Until Stephen Nazi Miller whispers to Trump that he should announce an executive action to ban anyone from honoring Dr. Martin Luther King on his birthday or ever, or until the Heritage Foundation threatens the Republicans that they will be primaried if they even mention Martin Luther King, and while some freedom of speech still exists on most major internet platforms, I will take the time to honor, remember and respect, not only the actions, deeds of Dr. King, but I will take the time to repeat three of his quotes that seem even more pertinent, at least for me, in these troubling and depressing times, I find myself living.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." (Martin Luther King)
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” (Martin Luther King)
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for you do not say.” (Martin Luther King).
I am a child of the 60s, and 70’s and I grew up in an era of turmoil and distress, and I witnessed three kinds of people, those who needed a scapegoat to survive, those who fought loud and proud, and a group for whom then, and especially now, I have the least amount of tolerance for, those who remain SILENT during any and all adversity. Those who would gladly look the other way, hoping by doing so, no one will notice them, and by seeming to be invisible, feel that they will be safe.
And when the 80s arrived, I learned a phrase which still resonates for me today, “SILENCE EQUALS DEATH!” The three quotes I share from Dr. King all deal with the cruelty of being silent. They deal with, as I see it, the immorality of knowing what is wrong, but preferring to ignore it.
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