The Tiger Perspective - June

Trevor and I were hanging out one weekend and we got into a great dialogue about student issues/solutions at Texas Southern University. We then decided to record the clean parts of the conversation. The Tiger Perspective. 

Senator Damien Jones Talks Library Legislation

Library Textbook Reserve Act 2/22/12 from Damien Jones on Vimeo.

Senator Damien Jones Talks Obama and Tuition

Damien Thaddeus Podcast #1

Damien Thaddeus Podcast #1 from Damien Jones on Vimeo.

Enjoy! Excuse the technical glitches/rapping. I will fix it next time.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Talks with Tavis Smiley

Watch the full episode. See more Tavis Smiley.

A Sermon from an Old Dusty Painting

Don't act brand new. You all have seen this picture before. Whether on your Granny's wall in the den, on the church fan, or in the index section of that beat up Bible that sits in the back window of yo momma's Buick, you know this picture. This picture hung in my house for many years right beside the thermostat. This hanging dustbucket(we never cleaned it) spooked the hell out of me whenever I glanced at it. I always wondered why this picture was in every African-American household I entered. Is this what everybody hides their safe with? That question burned in me for years until now.

The Light of the World (1853–54) is an allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt representing the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating Revelation 3:20. According to Hunt: "I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be by Divine command, and not simply as a good subject." The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore be opened only from the inside, representing "the obstinately shut mind". Hunt, 50 years after painting it, felt he had to explain the symbolism. (Wikipedia)

 

 

Rev. Gardner Taylor, who is regarded to many as the greatest living preacher, takes a moment to explain what this picture really means. The interpretation really astounded me. All these years, this dusty picture actually meant something. Art imitating life, I suppose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Born January 27, 1930, Rosemark, Tennessee. Moved to Memphis 1948. Played with Billy 'Red' Love and other influential Delta musicians. First recording was Dry Up Baby (Modern 848). Entered Armed Services 1952, joined Johnny Ace Revue after discharge, having signed with Duke Records. First smash hit, It's My Life Baby, 1955 followed by years of consistent success in R&B market.

In the 50s and early 60s, Bobby "Blue" Bland was one of the main creators of the modern soul-blues sound. Along with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Junior Parker, Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with blues and R&B. Bobby's style of soul-blues was punctuated with a big-band sound and slick, B.B. King-flavored guitar riffs.

Bland was born and raised in Rosemark, a small town just outside Memphis. In 1947 he moved to the city with his mother and began his career, first as a singer in the gospel group the Miniatures, then in the loosely knit blues group the Beale Streeters, which included such future blues stars as Johnny Ace, B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Rosco Gordon .

Bland's first recordings were from 1950 to 1952, when he cut sides for the Modern and Chess labels. Being drafted into the army in 1952 put his career on hold, but shortly after his discharge in 1954, he began a long-term relationship with Duke Records. This would result in dozens of records, many of them big sellers in the R&B market.

Bobby's first Duke single, "It's My Life, Baby," was released in 1955. Two years later, he scored with the seminal Texas shuffle "Farther Up The Road" (115 k, 10 sec.), which went to number 1 on the R&B charts. Follow-up records included two 1961 hits, "I Pity the Fool," which also made it to number 1 on the R&B charts, and "Turn on Your Love Light," which went to number 2. "That's the Way Love Is," a 1963 release, gave Bland his third number 1 hit.


From 1957 to 1961 Bland played the chitlin' circuit with Junior Parker and his band, the Blue Flames. But in 1961 Bland broke with Parker, went out on his own, and rose to his greatest popularity. Because Bland neither composed nor played an instrument, he relied on others for songs and inspired instrumentation. Joe Scott, his bandleader and arranger, and for years one of Duke label owner Don Robey's chief talent scouts, helped create Bland's big-band sound. Just as important to Bland's sound was guitarist Wayne Bennett, who complemented the horns and Bland's vocals with jazz-influenced solos,a la T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.

Bland worked with Scott and Bennett until 1968 when the band broke up, partially the result of Bland's alleged alcohol problems. But Bland resuscitated his career in 1972, this time with producer Steve Garrie and bandleader Ernie Fields, Jr. Rather than dwell on R&B ballads, Garrie gave Bland a blues-based sound that resulted in two of his more commercially successful albums: California Album (1973) and Dreamer (1974). Both works were released on the ABC-Dunhill label, the company that purchased Duke in 1972.

Despite Bland's extensive recording catalogue, his long-term success on the R&B charts, and his near-constant touring (often with longtime friend B.B. King), he rarely crossed over into the pop realm. Dozens of blues and R&B influenced rock vocalists, however, have credited Bland as a main influence. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, he continued to record, mostly for the Jackson, Mississippi, blues label, Malaco. Bland was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He continues to perform regularly.



For Those of You Seeking Knowledge............

I absolutely love this track!!!! Giving love to Jackson, MS artists Skipp Coon, Luca Brazi, and David Banner. Listener discretion is advised.

Educate yourselves. Stop being stupid.

Cornel West Criticizes Tyler Perry

I get torn to pieces when I "lovingly critique" Brother Tyler, so I will keep my mouth shut and let Dr. West speak for me.

Street Fight

Last night, at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, I was privileged to attend a screening of the film "Street Fight", which shows the necessary but nasty battle between Councilman Cory Booker and Incumbent Mayor Sharpe James. In the film, young Cory Booker tries to win the hearts, minds, and votes of Newark voters in the 2002 Mayoral Race. It was not an easy battle to say the least. Booker had to fight against dirty machine politics from the James camp. They said he wasn't black enough. They said he was a golden boy-outsider-carpetbagger that wanted to wave his Ivy league education around to poor people. In the end, the voters' voices were heard. Only one candidate could emerge from a modern day political "Street Fight".

After the film, there was a Q & A session moderated by the world renowned, Brother Jesse Muhammad, who is a blogger, staff writer for the Final Call newspaper, motivational speaker, and political community activist. You can catch up with him via his great blog,  http://jessemuhammad.blogs.finalcall.com/ or via Twitter @brotherjesse.

Brother Jesse led the discussion on a few questions:

1. What could Cory Booker have done differently?
2. What lessons did both candidates learn?
3. Should we have a responsibility to groom our future political leaders?
4. Has politics gotten cleaner or dirtier?

Answer those questions after you view the film. I would love to discuss your point of view and mine in the comments section.

So without further adieu, I give you "Street Fight" in many parts......................................

Cry Freedom (The Story of Steve Biko)

Cry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. It was written from a screenplay by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. The film centres around the real-life events involving black activist Steve Biko and his friend Donald Woods, who initially finds him destructive, and attempts to understand his way of life. Denzel Washington stars as Biko, while actor Kevin Kline portrays Woods. Cry Freedom delves into the ideas of discrimination, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence.
The film was primarily shot on location in Zimbabwe due to political turmoil in South Africa at the time of production. As a film showing mostly in limited cinematic release, it was nominated for multiple awards, including Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. It also won a number of awards including those from the Berlin International Film Festival and the British Academy Film Awards.
A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by Universal Pictures and Marble Arch Productions. It was commercially distributed by Universal Pictures theatrically, and by MCA Home Video for home media. Cry Freedom premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on November 6, 1987 grossing $5,899,797 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was at its widest release showing in 479 theaters nationwide. It was generally met with positive critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas. (via Wikipedia)

Enjoy. Denzel is great, as always.

Wall Street meets Sesame Street: A Critique of 2011 State of the Union Speech

"I'm not sure how we'll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we'll get there. I know we will."

Alright, let's discuss last night's State of the Union speech. I liked some things about it and I hated some points about it. I will say this year's speech was levels better than last year's Rex Ryan-like pep talk turned atrocity and frankly, I feel this was his best speech as of yet. This speech had more substance than ever, but still not enough for me to shut my mouth. Still too much pretty rhetoric and not enough realistic solutions. He really showed me how much of a typical politician he is by easing over to the center to appease the right and in turn alienating the progressive base.

Now I can truly appreciate his ability to bring both sides together for common good, but because Conservatives have gained the House, he is leaning to the right in his policies. Politically, that's a very smart thing to do. He's a smart man approaching re-election. He needs to show voters he can unify the country, but many political philosophies lack principle. These policies/agendas lack the principles he campaigned on. They lack the principles of the left.

So I'm not going to make this a beat down session because he did make some great points on key issues in which I liked. What were they?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

1. I absolutely love the plan for a 5 year spending freeze. This plan calls for saving $78 billion in Defense spending. Obama is under pressure from the public and lawmakers to cut spending. Several Republican lawmakers have proposed cutting $100 billion from Obama's budget for the current year. The move is almost identical to the freeze Obama called for in his address to the nation last year at this time — his current proposal would cover five years, not three years — and ultimately it may have little effect. Congress decides the budget on its own terms, and Obama has even less sway than he did in his first two years on the job now that Republicans have taken control of the House. And might I add, you could hear a pin drop when Obama presented this plan.
2. Barack also said that the very same Tax Cuts for the wealthy 2 percent that he approved just a month ago, will not be extended in 2012. That was a good thing to hear, but Barack is good at saying stuff but not doing it (Gitmo). We will have to wait and see if he is serious about that. Personally, I'm on the fence. When we give tax cuts to the well-to-do and do nothing for the poor and working class, the gap between the have and have-nots spreads even more.
3. Barack is a nerd. Maybe not a policy nerd like Bill Clinton, but he's bright. He's a professor. I personally think he's a better professor than president, but that's not the issue. I love how he encouraged our children to serve their country through teaching. "We have to our kids that it's not the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair." I wonder if he would still feel that way had the Bears made the Super Bowl. Moving on, we have to get our brightest minds in the classroom molding our kids' brains, but we have to give them more incentive. I will touch on that later.
4. Barack boldly said he would veto any earmarked bill that comes to his desk. Do I believe him? Absolutely not, but he said it so now I have more things to hold him accountable for. Gives me more to blog about.
5. He also mentioned immigration reform. We educate bright minds and ship them away. That's pretty stupid. In a country where a deranged lunatic can buy guns and bullets at Wal-Mart hours before he murders everybody on Aisle 3, what's wrong with allowing "American born immigrants" to make a living in this country?

I know, I know. Many of you are surprised that I actually had something positive to say about his speech. I've told you folks many times that I like the man, I just hate his policies. There's is a difference. Hate the deed; not the doer. That being said, what are my critiques of the speech? Have a seat. We're gonna be here a while. Let me grab a Snickers.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

1. "America still has the most prosperous economy in the world." If that ain't a lie, I don't know what is. As of October 2010, according to the US Treasury, China owns $906.8 billion of U.S. debt. That's not prosperous. The national deficit is $14.5 trillion. That ain't prosperous. Unemployment rate is 9.1 % as of December 2010. That means 28,210,000 Americans don't have jobs. That ain't prosperous folks. No reason to lie about it.
2. There was no mention of the poor and destitute. 43 million Americans living in poverty and no mention of them? 8 million of those folk are our precious children and no mention of them?
3. He wants Congress to give corporate tax breaks. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So you just signed off on tax breaks to the wealthy that will account for a big chunk of the budget and now corporate tax cuts? Who do you think are the owners of these corporations? The same people who just got tax relief last month! So the rich basically will pay no taxes for the next two years while the poor folk who voted Obama in office are digging for lunch in a local dumpster. This guy is a joke.
4. Earmarks. I know what he said about them, but I think he's full of it.
5. Race to the Top. or shall we call it Wall Street meets Sesame Street.  If you're not convinced by now that Obama is in bed with Wall Street and privitization, then you are naive and you should stop reading right now. He talked about competing and competitiveness all night. Out-innovate. Out-educate. "If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we'll show you the money."
   We'll show you the money. Jerry Maguire politics. I thought he was supposed to change that?  Well Mr. President, the fallacy in your plan is the money is going to the wrong place. Don't load up one school with millions and forget about others. Its not the students' fault, its the teacher's fault. How do we rid the classrooms of poor teachers and attract the best minds away from Wall Street to Sesame Street? You raise the standards and qualifications to teach our children and then YOU HAVE TO PAY THE TEACHERS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS ENGINEERS AND INVESTMENT BANKERS. Teachers average $35K while bankers and engineers make an excess of $100K. And you want our children to enlist and fight on the battlefield of education for peanuts? You're out of your mind Mr. President! Our teachers are OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID. YOU WANT TO BE COMPETITIVE? YOU WANT TO SURPASS CHINA WHEN IT COMES TO EDUCATION? THE SOLUTION IS VERY SIMPLE. SHOW THE TEACHERS THE MONEY, PAL.

There you have it folks. My thoughts on the speech. I have no hope for this President. I'm sorry. He's shown me enough. I rate the speech a C-. A lot of fluff and no substance as always. But at least he looked at the camera. Thanks for reading my friends! God bless you!

Meeting Dr. West

Yeah, that's me. And yes, that's my hero Dr.Cornel West. No, I didn't photoshop this. It was hard to get a picture with him and so I had to sneak behind him and get some random guy to snap the picture. Don't judge me.

I met Dr. West at a luncheon on MLK Day in Port Arthur, TX. The event was hosted by the MLK Support Group in Port Arthur led by the legendary and courageous Hargie Fay Savoy, whom you see with Dr. West in the picture.

I was invited by Ms. Savoy's daughter, Jacky, who m was a gracious host. We had never met, but through a mutual Facebook connection, we hooked up. I would like to thank her for that. I told y'all favor is all over my life! Hearing West speak was everything I expected and more. Honestly, he didn't say anything new to my ears because I have listened to all his lectures and speeches given for the last 3 years. He still spoke with so much power and greatness. The majority African American crowd hung on to his every word except when he slid in a quick jab at President Obama. Black folk love Obama, Dr. West. You might get cut talking about Barack. They might even cut your hair. And it needs to be cut immediately.

When I got close to him his bodyguard nudged me back. I asked him to take a picture of me and Dr. West. He gave me that "negro please" look. So finally I pushed through fat people, old people, and children to get my chance to talk to the freest black man in America. I extended my hand to the brother and he reached out and we shared a hug and I thanked him for changing my life and to continue to carry the legacy of Martin King. The brother looked me in the eyes and said "Thank you my brother. You stay strong." That was all I needed to hear to continue my fight to change lives and the struggle against injustice in any form. 

Meeting West was cool and I embraced the moment. At my high school commencement, Andy Young gave the keynote. Afterwards, I approached him and told him how ugly his tie was. I didn't understand who he was at the time. I wish I could have that day back. me and my damn mouth! I didn't screw this up with Dr. West. I enjoyed seeing/hearing him speak. I told my brother that this was a step toward me keynoting luncheons one day. Greatness is on the horizon. Thank you for reading!

What's New in 2011

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode

  Hola Brothers and Sisters!!! It is an absolute pleasure to be with for the first time in this brand new year!!!! I haven't updated this darn blog since October but in my absence, surprisingly, my audience has grown! My daily hits have been astronomical and I thank you all for viewing! Next time I would like you to leave a quick comment because I love to hear your feedback, whether positive or negative, and I love a good ole debate.

2011 has started off well for me and I hope it has been great for you. I'm not one to do the New Year's resolution thing. I feel you should out a realistic plan in action and be disciplined all the time in whatever your goals are. Last year around this time I actually put some real goals on paper and they came to pass for me, so this year I'm setting my sights even higher.

Let me tell you a quick story. My biggest dream EVER has been to have my own radio show. I've known that since I was probably 8. The aspirations to be Mike Jordan have come and gone. The aspirations to be the first Black President have faded away, but that everlasting hunger to voice my thoughts to the world abroad still remains. Hence why I started this blog. Anyhoo, so when I graduated high school I went directly to the Air Force. While there, I had an grand opportunity to audition for an anchor spot for the Air Force news. I was giddy and excited and I ran at the opportunity! The day came and I went into the room with this very nice lady. She handed me a script and asked me to read. I did so. No rehearsal, no practice. I felt I did decent but she didn't agree. Her evaluation of me has stuck with me everyday of my life for the past 7 years: "You have a southern drawl that can't be corrected". Say what? I beg your pardon? I was crushed. Not only was my little ego crushed, but my dream was crushed. Here is an expert in the field (as far as I knew) telling me that my geographical dialect would stop the future Damien Thaddeus Jones show. I believed her. I came back down to Earth and stopped dreaming. I was too country. But I will add to that, everybody that knows me, even before then, know that I specifically worked on my grammar so people wouldn't know I was from the South by talking to me. Guess I didn't fool her.

While on leave the next year, I went home to visit a friend. Her grandfather, a media mogul in the southern US, and his wonderful wife have run a dynamic radio station for many years. He didn't know me well. We had met maybe once or twice and I was just some bumbling fool chasing his granddaughter. I didn't stand out to him, but I always admired him and still do because he is a brutally honest and successful black businessman. He doesn't take any shit from anybody.

So I'm talking to the old man. He asks me a few questions about my future. I tell him about my dream crushing encounter. The old man looks me square in the eyes and tells me something that has stuck with me since that day 5 years ago: "Young man, don't you ever let anybody, especially these white folks, tell you what you can't do. If that's what you want to do, do it!" Wow. Thanks old wise man. I really needed that. I needed to hear that. His words pointed me to the final lines in the masterful poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley:

"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."

In 2010, I released a lot of demons and embraced the fact that I'm a Jesus loving free black man. Now its time to go to the next level. In 2011, I'm making my dreams come true. I'm going to start my radio show entitled "The Damien Thaddeus Show". It doesn't seem like a lot to you and it won't hit the airwaves with a huge bang, but it means the world to me and my evolution. Many folk die and never live their dreams. Well, I won't be one of those people.

The aim of my show is to get young progressive voices heard that are frustrated with good ole boy politics in this country and are on the verge of giving up hope. I'm young so I'm reaching out to the young demographic. I want to reach out to the hopeless minorities that feel the government doesn't care about them. I want to energize the young people to take ownership of the direction of our country. And we can change America and this world, one issue at at time. I'm very excited and I hope you guys will support us in this venture. The first show will air between March and June of 2011. A great deal of planning and meetings are required to present a good product for the masses. If any of you need a platform to express your views, ideas, events, projects, philosophy, or if you just want to have rich dialogue with brilliant minds on the issues of the day, we would be glad to have you. Email me at damienthaddeus@yahoo.com and share what you want to tell the people and we may choose you to be a guest on the show. Please stay tuned for updates on the show. We are striving for greatness!

NOAH'S ARK. MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN.

What can we learn from Noah's Ark in order to better our children's future?

Dr. Jonathan Walton on CNN Rick's List 9-22-10

"A preacher should be measured by his service to God and mankind, not by the wheel base of his Cadillac."

Survey: Americans don't know much about religion

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll, Ap Religion Writer – Tue Sep 28, 3:42 pm ET

A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.

The survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history. The U.S. is one of the most religious countries in the developed world, especially compared to largely secular Western Europe, but faith leaders and educators have long lamented that Americans still know relatively little about religion.

Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.

Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15.

Not surprisingly, those who said they attended worship at least once a week and considered religion important in their lives often performed better on the overall survey. However, level of education was the best predictor of religious knowledge. The top-performing groups on the survey still came out ahead even when controlling for how much schooling they had completed.


Read this article @ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_rel_religious_literacy_poll

Bishop Long: Did you or Didn't You?

By Jonathan L. Walton, Special to CNN
(CNN) -- Over the past two decades, Bishop Eddie Long has built his public ministry at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta, Georgia, upon a testosterone-laden theology and a hypermasculine image.

His books bear titles such as "Taking Over," "Called to Conquer" and "Gladiator." Typical names for his sermons are "Conquer and Subdue" and "Reign or Maintain." The ministry motto, "Taking Authority," is signified by a golden sword and shield that adorns the bishop's ring finger.

This is why I was saddened to watch Eddie Long duck and dodge allegations that he seduced multiple teenage boys into sexual relationships. One would think that someone who constantly preaches about male headship, rulership, and power would deny these allegations with the same bravado that he defends his right to drive a $300,000 automobile.

Yet on Sunday we never heard the term "innocent," or a refutation of the charges. In fact, we witnessed a cowardly, rhetorical two-step that may mark the tragic end to this bishop's reign

Milquetoast quotes like "I am not the man being portrayed on television," and "I'm going to fight this," are at best nondenials. Anyone familiar with these sorts of civil cases knows that such word selection is common among those trying to deflect a potential perjury charge down the line. Either Long engaged in inappropriate sexual acts with these young men or he didn't. To hide behind legal counsel, biblical metaphors and spiritualized acknowledgments of one's imperfection insults the intelligence of those who respect him and his ministry.

The question on the hearts and minds of parishioners is not whether he is a "perfect man." Nor does this story have anything to do with David and Goliath, as Long so irresponsibly alluded. The faithful just want to know whether Long used his authority (and their money) to maintain a teenage male harem under the pretense of mentoring. Is this too much to ask?

As a professor of social ethics who trains aspiring clergy, you pray religious leaders adhere to two important points. First, although we all fall short of our professed moral ideals, one should never spiritualize indiscretions. And no religious leader is fit to be called a leader unless he or she is willing to acknowledge when he or she is wrong.

Second, we must draw a line between our position and the institution that we are called to serve. The latter should always be considered more precious and important than the former.

Eddie Long had four days leading up to Sunday morning to address these charges. But aside from a brief yet legally broad statement through lawyers saying that "the charges against me and New Birth are false," he did not counter the boys' allegations.

He did choose, however, to invite the media and the world into the house of prayer on the Christian Sabbath. By doing so, he appears to be the kind of pastor who puts his own protection and self-preservation before the community of faith. And rather than courageously defending himself, he looked like a coward using New Birth's congregation as human shields.

If the bishop wants to take authority, he needs to begin by taking some responsibility. Maybe for the good of New Birth, Eddie Long should take that sword out of his golden ring and fall on it.

The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Jonathan L. Walton.

Jonathan L. Walton is assistant professor of African-American religions at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of "Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism" and the resident ethicist on the Tavis Smiley radio show.

Find this story @ http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/27/walton.bishop.long/index.html?hpt=T1

"Loving Your Enemies" by Martin Luther King (1957)

I am forced to preach under something of a handicap this morning. In fact, I had the doctor before coming to church. And he said that it would be best for me to stay in the bed this morning. And I insisted that I would have to come to preach. So he allowed me to come out with one stipulation, and that is that I would not come in the pulpit until time to preach, and that after, that I would immediately go back home and get in the bed. So I’m going to try to follow his instructions from that point on.

I want to use as a subject from which to preach this morning a very familiar subject, and it is familiar to you because I have preached from this subject twice before to my knowing in this pulpit. I try to make it a, something of a custom or tradition to preach from this passage of Scripture at least once a year, adding new insights that I develop along the way out of new experiences as I give these messages. Although the content is, the basic content is the same, new insights and new experiences naturally make for new illustrations.

So I want to turn your attention to this subject: "Loving Your Enemies." It’s so basic to me because it is a part of my basic philosophical and theological orientation—the whole idea of love, the whole philosophy of love. In the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew, we read these very arresting words flowing from the lips of our Lord and Master: "Ye have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that spitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."

Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions. And over the centuries, many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. Many would go so far as to say that it just isn’t possible to move out into the actual practice of this glorious command. They would go on to say that this is just additional proof that Jesus was an impractical idealist who never quite came down to earth. So the arguments abound. But far from being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the practical realist. The words of this text glitter in our eyes with a new urgency. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, this command is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. Yes, it is love that will save our world and our civilization, love even for enemies.

Now let me hasten to say that Jesus was very serious when he gave this command; he wasn’t playing. He realized that it’s hard to love your enemies. He realized that it’s difficult to love those persons who seek to defeat you, those persons who say evil things about you. He realized that it was painfully hard, pressingly hard. But he wasn’t playing. And we cannot dismiss this passage as just another example of Oriental hyperbole, just a sort of exaggeration to get over the point. This is a basic philosophy of all that we hear coming from the lips of our Master. Because Jesus wasn’t playing; because he was serious. We have the Christian and moral responsibility to seek to discover the meaning of these words, and to discover how we can live out this command, and why we should live by this command.

Now first let us deal with this question, which is the practical question: How do you go about loving your enemies? I think the first thing is this: In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self. And I’m sure that seems strange to you, that I start out telling you this morning that you love your enemies by beginning with a look at self. It seems to me that that is the first and foremost way to come to an adequate discovery to the how of this situation.

Now, I’m aware of the fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just won’t like you. I’m quite aware of that. Some people aren’t going to like the way you walk; some people aren’t going to like the way you talk. Some people aren’t going to like you because you can do your job better than they can do theirs. Some people aren’t going to like you because other people like you, and because you’re popular, and because you’re well-liked, they aren’t going to like you. Some people aren’t going to like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. Some people aren’t going to like you because your skin is a little brighter than theirs; and others aren’t going to like you because your skin is a little darker than theirs. So that some people aren’t going to like you. They’re going to dislike you, not because of something that you’ve done to them, but because of various jealous reactions and other reactions that are so prevalent in human nature.

But after looking at these things and admitting these things, we must face the fact that an individual might dislike us because of something that we’ve done deep down in the past, some personality attribute that we possess, something that we’ve done deep down in the past and we’ve forgotten about it; but it was that something that aroused the hate response within the individual. That is why I say, begin with yourself. There might be something within you that arouses the tragic hate response in the other individual.

This is true in our international struggle. We look at the struggle, the ideological struggle between communism on the one hand and democracy on the other, and we see the struggle between America and Russia. Now certainly, we can never give our allegiance to the Russian way of life, to the communistic way of life, because communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept. When we look at the methods of communism, a philosophy where somehow the end justifies the means, we cannot accept that because we believe as Christians that the end is pre-existent in the means. But in spite of all of the weaknesses and evils inherent in communism, we must at the same time see the weaknesses and evils within democracy.

Democracy is the greatest form of government to my mind that man has ever conceived, but the weakness is that we have never touched it. Isn’t it true that we have often taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes? Isn’t it true that we have often in our democracy trampled over individuals and races with the iron feet of oppression? Isn’t it true that through our Western powers we have perpetuated colonialism and imperialism? And all of these things must be taken under consideration as we look at Russia. We must face the fact that the rhythmic beat of the deep rumblings of discontent from Asia and Africa is at bottom a revolt against the imperialism and colonialism perpetuated by Western civilization all these many years. The success of communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble ideals and principles inherent in its system.

And this is what Jesus means when he said: "How is it that you can see the mote in your brother’s eye and not see the beam in your own eye?" Or to put it in Moffatt’s translation: "How is it that you see the splinter in your brother’s eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye?" And this is one of the tragedies of human nature. So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves.

A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and every time you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.

I’ve said to you on many occasions that each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality. We’re split up and divided against ourselves. And there is something of a civil war going on within all of our lives. There is a recalcitrant South of our soul revolting against the North of our soul. And there is this continual struggle within the very structure of every individual life. There is something within all of us that causes us to cry out with Ovid, the Latin poet, "I see and approve the better things of life, but the evil things I do." There is something within all of us that causes us to cry out with Plato that the human personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions. There is something within each of us that causes us to cry out with Goethe, "There is enough stuff in me to
make both a gentleman and a rogue." There is something within each of us that causes us to cry out with Apostle Paul, "I see and approve the better things of life, but the evil things I do."

So somehow the "isness" of our present nature is out of harmony with the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts us. And this simply means this: That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals. The person who hates you most has some good in him; even the nation that hates you most has some good in it; even the race that hates you most has some good in it. And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls "the image of God," you begin to love him in spite of. No matter what he does, you see God’s image there. There is an element of goodness that he can never sluff off. Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.

Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.

The Greek language, as I’ve said so often before, is very powerful at this point. It comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole philosophy of love. And I think it is quite apropos at this point, for you see the Greek language has three words for love, interestingly enough. It talks about love as eros. That’s one word for love. Eros is a sort of, aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his dialogues, a sort of yearning of the soul for the realm of the gods. And it’s come to us to be a sort of romantic love, though it’s a beautiful love. Everybody has experienced eros in all of its beauty when you find some individual that is attractive to you and that you pour out all of your like and your love on that individual. That is eros, you see, and it’s a powerful, beautiful love that is given to us through all of
the beauty of literature; we read about it.

Then the Greek language talks about philia, and that’s another type of love that’s also beautiful. It is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. And this is the type of love that you have for those persons that you’re friendly with, your intimate friends, or people that you call on the telephone and you go by to have dinner with, and your roommate in college and that type of thing. It’s a sort of reciprocal love. On this level, you like a person because that person likes you. You love on this level, because you are loved. You love on this level, because there’s something about the person you love that is likeable to you. This too is a beautiful love. You can communicate with a person; you have certain things in common; you like to do things together. This is philia.

The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia; agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you’ve ever seen.

And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, "Love your enemy." And it’s significant that he does not say, "Like your enemy." Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don’t like what they do to me. I don’t like what they say about me and other people. I don’t like their attitudes. I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, "Love your enemy." This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.

Now for the few moments left, let us move from the practical how to the theoretical why. It’s not only necessary to know how to go about loving your enemies, but also to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies. I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus’ thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. [tapping on pulpit] It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil. And that is the tragedy of hate, that it doesn’t cut it off. It only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. Somebody must have religion enough and morality enough to cut it off and inject within the very structure of the universe that strong and powerful element of love.

I think I mentioned before that sometime ago my brother and I were driving one evening to Chattanooga, Tennessee, from Atlanta. He was driving the car. And for some reason the drivers were very discourteous that night. They didn’t dim their lights; hardly any driver that passed by dimmed his lights. And I remember very vividly, my brother A. D. looked over and in a tone of anger said: "I know what I’m going to do. The next car that comes along here and refuses to dim the lights, I’m going to fail to dim mine and pour them on in all of their power." And I looked at him right quick and said: "Oh no, don’t do that. There’d be too much light on this highway, and it will end up in mutual destruction for all. Somebody got to have some sense on this highway."

Somebody must have sense enough to dim the lights, and that is the trouble, isn’t it? That as all of the civilizations of the world move up the highway of history, so many civilizations, having looked at other civilizations that refused to dim the lights, and they decided to refuse to dim theirs. And Toynbee tells that out of the twenty-two civilizations that have risen up, all but about seven have found themselves in the junkheap of destruction. It is because civilizations fail to have sense enough to dim the lights. And if somebody doesn’t have sense enough to turn on the dim and beautiful and powerful lights of love in this world, the whole of our civilization will be plunged into the abyss of destruction. And we will all end up destroyed because nobody had any sense on the highway of history. Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.

There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. He comes to the point that he becomes a pathological case. For the person who hates, you can stand up and see a person and that person can be beautiful, and you will call them ugly. For the person who hates, the beautiful becomes ugly and the ugly becomes beautiful. For the person who hates, the good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. For the person who hates, the true becomes false and the false becomes true. That’s what hate does. You can’t see right. The symbol of objectivity is lost. Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater. And this is why Jesus says hate [recording interrupted]

. . . that you want to be integrated with yourself, and the way to be integrated with yourself is be sure that you meet every situation of life with an abounding love. Never hate, because it ends up in tragic, neurotic responses. Psychologists and psychiatrists are telling us today that the more we hate, the more we develop guilt feelings and we begin to subconsciously repress or consciously suppress certain emotions, and they all stack up in our subconscious selves and make for tragic, neurotic responses. And may this not be the neuroses of many individuals as they confront life that that is an element of hate there. And modern psychology is calling on us now to love. But long before modern psychology came into being, the world’s greatest psychologist who walked around the hills of Galilee told us to love. He looked at men and said: "Love your enemies; don’t hate anybody." It’s not enough for us to hate your friends because—to to love your friends—because when you start hating anybody, it destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe; so love everybody. Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence. It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life. So Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, "Love your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you. Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.

I think of one of the best examples of this. We all remember the great president of this United States, Abraham Lincoln—these United States rather. You remember when Abraham Lincoln was running for president of the United States, there was a man who ran all around the country talking about Lincoln. He said a lot of bad things about Lincoln, a lot of unkind things. And sometimes he would get to the point that he would even talk about his looks, saying, "You don’t want a tall, lanky, ignorant man like this as the president of the United States." He went on and on and on and went around with that type of attitude and wrote about it. Finally, one day Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. And if you read the great biography of Lincoln, if you read the great works about him, you will discover that as every president comes to the point, he came to the point of having to choose a Cabinet. And then came the time for him to choose a Secretary of War. He looked across the nation, and decided to choose a man by the name of Mr. Stanton. And when Abraham Lincoln stood around his advisors and mentioned this fact, they said to him: "Mr. Lincoln, are you a fool? Do you know what Mr. Stanton has been saying about you? Do you know what he has done, tried to do to you? Do you know that he has tried to defeat you on every hand? Do you know that, Mr. Lincoln? Did you read all of those derogatory statements that he made about you?" Abraham Lincoln stood before the advisors around him and said: "Oh yes, I know about it; I read about it; I’ve heard him myself. But after looking over the country, I find that he is the best man for the job."

Mr. Stanton did become Secretary of War, and a few months later, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. And if you go to Washington, you will discover that one of the greatest words or statements ever made by, about Abraham Lincoln was made about this man Stanton. And as Abraham Lincoln came to the end of his life, Stanton stood up and said: "Now he belongs to the ages." And he made a beautiful statement concerning the character and the stature of this man. If Abraham Lincoln had hated Stanton, if Abraham Lincoln had answered everything Stanton said, Abraham Lincoln would have not transformed and redeemed Stanton. Stanton would have gone to his grave hating Lincoln, and Lincoln would have gone to his grave hating Stanton. But through the power of love Abraham Lincoln was able to redeem Stanton.

That’s it. There is a power in love that our world has not discovered yet. Jesus discovered it centuries ago. Mahatma Gandhi of India discovered it a few years ago, but most men and most women never discover it. For they believe in hitting for hitting; they believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; they believe in hating for hating; but Jesus comes to us and says, "This isn’t the way."

And oh this morning, as I think of the fact that our world is in transition now. Our whole world is facing a revolution. Our nation is facing a revolution, our nation. One of the things that concerns me most is that in the midst of the revolution of the world and the midst of the revolution of this nation, that we will discover the meaning of Jesus’ words.

History unfortunately leaves some people oppressed and some people oppressors. And there are three ways that individuals who are oppressed can deal with their oppression. One of them is to rise up against their oppressors with physical violence and corroding hatred. But oh this isn’t the way. For the danger and the weakness of this method is its futility. Violence creates many more social problems than it solves. And I’ve said, in so many instances, that as the Negro, in particular, and colored peoples all over the world struggle for freedom, if they succumb to the temptation of using violence in their struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos. Violence isn’t the way.

Another way is to acquiesce and to give in, to resign yourself to the oppression. Some people do that. They discover the difficulties of the wilderness moving into the promised land, and they would rather go back to the despots of Egypt because it’s difficult to get in the promised land. And so they resign themselves to the fate of oppression; they somehow acquiesce to this thing. But that too isn’t the way because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here. We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way. Jesus discovered that.

Not only did Jesus discover it, even great military leaders discover that. One day as Napoleon came toward the end of his career and looked back across the years—the great Napoleon that at a very early age had all but conquered the world. He was not stopped until he became, till he moved out to the battle of Leipzig and then to Waterloo. But that same Napoleon one day stood back and looked across the years, and said: "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have built great empires. But upon what did they depend? They depended upon force. But long ago Jesus started an empire that depended on love, and even to this day millions will die for him."

Yes, I can see Jesus walking around the hills and the valleys of Palestine. And I can see him looking out at the Roman Empire with all of her fascinating and intricate military machinery. But in the midst of that, I can hear him saying: "I will not use this method. Neither will I hate the Roman Empire." [Radio Announcer:] (WRMA, Montgomery, Alabama. Due to the fact of the delay this morning, we are going over with the sermon.) [several words inaudible] . . . and just start marching.

And I’m proud to stand here in Dexter this morning and say that that army is still marching. It grew up from a group of eleven or twelve men to more than seven hundred million today. Because of the power and influence of the personality of this Christ, he was able to split history into a.d. and b.c. Because of his power, he was able to shake the hinges from the gates of the Roman Empire. And all around the world
this morning, we can hear the glad echo of heaven ring:

Jesus shall reign wherever sun,
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spreads from shore to shore,
Till moon shall wane and wax no more.

We can hear another chorus singing: "All hail the power of Jesus name!"
We can hear another chorus singing: "Hallelujah, hallelujah! He’s King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. Hallelujah, hallelujah!"
We can hear another choir singing:

In Christ there is no East or West.
In Him no North or South,
But one great Fellowship of Love
Throughout the whole wide world.

This is the only way.

And our civilization must discover that. Individuals must discover that as they deal with other individuals. There is a little tree planted on a little hill and on that tree hangs the most influential character that ever came in this world. But never feel that that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history. Oh no, it is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity, and see the love of God breaking forth into time. It is an eternal reminder to a power-drunk generation that love is the only way. It is an eternal reminder to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, a generation depending on physical violence, that love is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe.

So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, "I love you. I would rather die than hate you." And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And then we will be in God’s kingdom. We will be able to matriculate into the university of eternal life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us.

Oh God, help us in our lives and in all of our attitudes, to work out this controlling force of love, this controlling power that can solve every problem that we confront in all areas. Oh, we talk about politics; we talk about the problems facing our atomic civilization. Grant that all men will come together and discover that as we solve the crisis and solve these problems—the international problems, the problems of atomic energy, the problems of nuclear energy, and yes, even the race problem—let us join together in a great fellowship of love and bow down at the feet of Jesus. Give us this strong determination. In the name and spirit of this Christ, we pray. Amen.

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Success vs. Greatness

I have watched this clip probably about 100 times, but it's so powerful I chose to share it with you. Many of us don't understand the fundamental difference between success and greatness. To understand that is crucial in shaping and forming the human being you decide to be. Enjoy and leave a comment. Then afterwards, I would ask you to read the essay by Tennessee Williams called "The Catastrophe of Success". I have posted it below. It will really enrich your soul. Thank you for visiting.
You can find this video in its entirety @: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7883355051687073820&q=cornel+west&hl=en#