THE GIANT TRIPLETS OF RACISM, MATERIALISM,
MILITARISM
Martin Luther King, Jr. – Then and Now
If Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive
today, he would be speaking truth to power on the same issues he spoke about at
the time of his death – social and economic justice at home and ending US wars
abroad – and he would likely be appalled that after 50 years, these issues have
not been resolved, and in many cases, conditions are worse. And if King was
alive today, he would likely be the target of a campaign to discredit him and
disrupt his efforts to win peace and justice for all. How do we know? Because
this was what King was doing before he was assassinated -- and the US
government, rather than honoring him, was doing everything in its power to
stifle and destroy him. King was considered a danger to national security
because he called for radical changes in the structure of society to
redistribute wealth and power and he criticized the militaristic US foreign
policy. He denounced the “giant triplets of racism, materialism and
militarism”.
RACISM
King gave his life challenging Jim Crow
segregation, America’s apartheid – the laws, the racist culture, the lynchings.
He was a leader in the mass struggle of Black people and their allies to
overturn these injustices and to improve conditions for future generations.
Major victories were won in gaining the right to vote, integrated education,
fair housing, and integrated public facilities. Although racism was never
eradicated, the legal basis of the racist system was overturned.
Under the guise of a war on drugs, we
see the mass incarceration of black and brown youth. The sentences are harsh and
the conditions are deplorable. America has both a greater percentage of its
population and the largest number of incarcerated persons than any other
nation. Many inmates endure years of solitary confinement, which has been
designated as torture. Prisoners are fighting back by engaging in hunger
strikes. After leaving prison, many are yoked by felony convictions to a life of
poverty and restricted rights.
The Voting Rights Act has been gutted
and efforts to restrict voting are expanding.
Since 9/11, Muslims and immigrants have
been particular targets of the U.S. government. They have been scapegoated to
justify the “war on terror”. Hundreds of Muslims have been the victims of
pre-emptive prosecution, simply for their beliefs, speech, and guilt by
association, and the FBI has actively worked to entrap others in set-up
“terrorist plots”. Immigrants, especially at the Mexican border, are
persecuted, imprisoned, and deported for wanting a better life for their
families.
MATERIALISM
Before King’s death, he was organizing
the Poor People's Campaign to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that
would descend on Washington to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience until
Congress enacted a "Poor People's Bill of Rights". He called for money going to
jobs programs to rebuild American cities, rather than spending billions on the
military. At the time of his assassination, he was mobilizing support for
striking sanitation workers.
Rather than helping the poor and working
people, we are seeing drastic cuts to education, health care and other social
services, high unemployment, and depressed wages. The growing discrepancies in
wealth between the rich and poor have not been as great since before the Great
Depression, and African-Americans and Latinos have suffered the greatest loss of
wealth. The bailouts (and the profits) have gone to Wall Street and the
corporations. While the auto companies got the cash, predominantly black
Detroit gets the shaft. Ten million people have been displaced because of bank
foreclosures. Real wages were higher 50 years ago and the minimum wage today is
well below the poverty line. Unions that offered workers a decent standard of
living and protection from arbitrary firing have been decimated as industries
have been destroyed by finance capital and globalization. Social security and
pensions that the elderly worked for and earned are threatened. A college degree
then was a sure path to success; now jobs are scarce and students incur major
debts.
MILITARISM
Fifty years ago, the US was engaged in
one major war in Vietnam, although in reality, the US has almost always been
involved in wars around the globe.
The US government has used the terrible
tragedy of 9/11 to declare a never-ending "war on terror" directed at countries
and individuals who resist American hegemony. The U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq
based on lies to gain control over its oil wealth and to expand its imperial
power. Since 2003, estimates of between 300,000 and 1,000,000 people have been
killed and millions displaced in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Over 6,600
American soldiers have been killed and hundreds of thousands returned injured
and disabled. It is projected that the cost of the current wars will top $4
trillion, when long-term costs such as health care for thousands of wounded U.S.
soldiers are included. Billions are spent on the military and security and to
make private US contractors rich.
The Obama administration continues these
Bush era practices in a new way. In collusion with other NATO nations the U.S.
overthrew the government of the sovereign nation of Libya and attempted to do
the same in Syria.
Operating out of over 800 bases, the
U.S. has a military presence on all continents and in almost all countries. The
U.S. has the majority of nuclear weapons and the U.S. defense budget is larger
than all other defense budgets combined. – nearly half of global military
spending, which has doubled in the past 10 years. Military operations and wars
for control of energy resources are major contributors to global
warming.
The public are unaware that the U.S. is
at war in many countries. Today’s wars rely on drones, secret special
operations forces, crippling sanctions, and training and arming of opposition
militaries. Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia are major targets of U.S. drones that
kill people only “suspected” of being ”terrorists”. In reality, many of the
victims are unknown civilians, including many children. These extrajudicial
killings include American citizens and are classified by international law as
war crimes.
Our government is not doing this to make
us more secure or to bring democracy to other parts of the world; repression and
war only leads to more violence. The issues are US economic and military
control of important regions of the world, like the huge oil fields in Iraq, not
a more peaceful and cooperative world.
CIVIL
LIBERTIES
The FBI’s COINTELPRO program spied on
dissenters and activists during the 1950’s through the 1970’s. COINTELPRO raided
and infiltrated organizations, carried out assassinations and dirty tricks,
spread misinformation, and created chaos at rallies. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was a major target. Following exposes of government wrongdoing, laws were
passed to monitor and limit surveillance actions by government agencies and
police departments.
Those restrictions were undone by the
Patriot Act passed hastily after 9/11. In order to carry out wars abroad, the
administration needs to go to war on dissent here at home. The threat of
terrorism is used to justify secret and unconstitutional actions, including
surveillance and data gathering on millions of Americans and indefinite
detention without charge. Prisoners at Guantanamo languish with no charges and
no dates for release. Torture and rendition are sanctioned and the rule of law
is ignored.
Legislation passed since September 11
gave the Justice Department and local law enforcement sweeping new powers of
surveillance of all electronic communication without having any evidence of
wrongdoing. Secret courts allow the administration to act without restraints or
oversight. Even alerting the public about these programs is treated as a
federal crime. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning, who
exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the journalists that
published their revelations, can be charged with espionage.
Privacy, freedom of speech, and due
process are rights extended to all persons, citizens and non-citizens, by the
Bill of Rights. These rights and freedoms are the very basis of our democracy.
Loss of our rights to dissent under protection of the law is a far greater
threat to our way of life than terrorist bombs and does nothing to increase
security.
WHAT CAN WE
DO?
We can honor the memory of
Martin Luther King best by following in his footsteps to defend our rights and
liberties, oppose violence and war, and affirm the humanity and worth of all
people. The significant victories of the civil rights movement were won when
people in great numbers demonstrated in the streets for justice. They kept
coming out in spite of jailing, physical violence, economic hardship, and even
killings because they could not and would not settle for less than full freedom
in every sphere. We must do the same.
NO TO PROFILING, STOP AND FRISK,
MASS INCARCERATION, VOTING RESTRICTIONS!
$$ FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION, NOT FOR
DRONE ATTACKS AND WAR!
END NSA SURVEILLANCE, DEFEND
BILLOF RIGHTS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS!
All Out on August
28.
The actual anniversary of the historic march is Wednesday, August 28. On
that day rallies will be organized around the country. UNAC has endorsed these
actions. Please plan to join one of the rallies being planned or plan one in
your area. These actions are being called around the demands of :
STOP THE WAR ON YOUTH
OF COLOR
JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON
MARTIN –JAIL
ZIMMERMAN!
OVERTURN ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’ LAWS!
JOBS& EDUCATION
NOT MASS INCARCERATION!
END RACIAL PROFILING OF ALL
FORMS!
STOP RACIST POLICE TERROR INCLUDING STOP-AND-FRISK!
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS NOW
STOP DEPORTATIONS!
A LIVING WAGE AND UNION
RIGHTS
For more information: http://peoplespowerassemblies.org/aug-28-mobilization/FOR LOW-WAGE AND ALL WORKERS! |
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment