I am scrolling through the great speeches on the American Rhetoric website today. I was thinking about Martin's Vietnam speech and how much flak Martin took for finally stretching beyond the injustice of race in America and spoke out about the injustice and senseless violence of the Vietnam war. The current attacks on Rev Wright are remininscent of the attacks on Martin way back when. So I was planning to listen to the Vietnam speech and probably still will, but I got sidetracked and have been listening to the Mountaintop speech for the past few minutes.

I watch as people today embrace Martin and his principles of forty years ago, but they want to attack Rev Wright and his ideas today and there is a problem for me because when you come to embrace a person's politics and aspirations 40 years after he has been assassinated, you really shouldn't think of that as a source of pride or proof of enlightenment, if you are unable to listen and think with an open mind about the folks who are the political and spiritual torch-bearers for the same movement that Martin led.

Here are quotes from the mountaintop speech:

... in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis.

Can you see any connection between these ideas and the questions that Rev Wright raises about the 9-11 attack?

... I can remember -- I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph (Abernathy, in the introduction) has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world.

And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying -- We are saying that we are God's children. And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live.

Is there any chance that the folks who attack the US and Americans have made some desperate decision that they don't want to live the way they are forced to live? Could they blame the US for the way they are forced to live? Could this be what Rev Wright is thinking about?

Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.

Say amen, somebody. When the Pharaoh keeps the slaves fighting, they are under the Pharaoh's control. Yes, brother, the Pharaoh wants to keep us fighting.

... let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers are on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that.

So, this makes me think about how much type and hype was committed to a few windows that were broken when people in the South Sound (took a while, but there's my hyperlocal connection) took to the streets to say no to war, to say no to the travel of the wheels of war through the streets of our communities. Yes, brother, a lot of talk about the broken windows, but the press didn't around to mentioning the death of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan in this Pharaoh's war. They didn't get around to that.

Broken windows? yes; trash containers knocked over? yes; a hard and critical look at the Pharaoh's war? a count or accounting of the deaths of innocents, people of color, a shade between me and my brother Martin? no, they didn't get around to that.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

Free at last, Free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last.

Go with God, Martin. Your voice and words still give me goosebumps.