Why didn't Conservatives join in the celebration of the anniversary of Mr. King's speech? ?

Question

I really didn't see much of a celebration for the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech this year. Did Mr. King's message wear off over time?

When I was young Mr. King was a big part of American history. Hmm...times are changing I guess.

Why do a lot of Conservatives forget Mr. King these days?

Answer 1

I'm a conservative. I commemorated the occasion. I also made mental note of the fact that the speech was entitled "Let Freedom Ring" and was written out in advance. It was about four minutes into the prepared speech that he paused and said: "I have a dream today". From that point on it was an historic extemporaneous speech. Look at the film footage and see the eyebrows of Abernathy and the others behind King on the platform rise up in utter surprise.  Of course I also spent some time in jail with Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1959 before it was fashionable to join in the civil rights struggle. The only talking about George Washington happens in February and is devoted to store sales on Presidents' Day.

I'm also a great believer in what King once said: "If a man cannot find something he is willing to die for, then that man is not fit to live". If only the current era "fans" of his felt that way. Unfortunately many of them equate passive resistance with pacifism. They are mutually exclusive.

Answer 2

>>We talk about George Washinton in 2008 don't we?<<

Yes, and we talk about Dr. King in 2008 too. In fact more of us get off work on King's birthday than on Washington's.

What we don't do is celebrate the day Washington gave his famous speech about avoiding entangling alliances, and we shouldn't celebrate the date King gave a speech either. A guy gave a speech. It was a great speech, but it was a speech. Not everything a famous man does has to be commemorated for fear of seeming insensitive. When you think about it, it's a benign but insidious form of racism to imply that every time a famous Black man does something, he needs applause. It's paternalistic and frankly a little disgusting.

Answer 3

Why should Conservatives or Republicans necessarily be expected to acknowledge an event which took place so many years ago?

I mean, don't get me wrong, King's speech was historic and uplifting, but let's live in 2008, yes?

Answer 4

Too constipated

Answer 5

When Dr. Kind was alive, wasn't it the DEMOCRATS who kept trying to silence him, including such liberal figures as JFK? That shouldn't really be a surprise though, since the Democrats have opposed what Dr. King believed in for a long time.