MLK Reflection: Consider the thoughtful, poetic way King delivered his message

“We will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Those words were uttered by Dr. Martin Luther King in September 1962. In that solemn speech following three deadly church bombings, King elevates his listeners beyond a recognition of our past — he lights a fire of hope in what we could yet become.

That is King’s profound, but simple legacy: his faith in America to achieve a more perfect union — that our best days are ahead.

King believed, as our Founding Fathers declared, that we would achieve a more perfect union by addressing inequality and injustice where we encountered it. King’s aspirational leadership remains today through his beautifully spoken words. He was intentional. A look through the marked-up transcripts of his speeches demonstrates how King was rehearsed and studied.

Unlike a Twitter-obsessed America, King worked and reworked his words, intentionally, to elevate America’s conscience. Those transcripts also show he possessed a deep understanding of history and though he sought to stir America’s conscience, he was measured in the words he chose. He moved America’s collective thinking through his carefully selected, measured and rehearsed words.

Reading King’s speeches is not the same as hearing them spoken. Ultimately, he moved public opinion through his poetry. Those carefully selected words, thoughtfully delivered, still inspire his listeners. There is a rhythm to his speeches. A cadence is found in how he builds the listener to his point.

We yearn for his next line and he leaves us with a mingling of urgency and hope. He inspires us to change laws, policies, and our own thinking about race, but King does not incite. Instead he instills a hope for better days ahead in our collective future. He believed in America even during dark times, even despite evidence to the contrary, like three church bombings.

This brand of aspirational leadership is sorely lacking in our current political climate. America’s discord is on the rise. Today, we are taught a new American geography by explaining complex positions in stark terms, underscored by Red states or Blue states, urban or rural, and conservative or liberal. As if Americans fall squarely into only one category. Our ability to address problems across party lines seems a relic of the past. Bi-partisanship is thought to be a sign of weakness, though to past generations it has served as the truest art of negotiation.

And worse, some Americans have confused thoughtful, deliberate speech with “political correctness.” We appear to have a fondness for brash, “say it like it is” bluntness that further divides us. Instead of properly being leery of leaders who incite listeners without a sense of hope or without the direction of a moral compass, we have empowered them.

In today’s political speak, many leaders, myself included, use social media to deliver messages rather than carefully planned and rehearsed speeches. We can tweet and retweet, quite literally, in the blink of an eye. It is an effective form of communication, but it has its limitations.

There are many examples of how prone a Twitter user is to speak in anger or before an issue is fully vetted or even confirmed. Take this tweet by President Trump on the heels of a devastating hurricane: “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort…”

Those are strong words sent to a group of Americans who were left wondering where their next meal may come from or where they would sleep. And yet, Twitter is a favored communication tool.

While some political messages via a Tweet have pricked my interest, most have left me questioning our country’s future. The most provocative Tweet cannot draw out King’s intentionality. Where King was eloquent in his leadership, Twitter offers its users the opportunity to quickly express an opinion in under 280 characters.

I believe King would be sickened by our current political discord, the bloodshed of American gun violence, and a multitude of other challenges we face.

But he would not lose faith in this nation. He would believe our best days are ahead. He would argue we must better educate the generation to follow. He would remind us that gun violence in our communities strikes an injustice that no American should stand for. He would not evoke or stir our worst thoughts. He would instill a hope in America. As King said, “only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

A leader must emerge who has faith in America, who believes America will become a more perfect union by adhering to King’s simple truth: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal’.” There is much work to be done in achieving a more perfect union and transforming the jangling political discords into something beautiful.

If King can demonstrate a profound hope in America during a time of church bombings and great social injustice, then so can we. It is time for those who share his undying faith in America to speak up — thoughtfully and deliberately — and get working on an America for the next generation.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 9:44 AM with the headline "MLK Reflection: Consider the thoughtful, poetic way King delivered his message."