There is one day out of our year when our nation recognizes and salutes with a national holiday a civil rights, human rights, and peace activist, and gives all of us encouragement to work for a more just and peaceful America.
Today we celebrated the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., national holiday with our weekly downtown Monday afternoon peace vigil, an occasion to gather together for peaceful witness and conversation.
There's more below the fold.
Today's local peace vigil was entitled, "War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow," a line from a speech Dr. King delivered to The Nation Institute in Los Angeles on February 25, 1967, just five weeks before his more-famous "Beyond Vietnam" speech before Riverside Church in NYC on April 4.
A year ago in my diary"Today in Dubuque we celebrated Peace," I provided some historical and demographic context of our local Dubuque Peace and Justice group, which originated in September, 2001, "envisioning presciently that a military response to 9/11 terrorism would be inadequate, shortsighted, and unjust."
This afternoon 20 of us gathered for an hour; a few commented that it was the Dr. King holiday that brought them out in today's sub-freezing and overcast weather. Even when we Dubuquers dress warmly, it's a challenge to mill about in these wintry temperatures. We continue in our witness to promote peaceful and respectful resolution of conflicts, in our community and abroad, and to converse, and at times to sing.
Today was heartening in having this many participate. Our vigil on some Mondays has numbered two or three. While there is always the sense on this corner of the mystical communion with Dr. King, and with his mentors, Gandhi and Jesus, it's always encouraging when joined by one or a few others of our group!
In my lifetime I am fortunate to have observed via the news of the day the principled and heroic efforts of Dr. King, who courageously led the civil rights movement and during the last year of his life the anti-Vietnam War peace movement.
An historical footnote is the substantial contribution to the work of Dr. King and our nation's civil rights movement of fellow Iowan, the late Tom Offenburger who left US News and World Report magazine in 1966 to serve as Dr. King's Press Secretary during those last two years of Dr. King's life. Tom later worked with Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, and Andrew Young.
Dr. King's efforts for a more just and humane America led him to enter the health care debate 44 years ago, when he observed, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane" (March 25, 1966). That rings true to this day.
The president has at times mentioned "the Preacher from Georgia," and seeing enough common cause with these two leaders I signed on early as a precinct captain for the Obama campaign in September, 2007, and we worked hard during those months leading up to his election in November, 2008. With Dr. King, the president also was recognized with the Nobel Peace prize award. I can't help but believe President Obama can accomplish peaceful and respectful resolution of national and international conflicts as Dr. King has counseled.
Dr. King deserves the last word: "We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars?" From "The Casualties of the War in Vietnam," The Nation Institute, Los Angeles, February 25, 1967.