MLK day, Reflections
Sticking with almost an annual tradition for me, MLK day has been a day of personal reflection generally, kind of a like a new year of sorts. For the most of the past several years it has come at the start of a new spring semester, still in the new calendar year, it seems fitting to take a look back and forward. Looking back I still reflect on the significance of MLK Jr. in general to me in terms of a historical figure and human rights activist. This year around there are constant reminders of the historic inauguration of the first black president one day after the holiday that has been designated to honor the MLK.
The talking heads have been at it all day making comparisons between MLK and Obama 24/7. I still think that many of the comparisons are being disregarded, while others are being played up too much. Unsurprisingly they are so obsessed by the racial backgrounds of both men, careful to mention every other word that we are witnessing history in the making as the first black president takes the oath of office. Looking forward I’d like to see more realistic take on what BO can and cannot do for the nation and the world. I think it does the American people a disservice to draw simplistic comparisons between historical figures and current leaders, it sets up an expectation gap which inevitably leads people astray and down the wrong path.
The thing is that as inspirational and unifying as the memory of MLK was, I don’t think it would’ve been a good idea for him to be elected president, or being in charge of any political office. I think his role in history was to get people thinking about what was possible in American society, what could be, if we broke out of the box and started judging each other by the content of our character instead of the color of our skin. The similarities between Obama and MLK are really two fold, first is the color of his skin, and the style of his oratory, which is very preacher-like. Neither of which by themselves qualify him for being the president.
I say like any other elected official, Obama should be given the opportunity to really change the country and take charge, but when he screws up he should be scrutinized and judged and resisted just as much as Bush. The real danger of making premature comparisons to historic figures is that it stifles legitimate discussion about policies and overall dissent, as dead men can’t respond, and instead are given the benefit of history to tell their stories. Obama should not be compared to MLK, FDR, or Lincoln, and other dead leaders, all this amounts to is noise and static to difficult road ahead.
Looking back to the last four years, I have to say that I am not in the same mind set that I had visioned, I was thinking that this time of year in 2009, I would be finishing up law school, getting ready for the next step, optimistic about the change of the guard from 8 years of Republican rule. I remember being hopeful for how much more knowledge about the system and the world I would have gathered, and again, positioning myself and my family for the next step, whatever that might be. This time around I feel a lot more uncertainty than ever before about the future of the nation and the world in general. I am seeing and reading a lot of signs that cause reason for worry in the near and distant future.