Martin Luther King Jr. Would Be Disappointed In Us

Credit: Jack Lewis Hiller

"We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools." 

The great Martin Luther King Jr. spoke those wise words. On Monday, the day in his honor, I listened to a bit of Spotify's MLK playlist but could only take about fifteen minutes of it; it was just too saddening and maddening. I couldn't help but feel sorrowful that he would be disappointed in us if he were to see us today. Not just because of the obvious: racism and racial inequality are still rampant in our country. Nor just because of other human rights issues still needing progress: gay rights, trans rights, gender equality, immigration, etc. 

Of course, he would be disappointed in these ongoing issues, though I imagine he'd also still be partially happy to have seen some legal and moral progress. However, what caught me was his stated goal in a 1963 press conference, "to bring about a society where all men will live together as brothers and every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality." Hearing that, it hit me like a ton of bricks; we have made absolutely no progress on that. We are just as tribal and "us vs them" as we have ever been, and it's tragic. 

It's basic human nature that we come together to form like-minded groups, but stereotype and categorize others for ease of judgment as well as to minimize effort of thought. We vilify and criticize other groups in order to feel strength and security in our own. We react to criticism or differing opinions by stubbornly investing further in our own positions and spewing more anger back in return. 

These are our natural instincts, and it's killing us. These are the instincts we need to fight against. King knew this. His vision did not deny our naturally stubborn, dogmatic, and combative mentality; his vision recognized it as an innate part of us. Yet, he knew we could be better. His vision was that we would forever strive to overcome these instincts so that we could respect each other, listen to each other, and live together in relative peace and cooperation. 

Of course, we will always have our differences. Of course, there will always be arguments and debates. Of course, there will always be strife between groups and communities. He didn't have his head up his ass, expecting some fairy-tale utopia. He just knew that we had the ability to be reasonable and respectful, to communicate in healthy ways, and to look at those on opposite sides not as villains to be defeated, but as fellow humans no different than ourselves. He simply wanted us to tap into and maximize empathy and understanding for one another so that we could slowly, bit by bit, step by step, brick by brick, create a better and more peaceful world.

But we have not done so. We are just as polarized and emotionally segregated as ever. Democrats and Republicans call each other horrible names, look down on one another as inferior, and are filled with nothing but vitriol for one another. The same goes for countless other groups. Everywhere, whether on the internet or out in the world, it isn't hard to find people hating others for being a different race, gay, fat, skinny, a man, a woman, worshiping a different god, not worshiping a god, worshiping a god at all, liking the other console, liking a rival sports team, not liking our favorite show, liking a film we didn't like...yikes, liking or supporting anything dissimilar to our own tastes. Basically, there's still a lot of hate for those that are different, whether that difference is factual or imagined. 

We still bunker down in our own belief systems and vehemently oppose any who dare to disagree. We don't respectfully disagree with others, we yell at them and pretend they're stupid animals that need to be caged and whipped into obedience. There are hardly real conversations between opposing sides anymore, mostly just hostile war. It's our greatest shortcoming as a species, and it's holding us back from progress. It is nothing short of a tragedy. Since the great Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his words about living in brotherhood, we have made no significant strides towards it. We have not lived up to the potential he saw in us. He must be disappointed because he knows that deep down, we are better than this. We still can be.