differences.

That isn’t our world today, and I think that King would turn in his grave if he could see what modern-day civil rights activists have turned into. The message these days is no longer about equality, but vengeance, and that is deeply concerning.

King was truly a rarity in our world. He was a rarity in our century. He was one of the few people I can look back on and see as somewhat of a prophet; a messenger from God that knew his mission and was willing to devote his very breath to it.

A few years ago, I noted the view count on his legendary “I have a dream” speech (22M) whilst comparing it to Justin Bieber, “Baby” (3BILLION) and it saddened me to see the value our culture has placed on the greats of our time.

How different would our world be if his speech had 3 billion views, rather than 22 million? I think there would be a tangible difference in our world, the way we treat each other and the current state of social activism.

Today, albeit a day late, I salute Martin Luther King Jr.. He was the true definition of a warrior, a prophet and unfortunately, a martyr.

Spoken a day before his assasination:

“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.”