by Richard Shadyac, Jr. We don't sit and talk through our (NAPSA)—We don't have to ask differences. Wecan't, or we won't. We've walled ourselves off from each other, what Martin Luther King Jr. would say to us, if hedlived to see this momentin ourhistory. We don’t have to ask because we know. lacking empathyfor those who maysee the world differently from us,or look or actdifferently. Where, Dr. King might ask, is the Love, held say. love? Where is the belief that a cause with right onits side can slay any foe? Whereis the urgency to act now? Ashe wrote from the Birmingham It defeated the dogs and bombsand. waterhoses. It beat thebullies with their badges and unjust laws. It overcame, even, that other great threat to the civil rights movementofthe 1960s—the “si- city jail in 1963, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,’ and, lence of the good people” as Dr. King “There comes a time when the cup of putit. Surely it would work against what ails us now in this polarized, divi- sive world,regardless of ourpolitical viewpoints. Love, respect, dignity, justice, equality—these are uniters, not dividers. Love, held say. Fierce andrelentless. Organized and mobilized. Impatient, if patience means waiting for change already too late in coming. Unyielding, if to yield means abandoningthe moral high groundin the nameofplayingit safe. Forlove neverfails. Love is the most powerful force in humanhistory, and Dr.King’s revolution ofnonviolenceits purestdistillation. Think, though, of how he wrote and talked about his philosophy—notlike a pacifist on the sidelines, but a warrior on the side of right. He wrote of “an armythat marches under the bannerof nonviolence,’ and of “nonviolent soldiers” engaged in a courageous and heroicfight. Those words are from Dr. King’s 1964 book, “Why We Can't Wait?” In the Richard Shadyac,Jr. same work, in someofhis most eloquent prose, he wrote: “Nonviolence is a powerful and just endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plungedinto the abyss ofdespair” ‘As he preached from a Memphis pulpit, on the eve of his assassination on April 4, 1968, “For when people get weapon.It is a weapon uniquein history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man whowieldsit. It is a swordthatheals.” A swordthat heals. Studythat: a weapon, wielded with love, aimed not at hate’s head butits heart. Because hate seeks to demean, to demoralize, ultimately to destroy. But love aims to change. Remember Dr. King’s great admonition: “Hate caught up with that whichis right and theyare willing tosacrificeforit, there is no stoppingpointshort ofvictory.” Onthis, the 50th anniversary ofhis death, we don't have to ask what Dr. do that” Love wantssafe andhealthy children, equaljustice forall, freedom, equal op- Heid say to keep marching, with that love that won't take hate for an answer, until we reach the Promised Land. divides. What American wouldn't? and CEO of American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, thefundraising and 2018? Toooften unabletotalk, unwilling dren's Research Hospital. He turned 11 on cannot drive out hate; only love can portunity regardless of our circumstances, andcivil discourse to bridge our vast Yet where are we, as a country, in to act, comforted in our echo chambers. King wouldsay to us now. We know. Heid say to stop shouting andreally listen. Heid sayto stand onthesideofright, and thenstart marching, knowingthis: “You only needa heart full of grace, a soulgenerated by love” + Richard Shadyac, Jr. is president awareness organizationfor St. Jude Chilthe day Dr. King was killed.
