What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Happy Anniversary John McCain & MLK!

Today is the 25th Anniversary of John McCain voting against instating Martin Luther King Day on the christian calendar.

On a less morose note, it's also the 40th Anniversary of the I Have A Dream Speech by the same black radical which is represented here:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
 
I'm guessing that most people on here will shy away from all of those words (especially when set up with a sarcastic plug of political views). It may help to have them in context. I doubt that many will have the patience to listen to the whole thing, but I hope that they try. This speech is one of the first places in history that I would go to observe should a time machine every show up in my garage.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PbUtL_0vAJk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PbUtL_0vAJk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>



Name ONE speaker today that could pull off something anywhere near this. It is refreshing not to hear stumblings or smear tactics too. Amazing speech.

But please...do not tarnish this incredible man's memory and his brilliant speech by using it to advance your own political views. I was wondering if posting this speech would be viewed on here and was please to see it already covered, but the topic should have just been MLK.
 
Why is it not valid to say McCain voted against MLK day? It is part of public record, I wasn't being sarcastic at all.
 
unless you view MLK as a "black radical", then you were being sarcastic.
 
real shame what Sharpton and Jackson have done in heading down the wrong road from what Dr. King wanted......

BTW i have no problem with McCain voting against Martin Luther King Day.....would also like to do away with Columbus Day and Presidents Day and Labor Day......dont see any real point in any of them. dont need an extra holiday to celebrate a mans life or just have an excuse to take off work.....hell we dont have an "Elvis Day" and ppl seem to remember his birthday just fine......i disagree with McCain on lots of stuff but cant really find fault in this.....
 
Why is it not valid to say McCain voted against MLK day? It is part of public record, I wasn't being sarcastic at all.

Why is it a big deal that he voted against it? What is your point? Are you trying to insinuate that McCain is a racist? It's another feel good holiday of which there are arguably too many.

I'm not trying to underscore what MLK accomplished, but getting upset because McCain voted against making a national holiday in honor of him 25 years ago to idolize the man is a bit much. You've got your priorities mixed up. There are people in congress that have made far far worse votes and decisions.

The founding fathers of this country are celebrated and by extension did more for the entire world than MLK or John McCain ever did and yet some owned slaves, which is considered a lot worse than a simple vote over a holiday these days. Maybe you should make a post bashing them next.
 
WOW Talk about not telling the WHOLE story.

Good going swords. :jester:

Seriously...

John McCain encouraged his home state of Arizona to recognize the holiday despite opposition from then-Governor Evan Mecham, though McCain also had earlier opposed the holiday's creation.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

The 1987 USA Today interview draws attention to an aspect of McCain's political history that Democrats will indubitably attempt to use against him this November: his views on race in the 1980s do not stand up to the sunlight of America a quarter-century later.

In December 1999 McCain told NBC's Tim Russert, "on the Martin Luther King issue, we all learn, OK? We all learn. I will admit to learning, and I hope that the people that I represent appreciate that, too. I voted in 1983 against the recognition of Martin Luther King….I regret that vote."

In 1990, Arizonans were given an opportunity to vote to observe an MLK holiday. McCain successfully appealed to former President Ronald Reagan to support the holiday. In a letter to voters, Reagan wrote that he hoped Arizonans would "join me in supporting a holiday to commemorate these ideals to which Dr. King dedicated his life."

But you're going to make a big deal out of a man's vote on the issue in the past despite a change of heart so you can sway people's opinions on the man. Wow...
 
But you're going to make a big deal out of a man's vote on the issue in the past despite a change of heart so you can sway people's opinions on the man

As far as changing peoples opinions, that simply can't happen. We are all securely locked into our reality tunnels until such time as we either choose to change their focus or are shocked into changing them.

I wonder how McCain's reality tunnel changed?
 
As far as changing peoples opinions, that simply can't happen. We are all securely locked into our reality tunnels until such time as we either choose to change their focus or are shocked into changing them.

I wonder how McCain's reality tunnel changed?

You ignored my other question. WHY are you posting this and what is the point? He actively worked to do the opposite and undo the "damage" he did not long after casting that opposition vote that you so prominently talked about at at the thread's start. The man helped change Ronald Reagan's mind on the issue and got Reagan to ask Arizona to change its stance on the issue. You conveniently forget that part though and only mention his vote 25 years ago. I know the reason. You know the reason. You're afraid to admit it is my guess. Oh well I've exposed your mentality. Hopefully people will see you for the type of shady political pot stirrer that you are.
 
  • #10
Hopefully people will see you for the type of shady political pot stirrer that you are.<!-- / message -->
Indeed - I'm glad you noticed!

Now gimmie my ladle back! ;)
 
  • #11
Hopefully people will see you for the type of shady political pot stirrer that you are.
Great way of putting it Alien. I wonder if there is a political forum you can post your "stuff" on instead of a carnivorous plant forum.
 
  • #12
Great way of putting it Alien. I wonder if there is a political forum you can post your "stuff" on instead of a carnivorous plant forum.

LOL you really aint going to be happy if Bruce and i get started like we did at the last election :poke: least this one isnt a choice between dumb and dumber like the last two elections......but i personally think the choice im presented with this November torques me off worse than the last two........i want to pimp slap both parties, kick them in the rear and tell them to try again cause got to be able to come up with better than this.......though they did manage raise the combined IQ of the candidates more than a bit.......going to be another year of voting for the candidate i hate the least..........
 
  • #13
going to be another year of voting for the candidate i hate the least..........

You say that like it's a bad thing. I consider the fact that I have a problem with each party a good indicator that I still have some semblance of sanity. :p
 
  • #14
yeah but it would be nice to have a MAJOR candidate that i agreed with on more than 50% of his stance..........really kinda liked Ron Paul......he had some issues but atleast he wanted the individual states to be the ones deciding on lots of issues......really liked that.......Obammy wants to raise my frigging taxes and drive up oil even higher and i cant like the old farts stance on guns and illegals(on gays least he says leave it up to the states which aint half bad, not great but not terrible)..........going to f'ing kill me if i got to pull the lever on the old guy just to keep the guy with the battleship sized ego out of office........i aint happy bout the choice one bit.....
 
  • #15
hmmmmm McCain just announced Sarah Palin as his VP..............i can like that........
 
  • #16
You say that like it's a bad thing. I consider the fact that I have a problem with each party a good indicator that I still have some semblance of sanity. :p

excellent point! I was thinking about how I was in agreement with rattler's pining for one really great candidate but you make a good point. The people that swear allegiance to one candidate (such as those sign waving sheep in the audience at both conventions) to the point of bumper stickers and massive front yard billboards worry me. To think that any of these guys is the answer to everything should send up some red flags in your head.

I love that McCain was able to surprise everyone with the VP choice. Too many leaks these days and I LOVE see the speculators with a major failure on their shoulders. The radio just said how both sides have history making members on the ticket, both have a wrinkled old white guy and both have a fresh new young face. This could be great if they actually got down to campaigning rather than the smear ads.

I just hope that people aren't going to vote for either candidate because of race or gender but I am not naive enough to truly expect that.

Now...let's actually hear some issues guys so that those of us that aren't going to vote on you just because you have a D or R after your name have something to go on.
 
  • #17
Great way of putting it Alien. I wonder if there is a political forum you can post your "stuff" on instead of a carnivorous plant forum.

My stuff? I post the whole truth and it's called... stuff. Sorry to have contributed and trying to get the real story out on the issue he's shining a negative light on. I don't start political threads on here, so please save the assertions.
 
Back
Top