Many white people stood with Dr. King and Cesar Chavez and Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, and others. As a teacher, W.E.B. Dubois is a personal hero of mine, as re Abraham Lincoln, Dr. King, Cesar Chavez, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Mary Bethune McCleod, Simon Wiesenthal, Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel who marched with Dr. King at Selma, Elie Wiesel, Malala Yousafsazi, Nelson Mandela, and many others of all shapes, colors, sizes, cultures, languages, religions, who stood up to those in power, to those who oppressed and persecuted others. When a person or a people are oppressed and persecuted, it lessens all humans; diminishes the value of all humans, and lowers humanity. I dont know if there is a god. I dont know if there is life after death, or another life. I just dont know anymore, but what I do know is when and if I meet those people in the next life, when 2000 years of my deceased and martyred people ask me what i did with my life? I will not answer, I was an advertising executive on Madison Avenue. I will not answer I was a Tax Attorney in Witchita. I will not have to lower my eyes and my head, and say I was a stock broker in Springfield. I will be able to stand there and look them in the eye, and say, I did not forget you. I am a teacher who tried to teach his students to stand up for what is right and not be bystanders or perpetrators. If you are a bystander, eventually, they will come for you. I you have stood by, then no one will be left to stand with you when they come for you, and if you stand by, eventually, they will come for you. We, I will not go like a lamb to the slaughter this time. This time we will fight back! We will explicitly protest! We will stand up for others, as if they were my own blood and kin. That is my testament to humanity. People, especially in this country do not think about the big questions such as these often enough. Perhaps if we did, people would not only do the right things more often; they would also not do the wrong thing so often. I say this not to lecture you, but to give you my statement, my declaration for equal rights. . . .
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 07:40:18 +0000
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