Chain reactions

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last night over dinner, we had the conversation, "If you could go to any time to see something, where would you go?"  (The conversation was spurred by our having gone to see The Magic Bicycle earlier that day, a play about a time traveling bicycle.) C-man's answer was, "To see Martin Luther King make his big speech."

Now I know a large part of that was because they, obviously, have been talking about him in school.  But it made me smile for a few reasons.  An important one being that at 5, he knows enough about him to think he would be interesting to see.  But also, because this child is 2 generations removed from that time in history.  A time I didn't see either.  Sitting on that bus Rosa Parks bus in Detroit (conveniently located in the Henry Ford Museum if you ever care to see it for yourself) was as much a tourist event for me as it one day will be for him.

It also made me happy, because this is a time when the left and right continue to get more extreme in this country. (If I hear one more person blaming Sarah Palin for a guy's crazy shooting spell, I'm going to scream.  That woman is beyond batshit crazy with her "refudiating" and all, but she never forced someone to pick up a gun and go postal.  She and the other talk show extremists can be "inciteful" all day long, and I'm still not going to shoot anyone because of it.) It's a time when we reach back 20 years to something someone said or did when 22 years old with the intent to prove why she's a flip-flopper or liar today.  It's become a day in age when we look for every petty detail to prove why I'm right and you're wrong instead of trying to actually work together and recognize one another as human beings.  It's a time when we hate even the party of our own allegiances when it gives a little to get a little in the name of a compromise.

Just a few reasons why it made me pretty darned happy to hear C-man want to be a part of something good.  So thanks, Dr. King.  Because I truly believe love always triumphs over hate in the end.  Here's to hoping our kids keep that spirit strong.