What Would Dr. King Do?

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The senseless violence in Tuscon, Arizona this weekend is another wake-up call for people all over the world who need to understand why settling differences with bullets over common decency and respect destroys any opportunity for America to become the country it can and should be. When a lack of mutual respect and tolerance is coupled by hateful rhetoric and violence, the end result transforms into the kind of ugliness we saw over weekend that turned a normal Saturday afternoon into a horrific tragedy that left 18 injured, six dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords still fighting for her life.

This recent tragedy points to why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s message of non-violence still rings true today. A tireless advocate of civil rights, Dr. King spent his life fighting for racial equality where non-violence was a basic tenet of his message, mission and movement. If he were here today, he would denounce the kind of hateful violence the world witnessed this weekend. This drum major for peace would also denounce the words that spring from the mouths of bigots and fanatical partisans who use politics to divide its citizens instead of bringing them together to fight for equal justice in education, jobs, housing and greater opportunity for everyone. These basic necessities are rights every person in this country deserves an equal chance at achieving regardless of race, nationality, status or political persuasion.

But in a climate where vitriolic speech causes ratings on radio to rise and YouTube videos to go viral, who and what is the blame? The fact is each person is responsible for whatever comes out of his or her mouth. Words have started wars and words have ended them. The fact is, words have power and each person, when behaving responsibly must be held accountable for the words that they speak and the consequences those words can or may have.

Yes, toning down the rhetoric is a part of the solution, but what happened in Tuscon also demonstrates the need for stronger gun control laws. Its the guns and other weapons that aid and abet tyrants in achieving their goals to kill, maim or to do harm to innocent and unsuspecting victims. How in the world can any person who demonstrates a lack of clear judgment and mental instability even have access to a handgun or other weapon that imposes the kind of harm we saw in Tuscon? Too often, the citizenry finds itself under siege by people with ill intentions determined to target their victims while relentlessly pursuing their demise. Too many times it all ends the same way and unfortunately the tide has not changed in America and certainly not since Dr. Kings untimely death.

What would Dr. King say? He would start out with a message of love that would reverberate over the mountain top, to the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado to the curvaceous peaks of California to every molehill of Mississippi. He would refuse to allow prejudice to continue to prevent all Americans from living out their dreams. And although we may disagree, although we may have different opinions, ideologies and beliefs, he would advise us to disagree responsibly, with patience and tolerance and with forgiveness which incredibly we still have not learned to do. He would say that if America is to become a great nation that it can be, first put down the guns, put down the bullets and take up the good fight where America can finally be free.

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