On Monday, as the nation honored the life and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, it's good to be reminded what greatness looks and sounds like.
Despite the best efforts of bigots and demagogues, the judgement of history is clear: Dr. Martin Luther King will forever be remembered as one of our nation's most heroic and important figures.
His words are stunningly beautiful, powerful and poetic. His actions were courageous beyond belief.
Barack Obama may be remembered in a similar way, if for no other reason than he is the nation's first black president. If he wins a second term; if the economy recovers, if he manages to persuade the nation of the justice behind his drive to reform our health care system; if he manages to pull our educational system out of its sorry state, he may one day be considered one of our greatest presidents. If...
This, in part, is why the conservative right has gone so completely off the deep end. They cannot - and will not - tolerate such an outcome.
But history will not judge these people kindly: George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell. History will look upon them not as the saviors they imagine themselves to be, but rather as part of a momentary paroxysm of bigotry, intolerance, paranoia, and economic idiocy that led the nation to the brink of disaster.
Perhaps someone should remind them that there are no "Joe McCarthy Boulevards." No "Father Coughlin Parkways." No "George Wallace National Parks." Nor will there be any "Dick Cheney Public Libraries" or "Karl Rove Highways."
George Washington, on the other hand - one of those Founders the Tea Party and other conservatives claim to revere - has plenty of streets, schools and parks named after him. Not just because he was a hero of the Revolution and our first president, but also because he was a wise man possessed of strong character and a great intellect.
We don't see much of that these days. Shrewdness is not wisdom; arrogance is not character; media savviness is not intellect.
But George Washington was also a man of his time: He owned slaves. This small fact that should give pause to our modern-day "Originalists" and others who pine for a return to an imaginary Eden that arose on the these shores in the late 18th Century.
Many of the same men who were the greatest thinkers and planners in history held other human beings in bondage.
On Martin Luther King Day, when we honor the individual most responsible for helping to free the modern "Negro," we should all take a moment to ponder the puzzle and paradox known as the human mind.
Re-reading Dr. King's speeches is a sad reminder of how paltry and pathetic our nation's rhetoric has become; how limited and narrow our nation's thinking has become; and how profoundly our nation's leaders have failed us.
But, despite all of our present-day afflictions and the blots on our history, we should feel deep appreciation and gratitude for all the heroes, known and unknown, who helped build this nation and who sacrificed so much so that its people might flourish.
As George Washington wrote:
If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.