Superman never made any money for saving the world from Solomon Grundy

Monday, January 18, 2021

A hope and a thought

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I usually post something historical and political, about the anti-racism and anti-establishmentism and anti-war and anti-capitalist and pro-labor work that King represents to me, trying to keep the grit and tension and struggle and pain present in a legacy that is often whitewashed into a peaceful, fluffy love note.

Today we find ourselves in what is clearly the most critical political moment in my lifetime, where even the cherished core of our very flawed democracy is at risk of destruction. At this moment, I find hope in Dr. King's oft-used paraphrase of the transcendentalist reformer Theodore Parker:

The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

This is a hope, but it is only a hope. As Parker himself said of this moral arc in the original sermon: "I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience." We can only trust that Parker's, and King's, and our own consciences are correct.

That is a belief, but this is a conclusion based on observation and experience:

No Justuce, No Peace

Unless and until that arc bends sufficiently, we have to keep making noise.

2 comments:

Will Shetterly said...

Well said.

Walaka of Earth 2 said...

Thanks, Will. One foot in front of the other...