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<br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Veterans For Peace <<a href="mailto:vfp@veteransforpeace.net">vfp@veteransforpeace.net</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><b><br></b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Having trouble viewing this email? Please </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DJfR7z0ZKfirPKJ8ZhMvsVDu0oT6aUen"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> click here</span></a> to see it online.</span></span></p> <table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0" align="center" style="width: 691px; height: 927px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="400" style="text-align: center;" colspan="2"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <div><b><font size="6">Remembering King in 2010</font></b></div><p>Written by Executive Director, Michael McPhearson</p><p style="text-align: left;">As our nation celebrates the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most influential figures of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, it is important to remember the breadth and depth of his the message and vision. In the era of the first Black President, it would be easy to say King's dream has been fulfilled and now it is time to move on to new challenges. But this is a misreading of current events and his words.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><img height="266" border="2" align="right" width="258" src="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/Image/kingriversidechurch.jpg" alt="king at riverside church">In his 1967 Riverside Church speech, <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ic1bwif6R0RU9agbXigA3VDu0oT6aUen"><em>Beyond Vietnam: Time to Break Silence</em></a>, Dr. King talked about three major demons; racism, materialism and militarism.<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DdoayMSDiKUDVqo6Y2DiuVDu0oT6aUen"><sup><u><sup>[i]</sup></u></sup></a> Today these triplets continue to haunt us. In fact they have become more entrenched. In the speech, King spoke of youth challenging his disapproval of their use of violence when the U.S. was "...using massive doses of violence..."<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wLsxqBi%2FOQVA5c8bBeYLBFDu0oT6aUen"><sup><u><sup>[ii]</sup></u></sup></a> in Vietnam. He called our government, "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." This continues to be true as our nation is conducting global military operations and occupying two countries with eyes on one or two others. The U.S. is the largest weapons exporter in the world and has the largest military budget, nearly outpacing all other nations combined.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Racism continues to distort the promise of America as people of color have the highest unemployment rates and are blocked from access to resources and opportunity. Speculation and greed caused by rampant materialism has ravaged our economy, devastating the lives of millions, hitting working class and poor people especially hard. The economic and social currents created by the triplets flow together and work hand in hand to divert resources to war for profit's sake and empire building rather than investing in healthcare, education, jobs, housing and other human needs that would uplift the poor and help change the insidious legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><img height="180" border="2" align="left" width="240" src="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/Image/mlk%20microphones.jpg" alt="mlk">Perhaps Dr. King's most prophetic words come from this speech when he warned, "The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation."<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=P2nt9%2F4d6T8axwXK2WkQblDu0oT6aUen"><sup><u><sup>[iii]</sup></u></sup></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">We find ourselves today as the clergy and laypersons organizing in our generation. As we remember Dr. King we must applaud how far we have come. We must also reflect on how far we have yet to go, and challenge others to see Dr. King's full vision of a just and peaceful world. He called for a true revolution of values that will cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies and see that using war to settle our differences is not just. He called on America to lead this revolution of values.</p><p style="text-align: left;">"There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war."<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MNTwkHHYrgGK6C4neuR1JTr0baYdFc48"><sup><u><sup>[iv]</sup></u></sup></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Dr. King wisely saw then what is still true today, that the world's only hope "...lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism."<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mmx3Kk4BNatd4z8WicThMlDu0oT6aUen"><sup><u><sup>[v]</sup></u></sup></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">This is how we ensure international security. This is how we stop nuclear proliferation and reverse global warming.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This January 18<sup>th</sup> remember Dr. King by proclaiming his full message. Do not stand by while it is watered down to make us all feel good. Celebrate the journey we have taken, but remind everyone how far we have to go. Will our nation take up the challenge? As Dr. King said, "The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise we must choose in this crucial moment of human history."<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2yhauaromoU7jZU1QzJjNVDu0oT6aUen"><sup><u><sup>[vi]</sup></u></sup></a></p><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> </span></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="400" colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">VETERANS WORKING TOGETHER FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE THROUGH NON-VIOLENCE.<br> Veterans For Peace, 216 S. Meramec, St. Louis, MO 63105, 314-725-6005<br> <a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org">www.veteransforpeace.org</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=t%2FyNJJoQwlboJ97sVRdgdlDu0oT6aUen">We also encourage you to join our ranks.</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XvQ1EDVShfaHcB08kOSobFDu0oT6aUen"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Click to no longer receive updates from Veterans For Peace</span></span></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><div style="text-align: center; "><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div> <center> </center><center> </center><div style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; "><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br> </span></span></div> <img width="1" height="1" src="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/TrackImage?key=1281211343"><diaemailid='1281211343' thread="8300"></diaemailid='1281211343'></blockquote></div><br></body></html>