arc of the moral
universe is long, but it
bends toward justice
On March 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech on the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after the completion of the Selma to Montgomery March.
Rhetorically he asked a question.
“How Long?”
And he answered himself, “Not long.”
Dr. King said:
I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.”
How long? Not long, because “no lie can live forever.”
How long? Not long, because “you shall reap what you sow.”
How long? Not long:
Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above his own.
I like that.
I like that a lot.
For today, remember that Dr. King said that, ” … however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.”
And with that in mind, remember that Dr. King said:
Let us march on ballot boxes, march on ballot boxes until race-baiters disappear from the political arena.
Let us march on ballot boxes until the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs will be transformed into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens.
Let us march on ballot boxes until the Wallaces of our nation tremble away in silence.
Let us march on ballot boxes until we send to our city councils, state legislatures, and the United States Congress, men who will not fear to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.
Let us march on ballot boxes until brotherhood becomes more than a meaningless word in an opening prayer, but the order of the day on every legislative agenda.
For today
Let us march on ballot boxes until the Trumps of our nation tremble away in silence.
Let us march on ballot boxes until we send to our city councils …
State legislatures …
And the United States Congress …
people who will not fear to do justly …
love mercy …
And walk humbly with thy God!
(I digress but how cannot this simple line burn through with white hot fire into the consciousness of Christians in America today as a comment on that man in office?
And ask, How Long?
And answer, “Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Say that outloud.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
That applies to all people regardless of the level of their own personal “morality”.
And I will point some important aspects of the calendar.
This nation hold mid-term elections in 9 months.
This nations hold a Presidential referendum in 33 months.
And I thought I might mention that in the State of Minnesota, indictments or complaints for any crime resulting in the death of the victim may be found or made at any time after the death of the person killed.
In Minnesota, there is no statute of limitations on a charge on murder and in the United States, murder is a State not a Federal crime.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
No Haiku For You 