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Today is MLK day. As an atheist I celebrate a religious leader. How is that? He was an important civil rights leader. His birthday was the 15th of January. Another religious figure who was also a civil rights figure was born on the 17th of January. Muhammad Ali. Today we should remember them both. "Common problems and common concerns even though we have different religious beliefs." MLK

barjoe 9 Jan 18
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1

People are multidimensional, neither all good nor all bad. Recognizing that and accepting it is a characteristic of adulthood.

2

Likewise here. He was definitely a person with integrity who had good intentions. That’s what matters.

2

If only we had leadership today in the same vein as MLK who said - “The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows”

Also - "As a theologian, Martin Luther King reflected often on his understanding of nonviolence. He described his own “pilgrimage to nonviolence” in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, and in subsequent books and articles. “True pacifism,” or “nonviolent resistance,” King wrote, is “a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love” (King, Stride, 80). Both “morally and practically” committed to nonviolence, King believed that “the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom” Violent people operating around different causes do not know the true teachings of this important person in our history.

Take into consideration some of his quotes that you might not agree with. "We must recognize that we can’t solve our problem now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power"

@barjoe I agree with that quote. Redistribution of wealth periodically provides opportunity to all. Otherwise the wealthy just squash everyone else

@barjoe I do not disagree that blacks living in poverty deserve reparations for the ancestral theft of personhood and labor, and then later in the form of unequal rights that occurred in this country's history. HOWEVER, I do disagree with most all of the current leadership in addressing the problems of this day and this long standing issue as well. Rather than attempting to unite the nation during a deadly pandemic I feel the leaders have attempted to stoke racial fear and divide and the media has willingly been the accelerant on the fire. The issue of reparations and a national apology for engaging in slavery needs to be presented as such and the turn around point for the future and enhanced racial relationd. At current all we see is the "white supremacist" slur hurled at any political opponent who does not follow your exact plan. Leaders aren't trying to solve problems currently; they are trying to create more. If I am wrong, and I would LOVE to be, then Dems will make magic happen now they have control. Let's see what they actually do. Do you believe in magic?

Let's not forget the distrubution of political power has happened already too. I do not know the exact representation in government, but certainly blacks are serving in all manner of offices, so that part is already a large part already done, it's accomplished. We are there. Don't know exact numbers vs. population though, so hopefully close to being very fully representative.

@Flowerwall I don't support reparations, I believe in economic equality regardless of race.

@barjoe Well be careful you sound like you may have political opinions that differ from some others. In this day and age that's not acceptable any more. You may be a supremacist of some sort and not realize it yet. I do fully support reparations and don't understand how anyone can NOT.

I do fully expect that everything this country has been through has to lead us somewhere, right? You were big on Dem party, so how do you feel their current plans will best address economic equality? What do you expect to see in terms of improvements with Dems in full control?

@Flowerwall I don't give a shit what is acceptable. I am not careful about what I say.

@barjoe I think I sound like I'm getting cynical here. Maybe really good things can come out of the upcoming administration and dem control of congress. Maybe it truly will be like magic in terms of getting a lot done. It will take quite a long while to believe it. I have to see it happening to believe it now.

@Flowerwall Joe Biden is politically right where this country needs to be. I don't know if he will get the cooperation necessary from either side of the aisle. Shame on anyone on both sides who doesn't try to work it out to save us from this pandemic. Oh. The election wasn't stolen. If we can't go on from that, we're doomed.

@barjoe "Joe Biden is politically right where this country needs to be." I think under different circumstances I mighy agree more with this statement. I just heard about some evidence today, I need to learn more. 25Million voter registration forms bought in one county? It said. I don't know the details. Have to learn more. But that's getting off topic here.

@Flowerwall We are doomed. Trump lost. Get over it. He lost bad. Trump underperformed against other Republicans. Why didn't they fix the whole state? Because it wasn't fixed. More people hate him than love him. He lost by 7 million votes. In the words of your hero, Donald Trump, "don't be a schmuck"

3

MLK is one of my most admired people. My admiration has nothing to do with his Theism but to his Humanity.

1

A remarkable man. You may not agree with everything he believes in but he did very good, he became a landmark in History, especially in the USA.

As far as MLK, I agree with everything he espoused with the exception that I'm sure there is no God.

@barjoe, despite he was religious, we can't deny the great things he did. This world still needs more men like him.

@Paddypereira The religious are not bad people because they are religious. It is religion and most of the leaders of religion that are bad....

@Canndue, I fully agree with you.

1

Watched One Night In Miami and it's about Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and I forget who, one night to discuss justice, human rights, and religion. Very good.

I'm looking forward to watching that.

Sounds interesting

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