What Does a Conservative Do on Martin Luther King Day?

The Claremont Institute ^ | January 17, 2005 | Ken Masugi

[Stoat]

What Does a Conservative Do on Martin Luther King Day?

 

How should conservatives celebrate Martin Luther King Day? We can honor the high-minded, patriotic side of King, who spoke of the American Dream, of a color-blind society that evaluates people on “the content of their character.” That would truly be an aristocracy of merit, a conservative idea if there ever was one. This King was the one calling us back to the ideals of the American Founding and reminding us that its legacy was not fully enjoyed by all. In this view, the Civil Rights Revolution, for which he became the principal (though by no means sole) spokesman, flowed from the American Revolution and completed the constitutionalism demanded by it. This King revived regard for the fundamental institutions of this country, cruelly and unjustly denied by a faction. Shelby Steele brings out this King most admirably.

But there is the other King conservatives loath—and with good reason. This King stressed unlawful action (civil disobedience) where bargaining with local notables might have prevailed. He lobbied for the extension of the welfare state, with all its disastrous consequences, in the claimants and in the growth of the bureaucracy. Moreover, he irresponsibly attacked his own country on the issue of Vietnam. He provided legitimate cover for a radical left that contained the worst elements of American life, posing as our true patriots. His crowning achievement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, turned out to be a vehicle for the centralized regulation of political life. A plain reading of it sought to relieve individual injuries to one’s civil rights; the bureaucratic interpretation (the one that has prevailed) established group remedies, hiring and promotion quotas, and the emphasis on race-based solutions that bedevil our laws today. Similarly, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has subordinated state and local governments to the whims of the Justice Department. Thus King's version of equality cut off the relationship between the civil rights cause and the ideals of the American Founding; far from protecting limited, constitutional government his vision led to unlimited government. And all this does not mention the plagiarism and infidelity that infected his character.

Despite its equality on the federal holiday calendar, we cannot honor Martin Luther King Day with the same solemnity or joy we offer any number of other federal holidays. There were surely better approaches to establishing equal civil and political rights for all than the path which led from Brown v. Board of Education to the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, as they have come to be interpreted and then modified, not to mention the detour of the Great Society welfare state. But King has become that focus, that shorthand, for the road to equal rights, from Birmingham to the Lincoln Memorial. It would be worse than pointless to abolish the holiday. The just cause transcends the man. We must focus our attention on that cause. In doing so, it would be far better to honor the better angels of King’s character in the Presidents we honor next month—Washington and Lincoln.

[andrew2527]

My sincere apologies for your rough day.

[iopscusa]

I prefer to view MLK for the results of his leadership and that is a very mixed bag (Jesse Jackson). He definitely was an influence, whether good or bad on the balance we all have our opinions.
I see that period of time as one where the struggle for power in this country was played out on a huge "Red" canvass and our enemies were both inside and outside the country....includes USSR, Kennedys, Kerry, LBJ, Carter, CIA, Leftest Racebaiters, KKK...... Thank goodness for Ron Reagan who fought the good fight, IMO!

[LauraleeBraswell]

MLK did try "bargaining" with local officials. But he shouldn't have had to.

Everyone of those individuals had a right to sit ins and protests!

[LauraleeBraswell]

MLK did try to talk to businessess. Read "Letter from Birmingham jail!" They tried!

[LauraleeBraswell]

As a conservative, I find it unconscionable that only this man has a federal holiday set aside for him.


I feel that the day should be retitled Civil Rights Day.

[Stoat]

My sincere apologies for your rough day.

No need to apologize although I appreciate your kind sentiments.  It actually wasn't so rough, not nearly as bad as some MLK days in the past...usually interpreted by some as a 'free for all' day for violence and mayhem.

[Petronski]

I won't blame King for Jackson, I don't care how close they were (something which Jackson exaggerates so he can trade on it).

[Badray]

Despite some high sounding rhetoric, he promoted socialism. For that, I can never support him.

There is also the resentment on my part that none of our Founders have their own day, and ALL presidents -- good and bad -- are lumped into President's Day, yet MLK has a day all to himself. One that is not merely an acknowledgement of his efforts, but a national holiday. No thanks.

[Clemenza]

Was this at Key Arena? Garfield High?

[Stoat]

Despite some high sounding rhetoric, he promoted socialism. For that, I can never support him.

Considering the millions upon millions who have died as a direct result of Socialism. I see your point.

I have no doubt that if any of the millions who were sent to the gulags had been offered a choice of the camps or something equivalent to Bull Connor's Birmingham, they would have gleefully and enthusiastically chosen the latter. 

There is also the resentment on my part that none of our Founders have their own day, and ALL presidents -- good and bad -- are lumped into President's Day, yet MLK has a day all to himself. One that is not merely an acknowledgement of his efforts, but a national holiday. No thanks.

It does seem a bit disproportionate, doesn't it? 

Just curious, do you know if there's a Mahatma Gandhi Day in India, where all Government offices are closed?  I honestly don't know.

 

[Stoat]

Was this at Key Arena? Garfield High?

I apologize, but due to patient confidentiality laws I cannot get any more specific, as this could lead to identification of the patient.

Let's just say that it was very well attended, and I felt absolutely no love from the crowd.

[andrew2527]

http://www.saalt.org/ngdos.htm

Kinda' joking, and new, but I hope this works.

Andy

[muir_redwoods]

"What Does a Conservative Do on Martin Luther King Day?"

This one celebrates a visionary leader who, although not perfect (and he'd be the last to claim perfection)was instrumental in ending one of the sorest blights that ever affected this country. The USA is better and stronger because of MLK.

Vermin like Jesse Jackson cannot be compared to him and shouldn't be spoken of in the same breath.

[Stoat]

Kinda' joking, and new, but I hope this works.
 

It works, and thanks....I'm not surprised to see an American site like the one you posted.  I would be curious if India's government reveres Gandhi as much as many Americans seem to.

[Stoat]

Wish more people would read this and take it to heart.

Agreed.

[ex-Texan]

I agree with you totally. He was one of my heroes, too.

[tm22721]

Paying lip service to a politically correct holiday is a concept highly dependent on continued prosperity of the bourgeosie.

As the dollar continues to sink, the party will gradually come to an end as will our worship of the reverend.

BUMP

[LibertarianInExile]

You have no RIGHT to sit-in or protest on someone else's property, contrary to the MSM's intimations otherwise. Many forget King and the civil rights bunch ignored property rights in encouraging sit-ins at lunch counters that were not open to blacks.

Desegregation set back the cause of a colorblind society a hundred years, in its incitement of hatreds and reverse discrimination. Brown was a watershed, as was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in that both meant that government had officially quit trying to let people settle things for themselves as far as racial animus was concerned.

[Route101]

...Martin Luther King Day was put on the calendar by politicians to remind the American Public every year how "racists" they are....(sarcasm extreme....)

[Badray]

"Just curious, do you know if there's a Mahatma Gandhi Day in India, where all Government offices are closed? I honestly don't know."

I don't know either.

If I may revise and extend my comments. . .

In my younger days, I was very much opposed to the law breaking and civil disobedience. As I have gotten older (and hopefully wiser), I am less troubled by that and I even see some need for some (God, I hate to even say this) Federal involvement to break the back of the state and local government enforced discrimination against our Black citizens. But even with that being said, I am still of the belief that King and fellow travelers were, at the least, used by the communists to stir discord in this country. That King advocated socialism makes me even more convinced of it. He may have done some good for Black Americans, but I also think that he laid the groundwork for even more problems by helping to put them on the Government plantation and destroying Black families.