Dr. Martin Luther King, Extremist
You wouldn’t have thought so, would you? But that is, in fact, how Dr. King referred to himself in his magnificent “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written in April, 1963.
We’ll get to that text in a minute, and it’s worth waiting for. First, though, since the whole concept of “extremism” has been thrust at us almost non-stop in recent days, let’s take a moment to consider how the word actually reverberates. Not surprisingly, it can take on completely different realities depending on context. My business here is always stunning contrasts, side-by-side differences that can practically take our breath away. This one sure fits the bill.
Although Obama may have good reason to hesitate in referring to terrorists as “Islamic extremists,” many of us are, in addition to feeling outrage about recent killings, focusing on distinguishing between the tenets of the true Muslim faith and false beliefs espoused by perpetrators of violence. As Thomas Friedman recently wrote in his column for The Times, the march in Paris was tremendous, but what the world also really needs, going forward, will be mainstream Muslims worldwide vociferously defending their religion against jihadists. Christians of all eras don’t by any means get a pass on this whole issue of extremism, either. We only need to brush up on our history of, say, the Inquisition or the Third Reich or the Klu Klux Klan to recognize how a whole faith can be perverted to fit insidious thrusts for power from people who have nothing to do with true Christianity.
Meanwhile, last week, up on the 3,000 foot Dawn Wall out in Yosemite National Park, two other extremists succeeded in climbing up the entire face, over the course of 19 days, with just their bare hands. Some might call Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgesen crazy. Most of us, however, feel a certain amount of awe for their accomplishment. They were single-mindedly focused on their goal over several years; in that they accomplished perhaps the most difficult free climb every attempted, painstakingly in every sense (just ask what’s left of their fingers), we spectators now have the grandeur of their achievement to add to the grandeur of the location itself. Afterwards, Jorgesen said, “I hope it inspires people to find their own Dawn Wall, if you will.” I’m thinking about that; aren’t you? My “wall” might be something that doesn’t require me to banish terror every time I look down, but it could still be something pretty good.
Speaking of New Year’s resolutions (kind of), I just saw this sign at the YMCA, and I’m of two minds about it.
Sure, I understand that with too much comfort often comes not much progress; on the other hand, especially in the heart of January, I wouldn’t be too quick to discard the cozy stuff, either. Maybe it’s better to think about how, after a good hard work-out, we always feel more true comfort than we would have had without the work-out. But comfort itself is surely not the antagonist, right? Unless it lulls us to sleep when we need to be wide awake to take on some real antagonists.
Anyway, today is Martin Luther King Day, and so it’s time to let a great leader do the talking. Here’s what wrote, from the absolute non-comfort of the Birmingham Jail, about being identified as an extremist by other clergymen. I’m presenting the entire paragraph here:
Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . .” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime–the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Reading this, right now at the dawn of 2015, I can hardly see that anything fundamental has really changed. We still need “creative extremists” to go forth bravely in the face of all kinds of perils, all kinds of imposters. Our fingers may get raw in the effort, but the stakes are too high not to keep trying, one grip at a time. Besides, with people like Dr. King, and all of the individuals who inspired him beforehand, even the worst kind of extremists look conquerable.
You wouldn’t have thought so, would you? But that is, in fact, how he referred to myself in his magnificent “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written in April, 1963.
We’ll get to that text in a minute, and it’s worth waiting for. First, though, since the whole concept of “extremism” has been thrust at us almost non-stop in recent days, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what the word actually means. Not surprisingly, it can take on completely different realities depending on context. I’m always interested in stunning contrasts, side-by-side differences that can practically take our breath away, and this one sure fits the bill.
Although Obama may have good reason to hesitate in referring to terrorists as “Islamic extremists,” many of us are, in addition to voicing outrage about recent killings, focusing on distinguishing between the tenets of the true Muslim faith and false beliefs espoused by perpetrators of violence. As Thomas Friedman recently wrote in his column for The Times, the march in Paris was tremendous, but what the world really needs, going forward, will be for mainstream Muslims worldwide to vociferously defend their religion against jihadists. Christians through history don’t by any means get a pass on this whole issue of extremism, either. We only need to brush up on our history of, say, the Inquisition or the Third Reich or the Klu Klux Klan to recognize how a whole faith can be perverted to fit insidious thrusts for power from people who have nothing to do with true Christianity.
Meanwhile, last week, up on the 3,000 foot Dawn Wall out in Yosemite National Park, two extremists succeeded in climbing up the entire face, over the course of 19 days, with just their bare hands. Some might call Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgesen crazy, but most of us, it’s fair to say, feel a certain amount of awe for their accomplishment. They were single-mindedly focused on their goal over several years; in that they accomplished perhaps the most difficult free climb every attempted, painstakingly in every sense (just ask what’s left of their fingers), we spectators now have the grandeur of their achievement to add to the grandeur of the location itself. Afterwards, Jorgesen said, “I hope it inspires people to find their own Dawn Wall, if you will.” I’m thinking about that; aren’t you? My “wall” might be something that doesn’t require me to banish terror every time I look down, but it could still be something pretty good.
Speaking of New Year’s resolutions (kind of), I just saw this sign at the YMCA, and I’m of two minds about it.
Sure, I understand that with too much comfort often comes not much progress; on the other hand, especially in the heart of January, I wouldn’t be too quick to discard the cozy stuff, either. Maybe it’s better to think about how, after a good hard work-out, we always feel more true comfort than we would have had without the work-out. But comfort itself is surely not the antagonist, right? Unless it lulls us to sleep when we need to be wide awake to take on some real antagonists.
Anyway, today is Martin Luther King Day, and so it’s time to let him do the talking. Here’s what he wrote, from the absolute non-comfort of the Birmingham Jail, about being identified as an extremist. I’m presenting the entire paragraph here, because cutting any of it out is really out of the question:
Reading this, right now at the dawn of 2015, I can hardly see that anything fundamental has really changed. We still need “creative extremists” to go forth bravely in the face of all kinds of perils, all kinds of imposters. Our fingers may get raw in the effort, but the stakes are too high not to keep trying. Besides, with people like Dr. King who showed us the way, even the worst kind of extremists look conquerable.