ANGEL MEDINA {smalltimegenius}

Drum Major for Rightousness

One of my favorite speeches from “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Enjoy.

“Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator—that something that we call death.

We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don’t think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, “What is it that I would want said?” And I leave the word to you this morning. If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long.  And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say.

Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace.  I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that’s all I want to say.

If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he’s traveling wrong, Then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, If I can spread the message as the master taught, Then my living will not be in vain”

From the Autobiography of Martin Luther King, JR.

Today, I will try and be a better man

It’s Tuesday, and finally, after nearly 3 weeks without taking a day off, I will sit at home all day and enjoy my time with Lucy and Sophie.

I woke up at around 8 this morning, the sunlight in this room never quite lets me enjoy sleeping in, today would have been a good day for a rainy day… or not actually.

While most people run for coffee in the morning, I run for something fresh squeezed, since we were all out of fresh juice I proceeded to drink the water instead. After pouring myself a glass, I began to watch the morning news, the topic still; The Arizona anti-Immigrant bill. I must have changed the channel 3 or 4 times and every news station seems to have a different “spin” on the subject.

As I watched people give their take on the issue and began to listen to both sides I could feel my insides turning and my blood beginning to boil, it seems like as of lately I cannot escape the subject no matter where I turn. Everyday people who do not fully understand the political rhetoric become overnight orators on the subject, quite frankly the whole thing is starting to wear me down quite a bit.

I guess I could try and tell you my side of the story, and why I feel so strongly on my own beliefs, but the truth is, this is just my side of the story and my own strong beliefs…

As I sit here, typing away, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes by one of my heroes;

“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, JR

I admit, while some people may run to their bible, I tend to run to his autobiography, and despite the “circumstance”, I can always read it and at the end of it tell myself that today, I will try and be a better man.