Martin Luther King Jr. 'content of character' quote inspires debate

[Obiwan]

Martin Luther King Jr. 'content of character' quote inspires debate

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

This sentence spoken by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been quoted countless times as expressing one of America's bedrock values, its language almost sounding like a constitutional amendment on equality.

Yet today, 50 years after King shared this vision during his most famous speech, there is considerable disagreement over what it means.

The quote is used to support opposing views on politics, affirmative action and programs intended to help the disadvantaged. Just as the words of the nation's founders are parsed for modern meanings on guns and abortion, so are King's words used in debates over the proper place of race in America.

As we mark the King holiday, what might he ask of us in a time when both the president and a disproportionate number of people in poverty are black? Would King have wanted us to completely ignore race in a "colorblind" society? To consider race as one of many factors about a person? And how do we discern character?

 

[JakeStarkey]

Martin Luther King Jr. 'content of character' quote inspires debate only by those who lack character themselves.

 

[RodISHI]

He'd be called a terrorist and Christian taliban today for teaching Biblical principals.

 

[JakeStarkey]

By the far right social con taliban, yes.

 

[TheOldSchool]

He'd probably be pretty annoyed. I like this speech from The Boondocks. The premise being that King didn't die and was instead in a coma until now:

 

[chao$]

Black Like Me
John Howard Griffin

Walks a mile in their shoes.

John Howard Griffin, the author and main character of Black Like Me, is a middle-aged white man living in Mansfield, Texas in 1959. Deeply committed to the cause of racial justice and frustrated by his inability as a white man to understand the black experience, Griffin decides to take a radical step: he decides to undergo medical treatment to change the color of his skin and temporarily become a black man. After securing the support of his wife and of George Levitan, the editor of a black-oriented magazine called Sepia which will fund Griffin's experience in return for an article about it, Griffin sets out for New Orleans to begin his life as a black man.

 

[occupied]

The idea of "character'' is a purely subjective thing. It can mean practically anything about a person that is perceived by their peers or their leaders or followers. It sounds good but the problem with that is too many people consider angry negativity to be a positive character trait, it allows people with less than honorable goals to cloak their shittiness in moral outrage and self-righteousness. Having said that let's look at Dr. King's style.

He preached the Christian morality that all liberals have as the basis of their belief system whether they acknowledge it or not. He espoused peace, brotherhood, courage, inclusiveness, charity, humility, thoughtfulness, etc. He exemplified the character he wished that all men would be judged by without negativity getting in the way. You want to know what he meant by "character"? He meant people who are not ruled by their unfocused fears and rage, who treats everyone as a brother or sister and had every right to expect the same in return.