As Martin Luther King Day approaches this year, I was struck by the timelessness and timeliness of this MLK quote: Cowardice asks, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks, “Is it politic?” Vanity asks, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks, “Is it right?”
Please feel free to reflect upon this eternal wisdom and share this free MLK quote poster with friends and enemies alike.
Cowardice asks, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks, “Is it politic?” Vanity asks, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks, “Is it right?”
POEM: Breath of Fresh Heir Each mourning Brings that which is light Though wanting to rest As the whirled spins under my feet I am Still Razed Too my feat Standing on Perhaps a singular word Mysteriously helled Together In God-ordained gravity Until that thirst Breath of fresh heir As awe is knew This poem is about coming out of […]...
I prefer celebrating the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. every day. Still, the annual MLK Day holiday gives U.S. pause to reflect on the ever-present message of America’s most notorious prophet of peace and justice: Is it just a day off? Peace and justice are ours if we want it. Feel free to download this free MLK Day poster and share it with friends and enemies.
This free poster is based on my MLK design, available as buttons, stickers, T-shirts, etc.:
Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day every day!
As the world careens toward the increasingly surreal, we now officially live in a world where one Nobel Peace Prize winner, Barack Obama, has bombed another Nobel Prize winner, Doctors Without Borders. I nominate Barack Obama as the worst Nobel Peace Prize winner ever. I think the the Nobel Peace Prize committee should rescind its award, and, at least, add a proviso that any Nobel Peace Prize winner who violently attacks another Nobel peace prize winner will have their award rescinded.
Please feel free to widely share this graphic, which can also be printed out as a poster.
Here is my previous take on a juxtaposition of Nobel Peace Prize winners, Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Please join me in reminding Mr. Obama that we want our dreams to be realized, not our nightmares!
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POEM: Breath of Fresh Heir Each mourning Brings that which is light Though wanting to rest As the whirled spins under my feet I am Still Razed Too my feat Standing on Perhaps a singular word Mysteriously helled Together In God-ordained gravity Until that thirst Breath of fresh heir As awe is knew This poem is about coming out of […]...
I have attended Toledo’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity celebration for many years. Today, I decided to pass on this year’s “show” (yes, the organizers used the term “show” to describe the festivities). In recent years, I have seen this ceremony devolve largely into a whitewashed view of Dr. King and his difficult, unpopular work. Not surprisingly, dead prophets are much more popular than living prophets. From these “shows” in recent years, you’d think that MLK was the leading purveyor of generic volunteerism, charity detached from justice, flying a banner of “why can’t we all just get along” rather than “put some skin in the game for justice.” These reinventions of Dr. King are dangerous since they transmute his hard fought battles and crucifixion by gunfire into a cheerleader for the status quo, the powers that be. The image that comes to my mind is the rich and powerful atop their fortress of money, status and power looking down upon the masses calling for smiling faces and “positive” attitudes in the face of their unjust privilege and recalcitrance. Instead, we should be calling out institutional classism and racism, perpetual wars (even the failed so-called war on poverty), wage slavery, income inequality, and reigning plutocracy.
In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2014, I am issuing a reprise of my epic MLK poem which I wrote two years:
Owed to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rekindle the story Of Martin Luther King, Jr. An unequaled story of two halves Those who halve And those who halve not As far apart as North is from South A Protest-ant leading a Reformation To not have a preyer What kind Of moral fiber In a sea of White To pick A fight Bringing Not even A knife To a gunfight At the OKKK corral Taking a beating All that they can give To the man A hymn Of racial harmony Effacing off With ballads Against the elect Impervious to ballots Votes cast Both sides agree to only won thing Nobody wants even one King Let alone a King, Jr. And resistance is feudal Incredible odds must be faced At least Hate to won How to right a bout A fray sew Epic Verses Governors, mayors, and sheriffs Wee the people Wile police do the bidding of property owners That would be U.S. versus “them” Nationwide there would be no holiday For aegis to come With their eye halve a dream speech Portending Something between a White Christmas And some Valentines Day massacre Like anyone could be that cupid Fêted That somebody will eat Jim Crow The too haves Called out “Be patient” “Change takes time” Like a sentry Long asleep at his post For a bad check 100 years overdue…
To celebrate the legacy of peace and justice of Martin Luther King, Jr. this upcoming MLK Day 2013, I have designed this free downloadable poster: “MLK I Have a Dream, Obama I Have Drone”
This Martin Luther King Jr. design is a little edgier than many of my MLK designs. However, in meditating upon our upcoming local MLK celebrations in Toledo, Ohio, I recognize that the profound edginess of MLK’s body of work for peace and justice is often turned into some kind of namby-pamby niceness and abstraction of pure intentions. Of course, this overlooks the hard-core and often very unpopular work that MLK conducted. I was extremely disappointed, as were so many others, when President Obama gave his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. While Mr. Obama typically finely targets his fine rhetoric to his audience, his speech to the largely pacifist aficionados of the Nobel Peace Prize was nothing less than crude apologetics for violence. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama’s rhetoric has been fully incarnated into deadly policy with his escalation of killer drones initiated by Pres. George W. Bush.
I plan on passing out free buttons to participants of our local MLK celebration. I expect that many people will be a little reluctant at the harsh juxtaposition of Martin Luther King Jr. and his idealistic and famous “I have a dream speech” with President Obama’s droning on with killer strikes, raining death on mostly civilians and often children. Mr. Obama’s killer drone strikes is perhaps this millennium’s best example (so far) of a blatant violation of international law and national sovereignty.
The timely and timeless question: what would MLK do? Is appropriate especially for MLK Day, and every day in 2013. What say you?
Toledo Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Celebration
I just got back from the Toledo Martin Luther King Jr. Day unity celebration. I was delighted to see thousands of people celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Toledo once again. I’m not sure there were quite as many people as there has been in recent years’ MLK unity celebrations in Toledo. Nonetheless, it is nearly impossible to have an event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. without being inspired in some way. I particularly enjoyed the keynote address by Hari Jones, Curator of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. He spoke quite eloquently about the tension between empirical skepticism and metaphysical optimism in the creation of this nation and the American dream, which includes and is perhaps typified by Martin Luther King’s dream. I like the quote from Art Tatum, a native Toledoan and celebrated jazz artist, who said that in jazz often all that there is a “there is no such thing as a wrong note.” This elicits a great concept about unity. Dr. Jones spoke at some length about how everyone must play notes and in this apparent discordance harmony paradoxically can arise. I wonder at times though, given our cultural value of conflict avoidance, that we focus on and perhaps vainly hope for an authentic unity that is forged somehow without conflict. If there is anything that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us, it surely would be something to do with dealing with conflict and authentic manner that is loving, respectful, and challenging — very challenging! While there is certainly merit in promoting community service, if we are truly to understand, appreciate, and embody the life and work of Martin Luther King, then we need to recognize and honor that his unique contribution to American society and the world was about successfully organizing masses of regular people to challenge and overthrow an unjust status quo. This is hard work. This is work that divides people as far apart as justice and injustice. Like Jesus was misunderstood in saying that he came to bring not peace but a sword, MLK is often misunderstood or idealized as some peacemaker who doesn’t understand the true nature of conflict and what it takes to bring justice in the world that can be cruel and apathetic to those suffering injustices. This misunderstanding often leads to acceptance, even if reluctant acceptance, of violence, as a necessary evil. The division that Jesus was referring to was not the division of flesh by a sword, but the division of people by those who would stand for justice and those who would let injustice stand. Pacifists like Dr. King and Jesus understand that there is no real way to get around conflict in life and its injustices, that we need to go through conflict. The trick is to go through that conflict with a humane measure of dignity and respect, a big dose of discipline, and an undying commitment to the fact that humanity and creation is one. This task is so large that it escapes mere human grasp and relies on grace from God, a power greater than ourselves, our family, our community, and even creation. Pacifism has historically been rooted in people with a deep relationship with the creator not simply the created, whether that be other people or the material world and all its bounty. In our modern or postmodern secular world many people may feel uncomfortable with the obvious, undeniable fact that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the reverend, was a deeply religious man. Because MLK was so successful at providing a model for dealing with practical and large-scale injustices in our society, he is accessible to many who would like to claim him as their own. Unfortunately, to not delve to understand the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as a religious pacifist is perhaps the miss the main point of his life, and death. At this point, I will stop babbling on and asks simply read or listen to some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s writings or speeches. Equipping ourselves with a greater depth of understanding of MLK is a good start to honoring and celebrating his legacy.
I have written another pun-filled epic poem; This time in honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and MLK day. I dedicate this poem to the legacy and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all of those who have been inspired by the American civil rights movement in their work for justice and peace. This MLK poem is about seven pages long and can be viewed at: Owed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Poem, or you can download the poem as a PDF file for easy viewing, printing or sharing at: Owed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Poem
Here is the beginning of the poem if you need a teaser…
Owed to Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Top Pun
Rekindle the story
Of Martin Luther
King, Jr.
An unequalled story of two halves
Those who halve
And those who halve not
As far apart as North is from South
A Protest-ant leading a Reformation
To not have a preyer
What kind
Of moral fiber
In a sea of White
To pick
A fight
Bringing
Not even
A knife
To a gunfight
At the OKKK corral
Taking a beating
All that they can give
To the man
A hymn
Of racial harmony
Top Pun's mission is to maximize prophets. Top Pun creates serious, funny, and seriously funny peace and justice designs which are available on your choice of
products such as buttons, T-shirts, and bumper stickers. Top Pun blogs to highlight additional facets of his word artistry such as pun-filled poetry and funny political satire, free posters, as well as political actions of local and global importance -- and don't forget the noncommercial, public health radio show available online, Just for the Health of It . Top Pun's serious playfulness ever reminds us that justice is no yoke, and the pun is mightier than the sword!