STAFF EDIT: King’s words of wisdom

Known for his nonviolent methods of protest and progressive social philosophy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is enshrined in history as an American icon. Thus, Martin Luther King Day has evolved into an opportunity for nationwide reflection, no longer limited to a celebration of civil rights. But one question that always seems to arise on the third Monday of January: how much has the world changed since King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963? Are we making idealistic progress, or is there still an unjustifiable amount of political and social unrest?

Some civil rights veterans believe it’s the latter, especially in the aftermath of the Arizona shootings on Jan. 8. In a CNN.com article, former Freedom Riders, volunteers and hate crime victims expressed their worry that the current political climate is reminiscent of King’s time. From their perspective, this is largely due to use of volatile rhetoric and outright hostility. After six people were killed in Tucson at a local gathering for Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on Jan. 8, a debate raged about who is to blame for inciting such unrest. However, these allegations are loaded.

While it may be true that tension between liberals and conservatives is mounting, inciting name-calling and propagandizing from both sides, analyzing this relationship in the context of a tragedy is dangerous and, frankly, tacky. Immediately after the Tucson story broke on Jan. 8, Twitter exploded in a frenzy of users who had found a map on Sarah Palin’s website depicting crosshairs pointed at Democratic supporters of health care. Giffords was one of them. Before the shooter himself had been identified, an enemy had been named, conveniently one of the most controversial political figures of 2010.

This isolated incident should be viewed as what it was: a series of murders executed by a person with obvious psychological problems. To say anything otherwise serves no purpose and only adds to the tired blame game being played between Democrats and Republicans. Speculating is a way of losing credibility, of polarizing Americans even further.

Using the country’s most popular news story to get a point across is essentially exploitation. In this sense, the increasingly angry public needs to separate their emotions from what they see on TV and approach highly publicized tragedies with the respect they deserve. This would have been King’s tactic. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he advised the nation in another moment of crisis: “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”