Martin Luther King, Jr. is someone we have all heard of. We have all talked about him in school. We have all listened to at least part of his "I Have A Dream Speech," we all know about his significance in the movement to end segregation in the United States.
He's a very important historical figure, of that we have no doubt. And although I used to get annually annoyed when we discussed him in school (as I still do with Anne Frank and 9/11, for various reasons you probably don't want to hear), I am now a massive fan. For more than just the whole race thing, for more than just his famous speech (although that is incredibly important and I am incredibly grateful he brought about that specific change, etc.). I am a fan of Martin Luther King, Jr. because of who he was as a person. Because of his passion for right. MLK was not afraid to stand and push for what he wanted, what he needed, what the world needed. I have read his Letter from Birmingham Jail, a letter written to the multitudes of clergymen who had criticized his actions. He wrote this letter in a peaceful and articulate manner, outlining what he does and why he does it. He says, "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws," a phrase I have oft quoted. And I quote this not because I am seeking to justify reckless acts, but because, as Alexander Hamilton says in Lin-Manual Miranda's "Non-Stop," "I’ve seen injustice in the world and I’ve corrected it." (Or, intend to, anyway.) MLK wrote that "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." Martin Luther King, Jr. was not breaking laws and protesting to start an aimless fight but to finish a fight that had been started in the hearts and minds of the more just sects of humanity centuries prior. He was fighting for what was right, which I'm sure you've oft been told to do yourself. He was making the decision to stop staying quiet.
0 Comments
So, it looks like this year is done. 2016 has somehow gotten a reputation for being absolutely terrible. But at what point did we all just sort of simultaneously decide that it was the worst year ever? I certainly don’t remember making that decision. I thought it was an excellent year, actually. I recognize the reasons we thought it was terrible: continuing chaos in the Middle East, a continuing refugee crisis, continuing terrorist attacks, continuing world hunger and poverty, continuing threats to our environment (both natural and man-made). There was an over abundance of deaths of famous and important people (or so I have been told), and a pretty ridiculous American Presidential Election came to an unsatisfying end. I recognize that terrible things happened. I recognize that in certain categories, 2016 was terrible. On Friday I went to a conference at Utah Valley University co-hosted by BYU's Wheatley Institution and UVU's Center for the Study of Ethics. I found out about it about a week and half ago and, as I told my mother, "I saw “PEACEBUILDING” with a picture of a butterfly and knew I would freaking walk there if I had to." I didn't have to. I asked the magical world of Facebook for a ride and successfully obtained a good one. Maybe "obtained" isn't the word. Anyway. The remainder of this post will be adapted from my letter home this week. (So, Mom, Dad, Marian... don't read this yet. Your version is better anyway.) So, the conference! It was so good. We were there for a total of five speakers, and a discussion/Q&A session for two of them. Each speaker was better than the last. I took notes (in pink ink, of course). I managed to streamline (most) everything into a few key points:
I go to college at a university owned by my church. Naturally, the university is pretty conservative. It may come as a surprise to anyone who was in my AP Comparative Government class that my top choice school is a conservative one, but it's the truth. Of course, the political leanings of the students was not the primary factor in my decision, but that's beside the point. The point is that my Hillary Clinton poster and the Hillary logo in the window of my friends' dorm are generally looked down upon, and most of my peers would sooner vote for Trump than for Hillary. Of course, when they find out which candidate I selected on my absentee ballot, they always question it. I rarely answer, mostly because I'm not prepared to get into a fight. The truth is that I'm not particularly vocally articulate, and so I prefer to put my thoughts into writing. So, to anyone who has ever asked (or wanted to ask): This is for you.
Almost a year ago I sat down to write a blog post about the flaws of Donald Trump. It ended up being a longer post than I had the time/patience/inclination to write, but I saved what I had of it that far. Today I found this draft, and I think, that as my absentee ballot came in the mail today and the election is fast approaching, it is pertinent to this moment in time. I'm not editing what my December-of-2015 self wrote, nor am I adding to it. Not everything may be still relevant or correct, and it definitely wasn't edited when it was first written. But I'm publishing it now, in its raw form, just in case. And so, without further ado, my seventeen-year-old musings on our Grand Old Party presidential candidate, Mr. Donald J. Trump.
|
I'm Audrey, a college student and existential rambler.
Welcome to my blog. categories
All
Archives
February 2021
|