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Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech posted on RAW STORY right now. It was given at Riverside Church as a sermon.
Barack Obama gave a speech that he has touted since he began campaigning for the presidency. It was given at an anti-war rally even though he stated he was not really anti-war just opposed to the dumb Iraq war that was being authorized.
Look at the openings for both of those speeches.
MLK Jr.: Now, let me make it clear in the beginning, that I see this war as an unjust, evil, and futile war. I preach to you today on the war in Iraq because my conscience leaves me with no other choice. The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war. In international conflicts, the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about themselves. Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins. But the day has passed for superficial patriotism. He who lives with untruth lives in spiritual slavery. Freedom is still the bonus we receive for knowing the truth. "Ye shall know the truth," says Jesus, "and the truth shall set you free." Now, I've chosen to preach about the war in Iraq because I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal.
Barack: Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.Now, read both speeches and compare them in your head.
The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech has such depth and many dimensions to it while Barack's is a pretty flat speech that does not pull in the many sides to our foreign policy, dissent in America, or the religious argument for always being opposed to war
Barack did not give his speech at a church so I can understand how he may have left that out in this speech. Also, speeches at rallies are normally much shorter than sermons. But, five years later, where's the speech that inspires Americans to action in the same way Martin Luther King Jr. inspired Americans to act out against Vietnam during the same time he was fighting racism in America?
Why aren't there any sermons from Barack and only speeches to CFR and AIPAC floating around? Why did Barack turn to the think tanks instead of the American people?
Perhaps, it has something to do with the generations.
As Leonardo da Vinci said, "Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory." Perhaps, all of Obama's flame is maintained by a memory---an obligation he feels he has to history.
Barack Obama being of the post-Boom generation did not have to worry about being drafted for Vietnam nor did he have to fight for civil rights in America.
When whites granted blacks all these reforms to fight racism and establish civil rights in America, perhaps, people like Barack began to think that they should be grateful for what was given and not ask for more. Might that have to do with why people like Barack confine or limit their calls for change even when they know they should be more outspoken?
While Martin Luther King Jr. confronted taboos and was willing to confront how war was connected to racism, etc., it seems Barack is silent and even may not oppose it since he is fine with military recruiters coming into schools and approaching students in public schools and presenting them with two options: a future with the military or no future at all.
Martin Luther King Jr. questioned the policies while Barack questions the wars waged under those policies never really bothering to talk of trashing the foreign policy of terror that we wage across the globe.
The most telling of the differences between the two speeches comes from the men's core philosophy on being a leader.
Barack Obama approaches change ready to compromise and articulate his vision from incorporating what others want. Had Martin Luther King Jr. taken this approach, the civil rights reforms would have been noticeably weaker than they were when they were enacted because it would have meant compromising with people like Strom Thurmond.
Martin Luther King Jr. believed "a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus."
Unfortunately, the Americans of today constrain their vision because there are few leaders who speak with the candor that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke with. And until leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. speak with unbridled judgment of America and with spirit for revolution while leading Americans in a demand to take to the streets, there will be no dream.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream will not be realized.
