Editor,
It is with brutal ambivalence every year that this nation celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
The slain king of political ethics, the prophet of justice and the prince of peace is the American version of a Catholic saint.
Whom do we celebrate and mourn when we remember King? We must ask this question especially to those whom King's pointed criticism singles out for their stubborn, pathological and systematic perpetration of violence in the name of democracy. King's words accuse President Bush and Vice President Cheney first, then all those who blindly followed them into war and destruction, especially those in Congress, including the Democrats in their betrayal of the people as they support the war.
King's admonishing voice, his prophetic vision and his persuasive rhetoric are condemning when it comes to this nation's domestic and foreign policies. In the end, it was King's political stance backed by a nationwide and international movement against the American empire, whose worship of militarism King likened to Nazi Germany's, that cost his life.
We need to contemplate the implications. Today, the American psyche, driven by its sense of guilt, continues its tradition of celebrating itself in the face of its failures. It does so with this national holiday. The commemoration of a man of peace by those who wage war is a defiant act of narcissistic self-glorification. Repentance is a virtue this nation lacks. The current leaders use King as proof that this nation is not so bad after all. A nation, which has produced greats such as King, must, after all, be a great nation, despite the fact that its glorification of unlimited freedoms includes the freedom of the killer to kill and the victim to be killed.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
How can a soldier in Iraq celebrate such a day? The U.S. suffers from an inferiority complex which fuels its imperial megalomania. Both stand at the birth of this nation, which is built on the genocide of American-Indians and the African-American holocaust. When King said so much to the nation, it could not take this condemnation by a descendant of slaves.
King found the courage to illuminate hideous truths this nation has never managed to come to terms with. Rather than repent and pay reparations, they decided to kill him. King is the victim of America's dark past, which continues to this day. Hence, as hypocrisy has taught humanity through the ages, this nation, which hated and killed the political activist, now loves and celebrates the religious martyr. They would kill him again were he still alive and, in fact, have done so repeatedly. They are still doing so with countless unknowns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Bagram, in this country and around the world.
This is why and how we have to remember King: Condemn rendition, torture, murder and wars this nation has brought about with billions of dollars to terrorize the world for capitalist gains.
Joachim L. Oberst
UNM staff
