Thought For Martin Luther King Day
January 21st, 2008at 11:04pm Posted by Eli
Upon reading this Bill Moyers piece about LBJ going out on a limb to pass the Civil Rights Act, with Martin Luther King providing both pressure and cover, I found myself first thinking what a good thing it was that Dubya wasn’t president back then, and then wondering how many other presidents or prospective presidents would have done the same thing. Certainly no Republican ones. I can see Jimmy Carter at least making the attempt, although I’m not sure he would have had the clout to actually pull it off. Other than that, I can’t really see anyone who would be willing to stick their neck out to do the right thing. And this is 44 years later.
It probably says as much about the political courage of today’s so-called “leaders” and the Republican co-option of our media as it does about the persistence of racism. Which I reckon would be even worse now if the Civil Rights Act had never happened.
So bravo to MLK and LBJ. Thank you both for being where and when we needed you, and having the guts to do the right thing. I only wish that LBJ had listened to MLK on Vietnam, too.
Entry Filed under: Bush,Democrats,Politics,Racism,Republicans
