January 13, 2006 Finding Dr. King’s Moral Compass in an Age of Deceit "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." - Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967 Dr. King’s prophetic warning has seldom seemed more compelling than on this Martin Luther King Day. Spending on an immoral war continues to spiral obscenely, despite the erosion of public support for the war and the abandonment of any pretence of reconstructing Iraq. And, unfazed by the disaster wrought in Iraq, the clamor grows daily for military action against neighboring Iran. Instead of “programs of social uplift,” we see a massive increase in hunger, with 36 million people, or 13% of the U.S. population, experiencing food shortages in the past year. We remain the only industrialized nation without a national health care program. And a United Nations index of income inequality shows the United States to be more unequal in income distribution than every other industrial democracy. But the journey to “spiritual death” encompasses more than just economic or social ills. We have created a culture of deceit and mistrust, as evidenced by the plague of corruption scandals in public and private institutions. Our lawmakers take bribes to legislate. Corporations criminally enrich themselves at our expense. Government officials lie to us. Secret agencies spy on us. Torture, once unjustifiable and illegal, is now permitted and necessary. How deep is the malaise when official outrage at revelations of torture and extrajudicial spying are not directed at the practices themselves, but at the whistleblowers who revealed them to the public? How far adrift are we when the very word “morality” is understood to mean personal piety, rather than socially ethical behavior? A growing number of Americans feel that there is something deeply dysfunctional in our society. They are right. When truth, integrity – even reality – become irrelevant, we are in deep trouble. Dr. King offered a moral foundation for society as it fought the triple evils of war, racism and poverty. We have lost this moral compass. Now, more than ever, is the time to lift up Martin Luther King's vision of a beloved community. It is, truthfully, the only vision that can guide America to a path of restoration, redemption, and true justice for all. Contact: Jennifer Hyman, Communications Coordinator ©2004 Fellowship of Reconciliation |