MLK Day: Celebrating Truth

Martin Luther King, Jr was not a gradualist. He was not willing to wait patiently for things to change. Many of his colleagues, both black and white, urged him to be more conciliatory, not to do things that would upset the status quo. ‘Don’t poke the bear’ they might have said. ‘Don’t do things that will further antagonize the people in power.’ ‘Don’t cause trouble.’ King heard their voices of moderation, then went ahead organizing and leading courageous non-violent actions which exposed the violence and hatred that were woven into the fabric of our country.

King’s words and actions and the words and actions of those who stood with him, changed our country and changed the world. But the events of January 6 make it obvious that the violence and hatred of people with black and brown skin, of immigrants, of Jews, of intellectuals, of women—of anyone we perceive as different, is still very much present in our country.

Being nice and engaging in polite conversation is fine, but on the most important matters, it is not nearly enough. This applies in our civic life as well as in our daily lives. In a relationship, you might not want to share some important truth for fear of upsetting the other person. ‘They wouldn’t understand.’ ‘They won’t be able to hear this.’ These statements may or may not be true, but they often function as excuses to avoid life-giving conversations. We can feel righteous in our ‘care’ for the other while, at the same time, protecting our fragile self-image against information that might be disturbing. Often, it’s not really that I don’t want you to be upset, it’s that your upset will be upsetting to me, so I hold back to protect myself.

There are a thousand excuses for not telling the truth and for letting things be. But most of them are self-serving and ultimately lead away from the authentic connection and truth that we long for.

What is ‘the truth’? Of course, no one knows. Or there are multiple truths. Perhaps a working definition of truth could be that which leads to reconciliation and authentic connection. This kind of truth requires naming what is going on and what has gone on. When lies are told—lies about things that have happened, things that are happening, things that will happen—they must be confronted or they will fester and lead to more of the same, but bigger and more harmful.

The storming of the Capital on January 6 by people carrying Confederate and Donald Trump flags was a demonstration of the destructive power of lies. Trump’s barrage of patently false statements about November elections were repeated and amplified by Republican Congressional leaders for two months leading up to the events of that day. While the names of all who supported and participated are still emerging, the resulting images are seared in our collective memory.

Now there are calls for unity and harmony from these very people who spread lies in order to retain their grip on power, even if it meant overturning the very system that elected them to power in the first place. ‘Lets not focus on the past.’ ‘Let’s not hold the soon-to-be ex-President accountable because it will further divide the nation.’ These calls from extreme Republicans are the ones that would have us avoid the reckoning and the truth-telling that must be part of any genuine reconciliation.

It’s probably not surprising that these calls to move on and forget mirror the calls by many about race in our country. ‘Let’s not talk about slavery, or lynchings or the raft of legislation passed over the years that has inflicted violence against black and brown people.’ ‘Let’s just move forward.’ But we cannot forget or move beyond what we are unwilling to acknowledge.

Forgetting is a kind of pretending. But the damage of lies is ongoing. The pain and violence of the past can never be undone. Only when we are willing to honestly confront what has happened and what is happening even now, can we find a way forward together.

So, this morning, in honor of one of our great national heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr., let us recommit ourselves to truthful and courageous conversations grounded in love. Let us be willing to disturb ourselves and others on the path to the reconciliation, justice and harmony that we all dream of.