The definition of moral values in the wake of the 2010 United States Congressional elections is rooted primarily in individualism, personal gain and at its worse, an ethic of destructive divisiveness, devoid of civility, constructive criticism and any substantive conversation about the common good or building what Dr. King would call “the beloved community.”
Dr. King’s moral revolution asserts that each human person has inherent dignity and is deserving of respect. This revolution requires that we, together, work to build the beloved community, understanding the nuanced notion that we are called to attack evil and injustice rather than our sisters and brothers who might commit an immoral act.
Long before President George W. Bush dangerously and disturbingly declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be the “axis of evil,” Dr. King poignantly, prayerfully and prophetically identified the morally true axis of evil: poverty, racism and militarism or violence. To decry and wage war against this axis of evil is the rallying cry and mandate of Dr. King’s revolution in moral values.
Whereas Dr. King’s radical and revolutionary invitation invites us to attack injustice, as “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” our contemporary, popular culture morality often invites us to attack people and nations. It claims to know who is good and who is evil. It simplistically defines right and wrong, and freedom and justice, attempting to justify attacking those who disagree with us. This secular morality is not a revolution, rather it is a devolution, a degeneration, in values. It cries out for response.
Dr. King’s response is a prophetic call to love. “Love,” he asserts, is “the most durable power in the world.”[1] The love that he preached and lived was expressed in the Greek word agape. Agape is defined as unconditional love. It is a love that loves all because all are created good, as daughters and sons, in the image and likeness of God. He adds that
agape is understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all…. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love … the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does.”[2]
In his essays, “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,”[3] and “An Experiment in Love,”[4] Dr. King outlines six primary principles or characteristics of this nonviolent love:
1) it actively resists evil and oppression;
2) it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but rather to win her or his
friendship and understanding;
3) it attacks the forces of evil not persons perpetrating it;
4) it requires a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation;
5) it calls all to avoid both physical as well as spiritual violence; it mandates that we not
only refuse to shoot, but also refuse to hate; and
6) it remains rooted in a undying faith in the future and a conviction that the forces of
the universe are on the side of justice.
This nonviolent love has the power to transform hearts and minds, indeed the world, and it is the lifeblood of Dr. King’s radical revolution in values.
Thus, taken seriously, Dr. King’s revolution of moral values requires nothing less than a total, nonviolent, loving transformation of contemporary American culture and moral values.
Contemporary morality in America all too often permits passivity in the face of social evils such as poverty, militarism and racism, while actively promoting unbridled consumerism and a self-consumed, get-as-much-as-you-can mentality.
Contemporary morality in America all too often invites us to attack persons, such as the people of Afghanistan, persons who are gay or rival politicians.
Contemporary morality in America all too often seeks to humiliate people rather than break down barriers between people. Political campaigns, for example, are all too often about smear tactics, humiliation and divisiveness rather than constructive criticism, respectful disagreement and a genuine attempt to understand the position of the other.
Contemporary morality in America all too often posits and "us vs. them" mentality, and asserts that courage requires a willingness to objectify the other, “them”, and insult “them” and even seek to cause “them” to suffer, lest "they" get the better of “us” or make “us” suffer.
Contemporary morality in America all too often justifies hatred of the enemy and fosters fear and rage resulting not only in violence to the other but also violence to our own individual and collective soul.
Contemporary morality in America all too often fails to foster true faith in the future, but fosters instead fear and fence-building.
Contemporary morality in America all too often is diametrically opposed to Dr. King’s revolutionary call to build the beloved community and radically transform our moral and social values. Dr. King beckons, “Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love.”[5]
If Dr. King’s definition and vision of moral values prevailed today, there would need to be nothing less than a total transformation of our political, social and spiritual reality. Indeed, hatred would be no more, and people would truly be prioritized over possessions and possessiveness.
The words of Booker T. Washington, often quoted by Dr. King, would be our guide, “Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him.”[6] For, as King adds, “When he pulls you that low he brings you to the point of defying creation, and thereby becoming depersonalized.”[7]
Practically, Dr. King’s revolution would require an all out attack on the poverty inherent in tax cuts for the wealthy, growing disparities between rich and poor, and devastating cuts in social welfare programs. It would require an all out attack on the racism inherent in voter disenfranchisement throughout our nation, and in our racist prison industrial complex. It would require an all out attack on the militarism inherent in the depersonalization and destructiveness of war.. It would result in an ethic of community, creativity and connectedness. It would mandate word and deed rooted in agape. It would require that we learn from “the enemy,” and work to make “the enemy” friend rather than seek to destroy “the enemy.”
In his words to the Clergy and Laity Concerned at New York’s Riverside Church, April 4, 1967, Dr. King described the fruit of his moral mandate:
Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.[8]
This radical, revolutionary morality, rooted in nonviolence and love, requires that we listen to our enemy.
It requires that we see in ourselves our own immaturity, our own anger and hatred and capacity for violence.
It requires that we wage war against our personal, internal, as well as societal, external, poverty, racism and militarism.
It requires that we set a date to remove all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, just as Dr. King called for the removal of all troops from Vietnam.[9]
It requires that we enter into true dialogue with our “enemy,” Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, the neighbor or family member with whom we are in conflict.
It requires radical openness to the power of agapic transformation in our world and in our hearts.
It requires, in the words of Dr. King, a “call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class and nation … a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all….”[10]
Indeed, this is the great challenge of Dr. King’s moral revolution, to mature in our understanding of ourselves as human family and global community, so that war and hatred become obsolete.
If we listen carefully, we can still hear his prophetic, weary, but unwavering, voice trumpeting this call to truth and transformation:
We can no longer afford to worship the God of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. … We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now…. We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos and community.[11]
[1] James M. Washington, Ed., “The Most Durable Power,” A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Harper Collins, San Francisco, California, c. 1986, p. 11.
[2] Id., p. 13.
[3] Id., p. 5.
[4] Id., p. 16.
[5] Id., p. 10.
[6] Id., “An Experiment in Love,” p. 20.
[7] Id.
[8] Id., “A Time to Break Silence,” p. 237.
[9] Id., p. 239.
[10] Id., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? p. 632: “A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must … develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.”
[11] Id., pp. 632 – 33.
Dr. King remains the benchmark for how to navigate in this world in my lifetime. If you have the day off tomorrow, honor him and yourself by reading his words. Especially the Riverside Church sermon, delivered
ReplyDeleteexactly one year before his murder.