January 20, 2008Edwards may not get the nomination, but I believe he'll be a force for change in this world just like Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Carter, and others who have seen injustice and stepped up to the plate to do something about it.
The Honorable John R. Edwards
410 Market Street
Suite 400
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Dear Senator Edwards:
It was good meeting with you yesterday and discussing my father's legacy. On the day when the nation will honor my father, I wanted to follow up with a personal note.
There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of back and forth in the political arena over my father's legacy. It is a commentary on the breadth and depth of his impact that so many people want to claim his legacy. I am concerned that we do not blur the lines and obscure the truth about what he stood for: speaking up for justice for those who have no voice.
I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election.
You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don't have lobbyists in Washington and they don't get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do.
I am disturbed by how little attention the topic of economic justice has received during this campaign. I want to challenge all candidates to follow your lead, and speak up loudly and forcefully on the issue of economic justice in America.
From our conversation yesterday, I know this is personal for you. I know you know what it means to come from nothing. I know you know what it means to get the opportunities you need to build a better life. And, I know you know that injustice is alive and well in America, because millions of people will never get the same opportunities you had.
I believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. My father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. He was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives.
So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud.
Sincerely,
Martin L. King, III
(Cross-posted at BFM.)
3 comments:
The US politicians who have put corporations first have pushed the world to the brink of economic collapse. In the 40 years since the murder of Dr. King, the economic scales of justice have for too long tipped in favor of those who have, at the expense who have nothing. Both Senators Obama and Clinton are deep in the pockets of the corpocracy, and will do nothing to make our system equitable for the growing number of the economically disenfranchised. It's a pity more people in the Democratic party are swayed by the cult of personality than they are towards a candidate who will be of and for the people, not the corporations.
Lew, I've always found it amazing that people are influenced by personality too. Celebrity endorsed tennis shoes are made the same as store brands and aren't any better, so why people think politicians with the "look" are any different is beyond me.
Hello
Have you had enough of petitions, rallies, and protests that have not worked? The Republican party and their conservative members appears insulated from the public and unresponsive to the public. However their contributors do not appear insulated from the public and can collapse under pressure to a withering telephone campaign threatening mass boycotts of their products until they get their friends at the GOP to do what we want.
Would you and your organization consider joining these telephone campaigns and spreading the word to your membership, and fellow progressive groups in your newsletter? I have created these campaigns to peacefully take back America. After you have made these phone calls please send me email to info@democratz.org with the subject CALLED.
I plan to bring this message to as many Progressive Clubs around the United States of America as I can.
Thank you.
http://www.democratz.org
Get as many people to make these 3 phone calls.
Call GOP contributor and war contractor General Electric Corporation at 800 386 1215 or 203 373 2211 and tell the person who answers, that you want the GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to get Bush to end the war in Iraq and then Bush
resign with Cheney and until that happens you will not buy any GE products and that you will tell your friends about this.
Call GOP contributor Rite Aid Corporation at 1-800-325-3737
and tell the person to get the CEO to get the congress to enact HR 676
Single payer universal health care and repeal Medicare Part D and place
the drug benefit in Medicare Part B covering 80% of drugs with no extra
premiums, no extra deductibles, no means tests, no coverage gaps, and
remove the means test for Medicare Part B and until that happens, you
won't buy ANYTHING from Rite Aid Pharmacies and that you will tell
your friends about this.
Call GOP contributor Wendy's restaurants at 614 764-3553 and Tell the person in public relations that you want their CEO to get the congress to help
enact a $10/HR MIN. WAGE into law and until this happens you will not go to a Wendy's Restaurant and that you will tell your friends about this.
I set up a progressives forum for progressives and liberals
only. Get as many progressives and liberals to join as you
can.
http://progressives.aceboard.com
I do not seek donations. You can use the board for free.
Post a Comment