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HUMINT: Emulating MLK I dedicated my day to Martin Luther King Jr. not only to remember him, but also to emulate him --- Nobody suggested I do it, but I did the best I could. When I simply remember MLK, and I do often, I listen to his Mountain Top speech more than any other. April 3rd 1963 in Memphis Tennessee, king took his audience with him to the Mountain Top and it was, in my opinion, the best speech ever delivered in human history. That evening in 63 his spirit spoke to directly to the audience. It hardly mattered what he had to say because Martin’s real power was oration. He could seemingly connect his spirit directly to his voice and articulate the values, objectives and ideals of his movement. The message he gave to the world was easy to amplify with passion. His message was “love”. He was fanatical about it. The conclusion of his Mountain Top speech is clear evidence.
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land! And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!
If King was an uncompromising fanatic as I’ve described him, with love and oration as his weapons, what was his mission? Who or what was King trying to conquer? I realized early this morning, around 9:30AM that I wouldn’t be able to emulate the man in a lifetime much less a single day if I didn’t understand the essence of his life’s mission. So I went back to his writings, interviews and speeches to look for the answer to my question. What I found was striking. King was unquestionably one of the most ambitious men of his day. His intent was clear. He wanted nothing less than to save the world from itself, with love! That was his mission and it’s no surprise at all that the world adores him for it. With that realization around 11:00AM, I was ready to start the emulation process. With my best ball point pen and an 8.5X11 piece of paper, I started labeling it with mission statements:
Submission to the perception that the world is ill is a prerequisite to emulating King. For the entire day, I’ve believed the world needs a mortal savior. The idealistic and utopian seeking mission statement I attribute to King’s life required drastic alterations before it could approach plausibility against today’s conundrums. In any case, to emulate MLK is to pursue his goals, but not necessarily by the same methods he used. Love has its place in bringing people together in order to make positive social change but love cannot stand alone as the singular solution to the world’s ills. Where love might not last, great ideas are sure to, until they are replaced by better ideas, hopefully. By 12:30PM I had made a list of the world’s (America's) perceptual ills that follows:
After flipping my ballpoint pen around for more than an hour, around 2:00PM a flood of ideas came to me in the form of an elaborate scenario. It was the only intellectual product that had anything to do with my emulation project so here it is:
The Saudi Royal Family [among other petro-wealthy philanthropists] finds it in their hearts to fund the construction of solar powered desalination plants in Mexico along the Gulf Coast and Baja. Money not spent funding terrorism is money well spent… right? In addition to the desalinization plants, the largest ever solar power plant is built just south of Arizona with the singular goal of producing solar panels, mirrors, solar ovens, solar pumps and wind mills for use by developing nations. Think about that for a second, a solar power plant that produces solar panels… nice huh? That really might save the world and make money doing it.
When I had finished scribbling By 2:45, it was Miller Time. I did the best I could without expectation of approaching MLK's commitment to his cause or strength of character. Happy MLK day… |
