The GOP gets taken out to the woodshed
Today was the funeral for Coretta Scott King. I had heard the various news reports about the speeches by President Carter, President Clinton Reverend Lowry, Maya Angelou, Senator Kennedy, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and Presidents Bush- jr & sr.
Many of the speakers made pointed political comments, the most surprising of which came from President Carter, who made the sharp points that MLK and Coretta Scott King were both subjected to illegal wiretapping by the government and that "We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi" affected by Hurricane Katrina to know that inequality still exists. Reports are that both Bush Jr and Sr squirmed noticeably when Carter said that.
I put on CSPAN to hear those speeches but I tuned in a bit late and missed those speeches. However, I heard Reverend Elder Bernice King, and what I heard blew me away, so much so that my original intent of the post- to note the various slams- fell by the wayside, so taken was I with Reverend King's sermon.
It is no coincidence that many of the greatest orators in the African-American community are (or were) preachers. The first time I heard a speech from Rev Jesse Jackson, when I was a freshman in college, I was electrified. He knows how to work a crowd, how to build a speech, how to capture a moment. Sometimes you might not understand exactly what he is saying, but you can feel it in your bones.
One of the other things is that black Southern Baptist services are unlike most other religious services. People respond, they sing joyously, they dance, they moan, they shout out, they pour their hearts out and are involved in the service, whereas, say, Catholics just listen quietly.
I listened to Reverend King's eulogy to her mother and let me tell you, she worked it and worked it hard, very much in the tradition of her father and of Rev Jackson. Her voice rose and fell like ocean waves, people clapped and shouted out and she cajoled and teased and inspired the crowd. She was not mourning the passing of her mother but celebrating her life and using her death from the effects of reproductive cancer as a vast metaphor for the state of society and the moving away from the promise given by god.
Those of you who know me know I am not especially religious. I have some serious differences with god. But after listening to Reverend King, it caused me to pause. So many people use religion in a perverse way to judge and oppress and condemn others, but Reverend King's moving eulogy was an example of religion as love. It inspired, not condemned. It was a call to look at how we treat one another and not ask but demand that we do better.
If any of you get a chance, watch her speech. They'll be replaying it on CSPAN a number of times. I still want to see the other speeches, but I wouldn't mind hearing hers again.
Tags: Martin Luther King Coretta Scott King Elder Bernice King Bush Bill Clinton Jimmy Carter President Bush President Carter President Clinton
Many of the speakers made pointed political comments, the most surprising of which came from President Carter, who made the sharp points that MLK and Coretta Scott King were both subjected to illegal wiretapping by the government and that "We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi" affected by Hurricane Katrina to know that inequality still exists. Reports are that both Bush Jr and Sr squirmed noticeably when Carter said that.
I put on CSPAN to hear those speeches but I tuned in a bit late and missed those speeches. However, I heard Reverend Elder Bernice King, and what I heard blew me away, so much so that my original intent of the post- to note the various slams- fell by the wayside, so taken was I with Reverend King's sermon.
It is no coincidence that many of the greatest orators in the African-American community are (or were) preachers. The first time I heard a speech from Rev Jesse Jackson, when I was a freshman in college, I was electrified. He knows how to work a crowd, how to build a speech, how to capture a moment. Sometimes you might not understand exactly what he is saying, but you can feel it in your bones.
One of the other things is that black Southern Baptist services are unlike most other religious services. People respond, they sing joyously, they dance, they moan, they shout out, they pour their hearts out and are involved in the service, whereas, say, Catholics just listen quietly.
I listened to Reverend King's eulogy to her mother and let me tell you, she worked it and worked it hard, very much in the tradition of her father and of Rev Jackson. Her voice rose and fell like ocean waves, people clapped and shouted out and she cajoled and teased and inspired the crowd. She was not mourning the passing of her mother but celebrating her life and using her death from the effects of reproductive cancer as a vast metaphor for the state of society and the moving away from the promise given by god.
Those of you who know me know I am not especially religious. I have some serious differences with god. But after listening to Reverend King, it caused me to pause. So many people use religion in a perverse way to judge and oppress and condemn others, but Reverend King's moving eulogy was an example of religion as love. It inspired, not condemned. It was a call to look at how we treat one another and not ask but demand that we do better.
If any of you get a chance, watch her speech. They'll be replaying it on CSPAN a number of times. I still want to see the other speeches, but I wouldn't mind hearing hers again.
Tags: Martin Luther King Coretta Scott King Elder Bernice King Bush Bill Clinton Jimmy Carter President Bush President Carter President Clinton
posted by Stevie Z at 12:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home