Honoring the King Myth

The New American ^ | January 4, 1999 | John F. McManus

[WOSG]

Dr. King was a great man who saved America from itself. He helped us live up to our greatest ideals, instead of wallowing in our worst impulses.

this is the kind of hagiographic statement that Reagan perceptively dscribed. It is an illusion based on the conflation of one man with the whole civil rights movement of the 1960s ... the truth is far different: the Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, set in motion most of the changes in the 50s and 60s wrt race relations, because the promise of equal rights for blacks HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE IN 1869 IN THE 14TH AMENDMENT - by the Republicans of that era who pushed through the 14th Amendment. It took 90 years for a Court to properly intepret it. Even before MLK was a force in politics, James Meridith took his stand in mississippi, Jackie Robinson in the major leagues. it was MLK joining the brave Rosa Parks in Selma that made his name.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforced 14th amendment and rights of blacks further via Congressional action, and most Congressional Republicans voted for it.

MLK had some influence on the latter, but not much, and certainly far less than, for example, LBJ and Republicans like Everett Dirksen. With or without MLK, the civil rights of blacks would have been expanded. some things might have been different. You are buying and selling MLK the myth, not MLK the man.

Was he one of this country's greatest heroes? YES! Compared with who? Dwight Eisenhower, Thomas Edision, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson? What about henry Clay? the Wright Brothers? Henry Ford? Cotton Mather? Gene Autrey? Katherine Hepburn? Roy Kroc? Ulysses S. Grant? Davy Crockett? Sam Houston? ... or for that matter compared with Ralph Abernathy, Booker T Washington, and Frederick Douglass?

[WOSG]

Mensch, that is one approach ... another is the approach I took in my other reply... defang the myth by merely stating the truth of ALL those who helped made the civil rights of blacks possible. The Liberals need the myth because they need civil rights for blacks to be synonymous with liberalism.

The way out of the box is to simply speak the truth about Civil Rights in terms that ties it back to our Civil War, the 14th amendment and the original attempt to grant black political equality (that was foiled by the KKK, southern democrats/former confederates etc. with jim crow, denial of voting rights and segregation). put in this context, the changes in 50s and 60s had deep roots in American history and our own legal system and wide credit can be given for the changes.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Running the Liberal Hate Maze

[The Grammarian]

Bookmarking for future reference.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Liberal Racial Agenda Crept Behind Hounding of Sen. Lott

[rbmillerjr]

I think you're right on with your analysis and your solution.

A lie or myth unchallenged is truth. It is too late for the real truth on this one.

But your strategy is not just a strategy, it is indeed the truth.

[Tailgunner Joe]

bttt

[The Grammarian]

So apropos. Working on the campus newspaper this past Thursday for the MLK day issue, I had to explain to several of my coworkers (whites, no less) why I had little sympathy for the MLK holiday. Would've loved to have seen this printed in the paper, but that's a vain hope.