What strikes the mind of a reader in reading Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is how anyone, especially a man of God, of faith, could argue with his logical and faith-filled testimony and defense of his actions. There are two sections that speak to me most at this time. The first is: I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond
Dr. King was speaking specifically of the demonstrations and other forms of civil disobedience he led at the time in Birmingham as segregation was his battle. I fear that we live in a society that has still yet to come to understand the significance of this statement. In New Orleans today we fight a daily battle against violence, murder and racism. It has affected all of us. No one can be blind to it; yet, how much action is being taken to address the "underlying causes?" It seems we still want to be content with reactions that deal "merely with effects."
More murders? Build a bigger jail. Need to balance the budget? Cut programs that serve the most vulnerable and mentally ill.
Where is our compassion for one another? How can we come together, as Dr. King hoped would happen in Birmingham in 19634, to take our battle to fight those underlying causes?
First and foremost, I think Dr. King would call us back to God, back to our common faith. He would call on us to instill in all people God's love and the dignity of the human person. When God is absent from society, society falters. We see the evidence of this daily. We do this through dialogue, yes, but in teaching our young people to value and respect themselves and one another, we must feed them and educate them. We must provide for them a quality education from which they can grow and nurture their individual talents. Our schools -- Catholic, private and public -- must always strive to be the best they can be and work with each student to be the best she or he can be. It is only with God's grace that we can fight these "underlying causes" and through His grace that we can win hearts and minds and bring about a society that values life and in which everyone has equal opportunities to succeed. Where every family is strong, society is strong and respectful of life. We desperately need to give attention to seeing the family as the heart of the community.
The second section that strikes me reads:
One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."
Dr. King goes on to also quote St. Thomas Aquinas. This type of action takes courage in one's convictions. It calls each of us to stand taller and bolder for what we believe in. If more women and men took this approach today, not necessarily through civil disobedience as was necessary in the time of Dr. King, but in the public square, I believe our society would be in a much different place. We must not stand back and say that another's well being or even another's lack of understanding the truth is not my concern.
It took Dr. King courage to respond to those who criticized his work. It took him courage to do his work. Let us follow the example of this bold and holy man.
Gregory Aymond is the archbishop of New Orleans.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond More murders? Build a bigger jail. Need to balance the budget? Cut programs that serve the most vulnerable and mentally ill.
Where is our compassion for one another? How can we come together, as Dr. King hoped would happen in Birmingham in 19634, to take our battle to fight those underlying causes?
First and foremost, I think Dr. King would call us back to God, back to our common faith. He would call on us to instill in all people God's love and the dignity of the human person. When God is absent from society, society falters. We see the evidence of this daily. We do this through dialogue, yes, but in teaching our young people to value and respect themselves and one another, we must feed them and educate them. We must provide for them a quality education from which they can grow and nurture their individual talents. Our schools -- Catholic, private and public -- must always strive to be the best they can be and work with each student to be the best she or he can be. It is only with God's grace that we can fight these "underlying causes" and through His grace that we can win hearts and minds and bring about a society that values life and in which everyone has equal opportunities to succeed. Where every family is strong, society is strong and respectful of life. We desperately need to give attention to seeing the family as the heart of the community.
The second section that strikes me reads:
One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."
Dr. King goes on to also quote St. Thomas Aquinas. This type of action takes courage in one's convictions. It calls each of us to stand taller and bolder for what we believe in. If more women and men took this approach today, not necessarily through civil disobedience as was necessary in the time of Dr. King, but in the public square, I believe our society would be in a much different place. We must not stand back and say that another's well being or even another's lack of understanding the truth is not my concern.
It took Dr. King courage to respond to those who criticized his work. It took him courage to do his work. Let us follow the example of this bold and holy man.
Gregory Aymond is the archbishop of New Orleans.
No comments:
Post a Comment