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| A Time to Break Silence (M.A. Reilly, 2009)
A homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the speech, Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence, at Riverside Church in New York City. I believe that his speech, although delivered more than 30 years ago, is nonetheless quite timely given man of our Middle East and economic policies today.
In this extraordinary speech, Dr. King says,
“A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
Reforming the Jericho Road is the critical work we must get right this time.
I have included a link to the speech below. Follow that link to hear Dr. King deliver the speech.
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Monday, January 20, 2014
MLK
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You always make me think. Last week after a sleepless night (lots of thought) I put on the TV and found myself watching an early morning show, "Lockdown," which told the story of a California Women's prison. I was heartbroken, frustrated, and angry as I saw the inhuman way these women had to live, many whose path to the prison was the "edifice that produces beggars." Similarly I heard a heartbreaking story today of a school with many underserved children that has few to no programs to lift those children up--a true lack of a responsive, thoughtful, deep community. Also while prepping students' contextual lessons related to the book, Razia's Ray of Hope, I found myself ever so frustrated with the comparative stats in our world related to education, life expectancy, dollars spent on education, dollars spent on war. . . . So many challenges remain, and I am thinking about my role related to those challenges. Keep pushing me with your brilliant thoughts and insights. I appreciate.
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