Editor,
During this month-long celebration for African-Americans, I can't help but think of one of America's greatest citizens, Martin Luther King Jr. I often listen to his famous speech, "I Have A Dream," and sometimes, chills run through my body. The reason for this response is not the magnificent voice or intonation of the words, but the truth of what was said and the hope for a better nation.
King articulated that every American is an heir to a promise. This promise is written in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The promise is that every American will be guaranteed his or her inalienable rights. Chief among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. King articulated that the U.S. government, arising from the consent of the people, had broken its promise.
One of the most penetrating lines in King's speech was when he said: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." In this statement is hidden a profound truth about the cause of many evils in the history of humanity: Human beings, for many reasons, fail to see the full humanity of others, and as a result of this poor vision, many people suffer.
Many people failed to recognize African-Americans as people. The cause of this poor perception runs much deeper than a prejudice against physical attributes. The true cause is malice in the eyes and heart of the beholder. The differences in physical attributes were used as reasons, however illogically, to dehumanize a group of people in order to give license to act on this deep-seated hatred.
The blindness caused by hatred is a primary cause of evil in the world. Hitler attributed Germany's problems to the Jews, people of different appearance and religion, resulting in the death of millions. The Hutus killed more than 900,000 Tutsis in Rwanda. Sunnis and Shiites are killing each other in Iraq - both groups are Arabs, but they disagree on the teachings of Muhammad.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Americans have not obtained a fuller vision of the human person since King gave his speech. We have actually become blinder to the magnificence of human beings. We are still giving many reasons, however illogical, to dehumanize people to justify denying their inalienable rights. However, this time we are not making people slaves, segregating them or forcing them to the back of the bus. We are killing them. This gross evil is abortion, the mass destruction of human life from conception through birth.
Benjamin P. Sanchez
UNM alumnus
