Equality, opportunity, & Prejudice - who do you look down upon?

Monday is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., arguably one of the most important Americans born in the 20^th century.  But why is he important? What did he do that would justify such a lofty statement?  At Mass this morning our Pastor began his Homily with a simple statement, “Who do you look down upon?”  His point was that no matter who you are, or how enlightened or pious one may believe they are we all carry some prejudice against someone, or some group.  Where did this come from?  Are we born with it?  Or do we learn it? Who instills it? Who nurtures it? Who inflames it?  

I grew up in a northern suburb of Chicago and from my earliest childhood memories I remember my Uncle Willie who, usually after a Boiler Maker or two, would refer to African Americans using the most ugly and offensive epithets imaginable.  Unfortunately he wasn’t alone in his views.  Although my parents did not condone this sort of talk, they didn’t shut it down either. This was the mid to late 1960’s and it was a tumultuous time in our country where racial issues and tensions were divisive, explosive, misunderstood and very delicate. I don’t think that my parents believed what my Uncle Willie said, and I don’t think they consider themselves racist.  However, this is where the nurturing part comes in.  All you have to do is listen to someone discuss racial issues and you will learn what they really think.  Not necessarily by what they say, but how they say it; their body language, and most importantly – what they don’t say will give them away every time.  I know what I believe, but often there is this voice I hear in the back of my head (these aren’t the voices that medication silences J) where I hear my Uncle Willie and this infuriates me!  Why does this STILL come up?  Although I believe I have moved beyond racial and gender prejudices, I know I still prejudge certain groups of people. How about you? 

Each year at this time I make it a point to read what I feel is the greatest, most powerful, and potent speech ever given in my lifetime.  This is the speech that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the Washington Mall on August 28^th, 1963 which has become known as the, “I Have a Dream Speech”.  Many believe this was the defining moment of the Civil Rights movement where he called for racial equality and the end of discrimination.  If you haven’t read this, or maybe not in awhile, please take a moment to read it:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm     

Although the times have changed, we haven’t made as much progress here as you might think.  Yes, we have an African American in the White House, and that’s huge, however racial tensions and issues in this country are still front and center. Just look at the immigration debate taking place throughout this country.  As I look around, you can replace his use of the term, Negro with Latino, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Immigrant, Homosexual, Woman, Man, Caucasian, Poor, Homeless, fill-in-the-blank.  Justice, opportunity, and happiness are not relegated to just skin color, gender, or sexual orientation.  The socio-economic status of each of us has much to do with this as well.  The whole Occupy Wall Street movement (which remains poorly defined) is a powerful indication of how the middle class is being diminished and the wealth/income disparity is widening at an alarming pace.  Paul Krugman wrote a thought provoking Op-ed piece in the New York Times on January 8 entitled, America’s Unlevel Field.  My point in bringing this up is NOT to embark on a political argument, but rather to get you thinking about what is actually taking place in this country of ours, and it’s not at all what our politicians would have us believe from their 30 second sound bites. 

I’ll leave you with two things.  First is a link to Mr. Krugman’s article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/opinion/krugman-americas-unlevel-field.html?_r=1&ref=paulkrugman

Secondly, an excerpt from Dr. King’s speech:


“…But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force…”


So, who do you look down upon?