The acquittal of the police officers who brutally beat him in 1992 set the Los Angeles ghetto on fire and sparked days of rioting that left 53 dead and almost 2,400 injured. It was one of the worst moments in American history.
On the third day of the turmoil, King himself appeared on TV with this plea:
People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?...It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything... Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.
(For the story and a recording of King delivering the address that stopped the anarchy, clik here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbyi0JwNug&playnext=1&list=PLB874144170217AF6&index=15)
19 years later, King's question remains as important as ever: Can we get along? Last week's shooting in Arizona is just the latest instance of a world run amok on threats, violence, trash talk, ridicule and hatred of those who disagree with us.
Why can't we get along?
The pundits offer all sorts of reasons, but I don't think we can explain any of this rationally. What is going on is emotional and brains get checked at the door when people live in their feelings and not their heads. Feelings are hot and it's hard to be cool when there's a fire in your veins.
One of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is Self Control and maybe this is what all of us should be praying for in abundance. It is Self Control that reins in our knee jerk reactions and it is Self Control that gives us the chance to rethink our instinctual responses. What happens after someone injures our feelings is up to us and we don't have to add to the rudeness and negativity already in the world.
Maybe we can take a deep breath and consider the source, analyze the provocation and find a way to extinguish the fire and not pour gasoline over it. We can choose a loving response or we can brood over the injury or lash out, instead. Which reaction creates the better atmosphere in our homes and in the wider community?
The long awaited appearance of the Kingdom of God is not going to come like some alien ship making a Fed Ex delivery from heaven. The Kingdom of God is within us, waiting for each of us to let it out. The Kingdom of God resides in the attitudes we choose to display: a soft word that turns away wrath or a harsh one that let's the other have it, whether the slight was intended or not.
In the end, it is not Martin Luther King, Jr nor Rodney King who will turn people from hatred to forgiveness. It is the King of Kings who is the source of the healing that we seek. The Spirit of God who has been given to us as "the first gift to those believe" will lead us into all things true, loving and kind, if we are open and cooperate. We have the power. When are we going to use it?
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