Content of Character

Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States. It is a day to remember a great man who stood for justice and equality for all, but even more than that, he stood for the great power of love to transform the masses and the world.

For anyone who has not seen or heard MLK’s iconic “I Have a Dream Speech,” you owe it to yourself to listen to the majesty of this speech, which is widely regarded as one of the best speeches of the modern era. As a scholar of rhetoric, to me the speech presents not only an example of brilliant oratory skill, but also a message of hope that still resonates today.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”   Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Look, I know things aren’t perfect. There is still injustice, there is still social inequality, there is still brutality, there is still hatred, fear, and ignorance, but there’s also this.

I see a lot of happy couples and families who have members of all different colors and shades. I see a lot of people who love each other for the content of their character instead of their race or religion. In fact, I see people all the time relating to one another despite their differences, helping one another, smiling, laughing, learning and growing with one another.

I see a world that is a lot better than it was in 1963 for people like my niece, her husband, and her two kids.

But I’m looking for good and so that’s what I’m seeing all over the place.

Yes, we still have a long way to go. Poverty, the military industrial complex, the prison industrial complex, social inequality, social injustice, the educational system etc. etc. etc.

There’s a lot of problems that need fixing.

But let us try to see and acknowledge all the places in the world where love is winning. I think Dr. King would want us to do that too.

Ride on the Peace Train

“Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come. And I believe it could be, something good has begun.” ~  Yusuf Islam a.k.a Cat Stevens

I love Cat Stevens, and I’m posting his song Peace Train because I think it is a nice tribute for MLK day, but also because ole Cat, now Yusuf Islam, has been a controversial figure due to his conversion to Islam in 1977 and subsequent disappearance from the pop world for almost three decades thereafter, and I think the conflict between the Muslim world and the West, promoted and exacerbated by the mass media, needs our love and attention desperately in order to be solved.

The thing is, people in the world are being conditioned to be afraid of Muslims. Some would argue this fear is warranted. Others, including myself, might caution you to remember the term democide.

Governments have proven to be more deadly than any other group in human history. And Christian nations have been known to provoke violence and death on many more than one occasion, and are still doing so, sometimes in the name of “democracy” or “freedom,” when in reality it is probably more about capitalism and natural resources.

Now that I teach ESL, I have come to know many people of the Islamic faith. And getting to know people is one way to quell fears about them as an entire group.

 

I find the Arabic culture fascinating and some of the tenants of Islam to be admirable, like fasting during the month of Ramadan in order to actually feel real empathy for the plight of the hungry and poor. And the act of praying, or meditating, thinking contemplatively, or whatever you want to do as a spiritual practice, five times a day, well that doesn’t seem like a bad idea either.

Of course, there are some things I disagree with and would like to see change in the Muslim world. But there are also plenty of things I disagree with and would like to see change in the Christian world as well.

The bottom line is that it is our responsibility to get to know people on our own terms and then evaluate them based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin, the god that they pray to, or the people that they love.

Good people are good people wherever you go.

I think Dr. King would want us to remember this truth. It is the good people of the world standing together in unity who have made the changes we enjoy today. And it will be the good people of the world who will continue stand for the changes that will  make the world a even better place for future generations.

And even if some people are not “good,” and they want to hurt others out of anger, fear, or righteous indignation, then it is our job to love them anyway.

Because as MLK said, “Love is the only force capable of turning an enemy into a friend.”

Now that is a statement of truth that should give anyone the chills just imagining the power and magnitude of it.

Let us remember this message of the power of love today,  look for the love in the world, and always make our decisions about people based on the content of their character rather than their color or creed.