Dr. King's Witness to Civility--True Conservative and True Liberal Values Strengthen Each Other

(written but not submitted last October. Included here because of Dr. King reference and Black History emphasis.  The first thoughts were triggered last October by a little seen Dr. King tribute display at the Milwaukee Central Library.  I re-visited and edited what I wrote at that time. This is the result. )

I have a dream--at least a partial one.

I want the Democrats to stand in the deep history and commitments that have evolved since the founding of the party.  I want them to check their party platform, the vision of our society, and how the leadership will function, yes in the reality that the present approach cannot offer much new direction.

I want the Republicans to stand deep in the history and commitments that have evolved since the founding of the party.  I want them to check their party platform

We need to be a country of progressives--forward thinking, risking, learning from one another.  The progressive vision can easily become abstract, idealistic, romantic, and utopian in ways that do not connect with the masses of citizens.  One critique of 'liberals' is to be ungrounded, too heady, and expect others to carry out the agenda they describe.

We need to be a country of conservatives--building on the wisdom of the past, learning from the lessons of history, creating a wealth that is made up of the varied gifts of all people as well as an economic understanding that builds the 'household' of each person and community.

I hear repeatedly that we all want the same things in our communities:  safety, work, schools, affordable products, transportation, health care, families that raise children with civic responsibility.

Is that what the Democrat platform (Corey Booker) means by expanding the middle class?  Where are the neediest recognized as citizens and given opportunities, if they are mentally and physically well?

Is that what the Republican platform means by reducing regulations so that small business people can be successful as entrepreneurs?

Where does our foreign policy, our relationship with Israel, with the African and  South American countries, with the Middle East, the Soviet Union, England etc. fit with those things "we all want."

What is it that drives politicians to want to punish fellow citizens or those desiring citizenship?  Is there another answer than prison (or nation imprisons more people than any other industrial nation)? What 'liberal' or 'conservative' values are behind denying these basic human rights.

The burden is upon the Democrat Party and President Obama to be more than 'the lesser of two evils.'  Little positive energy comes out of simply making the other guy look silly.  While my shadow side laughs when my side seems to win such debates, I know that moving together as citizens in a common cause requires a commitment to a common cause.

That is what I think Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement, even with the great opposition it had, gave to the nation and to the world.

The word 'civility' is being used by so many of us that it will soon become like invoking Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela, names repeated so frequently that the essential meaning of their work is lost.

With that risk, when people ask me what I mean by 'civility', I will increasingly point to the life--the beliefs and the deeds--of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It is both easier to make this claim now (he is not a controversial figure as an American hero) and more difficult (since he's accepted into the club, it is more difficult to appreciate his challenge to us and his fundamental disagreement he would have with some of our values.).

I walked into the exhibit( see my previous post on this experience) open to whatever struck me.  I would not have been surprised if the greatness of Dr. King had been reduced to a romantic illusion or too clearly a display to make the sponsoring company look good.

What happened to me however is that at every turn I was confronted with something he said or did that pushed the envelope I will call civility.  At times I felt affirmed.  At times I felt judged (not by Dr. King but by my own lack of savvy).  At times I was given to new thoughts about the conversation process I use in facilitating dialogues designed to bring understanding and civility.

From his letters, his speeches and his sermons, a few insights that might guide our own attempts at civil conversation.

1) Dr. King's arena for 'Civil Conversation' is the arena of 'innocent suffering.' He sought the 'Beloved Community' in the reality of the neighbor near and far.
2) He entered this arena not to solving an immediate problem but to learn and live the reality of this moment in relationship to our history.  The U.S. still is rebuilding from the life reality of slavery, its aftermath, and the clear mistreatment and injustice brought upon an innocent people.
3) He used Christian scripture not as a law to preach but an illustration(story) to invite.  e.g. "There was a rich man...."
4) He pointed to the future (we shall overcome)--his conversation is about what we should do to alter whatever is still unjust in our system.
5) He rooted his values in the larger vision:  (ie. the Constitution, the 'Dream' of the United States)
6) He recognized his limits/Others will carry on:  "I do not expect to live a long life."
7) He modeled a process of speaking deeply to specific experience while simultaneously setting forth a clear set of broader values.  He avoided the 'self-centeredness' ("are you better off than you were four years ago?) and a sense 'omniscience''("what the American people want is..").
8)He understood that each individual brings a different history to the table.  And that positions we have taken through our history can change.

Reaching for these experiences will change the kind of public conversation we have.

His gift and challenge to both political parties and to those who claim other loyalties is that core values matter.  They aren't invented in the moment, but they represent  what is best for all people.  The core values of both a 'liberal' perspective or a 'conservative' point of view are needed for a healthy nation.  That's the heart of the matter.