Saturday, January 15, 2011

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Still Right, Still Wise

If America has seen during the past century a better man than Martin Luther King -- who was so effective in improving our nation that today's ideological heirs of his contemporary opponents declare his success so great that no more work is needed -- hat better man hasn't been noticed.

Today would have been Dr. King's 82nd birthday, and a fine day on which he could have repeated his wisdom: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."

Infinonytune: A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke

2 comments:

MH said...

I'm not sure what you count as "social uplift," but budget priorities have shifted greatly in the past 30 years. Federal spending on healthcare for the poor and elderly is nearly as high as defense even though close to 50% of Medicaid is paid for by states.

Infinonymous said...

and relatively little of our military spending involves defense, but quibbling about definitions does not prevent Dr. King's broader point from enduring