Once prophets were threatening to the powerful because their indictment of iniquitous structures were thought to carry weight. Then prophets dramatized their messages by marching, and praying, and disobeying, and singing - until, until the status quo could no longer take them for granted. When prophets could no longer be taken for granted they were thrown into jail, called names, reviled, and possibly killed. Prophets and various structures of injustice did not go well together. Ask Jeremiah, Jesus, Mahatma, King, Tutu, etc., etc. There was a time when prophets spoke to structural issues that were breaking the backs of the poor and weak and enlarging the coffers of the powerful.
Today, when prophets speak people clap for them and go home to volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club or other charities of their choosing while iniquitous societal structures continue to flourish on the sweat and blood of the weak and expendable people in society. Thus it is that in America, Martin Luther King Day has become a day to play special NBA games, a day to volunteer and reflect on what Martin Luther King means to you (as if Martin Luther King has a different meaning from what he did and stood for!), a day to attend church and listen to preachers. Thus it is that the vision of a beloved community which Martin Luther King lived and died for has been thrown to the side and the voting rights he fought for have been pushed back as many continue to work for pittance, and health care is still out of reach for many.
In America, Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who fought for the underdogs in society, has been given a holiday, made into an elite fit to rub shoulders only with celebrities and talk about John Kennedy, with no reference to the poor people in whose cause he died. And so in America Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated even as racism is making a comeback, militarism is running amok, and the poor are becoming poorer. In America, prophets are no longer jailed or killed or even ignored; they are coopted into the system (whatever that means) and what they say or said is interpreted and reinterpreted (what does it mean?) but never actually done! The fate that befell Jesus has befallen Martin Luther King, Jr. - not that both of them were murdered - that would be to take them far more seriously than they ought to be. Both of them have now been coopted into the system to serve the interest of the elite. We now sing about them, praise them, but hardly do what they said we should do. Classic!
Today, when prophets speak people clap for them and go home to volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club or other charities of their choosing while iniquitous societal structures continue to flourish on the sweat and blood of the weak and expendable people in society. Thus it is that in America, Martin Luther King Day has become a day to play special NBA games, a day to volunteer and reflect on what Martin Luther King means to you (as if Martin Luther King has a different meaning from what he did and stood for!), a day to attend church and listen to preachers. Thus it is that the vision of a beloved community which Martin Luther King lived and died for has been thrown to the side and the voting rights he fought for have been pushed back as many continue to work for pittance, and health care is still out of reach for many.
In America, Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who fought for the underdogs in society, has been given a holiday, made into an elite fit to rub shoulders only with celebrities and talk about John Kennedy, with no reference to the poor people in whose cause he died. And so in America Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated even as racism is making a comeback, militarism is running amok, and the poor are becoming poorer. In America, prophets are no longer jailed or killed or even ignored; they are coopted into the system (whatever that means) and what they say or said is interpreted and reinterpreted (what does it mean?) but never actually done! The fate that befell Jesus has befallen Martin Luther King, Jr. - not that both of them were murdered - that would be to take them far more seriously than they ought to be. Both of them have now been coopted into the system to serve the interest of the elite. We now sing about them, praise them, but hardly do what they said we should do. Classic!
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