MLK would say No Way

Column orginally published 1-18-07

War would not sit well with MLK
By Kelvin Wade

Martin Luther King Day was observed in Solano County much as it was around the nation, with respectful remembrances, dedications and volunteerism. But in light of President Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, I can't help but think the holiday was missing something. It was missing the outrage of the "Drum Major for Peace."

I usually can't stand hearing people say, "If Dr. King were alive today . . ." but I'm going to indulge it because I think it's credible in this case. If he were alive today I've no doubt one of his main issues would be the Iraq war. He'd be speaking out against it, leading marches against it and blasting Congress for their symbolic gestures to end our involvement.

How do I know this? King had spoken out against the Vietnam War since 1965. His colleagues criticized him and warned him that his antiwar rhetoric could harm the civil rights cause with Lyndon Johnson.

In 1967, he could no longer be silent. Exactly one year before King was assassinated he gave a speech at the Riverside Church in New York City called "Beyond Vietnam."

This wasn't feel-good "I have a dream" King. This was a battle-hardened King who acknowledged that there comes a point when silence is betrayal.

His opinion on the war was motivated by both practical and moral concerns. He watched Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty "eviscerated" by the war effort. In his mind, the war itself was an enemy of the poor, both black and white. And those themes of economic justice would resonate today. With this war of choice costing over $358 billion so far, King would lament the loss of those funds for education, health care and Katrina rebuilding.

King talked about how the Vietnam War was engendering hatred in the hearts of the Vietnamese and turning friends into enemies. Surely, he would say the same about our folly in Iraq.

Today, he would bemoan how Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, torture, our rejection of international treaties and erosion of civil liberties had ceded our moral authority.

The "Beyond Vietnam" speech implored America to have a radical revolution of values. King urged America to fight ideologies with an ideology, not weapons. It was a radical speech and he would be offering the same prescription today in the war on terror.

I know King would be opposing this war because in "The Drum Major Instinct" speech two months before he was gunned down, when King envisioned his own eulogy, one of the things he wanted said was he "tried to be right on the war question."

Dr. King was on a course to merge the civil rights and antiwar movements and he'd be right in the thick of it today.

Last year, the Rev. Joseph Lowery offered up pointed barbs against the Iraq war at Coretta Scott King's funeral that I believe were consistent with where King would be. In 2007, in light of the escalation of the war, if we're going to talk about Martin let's get it right.

If he were alive today, a 78-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. would be shadowing the president telling him to get us out of Iraq.

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