Crisis of the Mass Killings
From “Beyond Civility,” MLK Day 2011
The crisis of the mass killings is not only a danger but an opportunity for each and all of us to make a great leap forward in our humanity — Grace Lee Boggs
In his 1967 call for a radical revolution of values against the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism, King said, “a nation that spends more on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” In recent years our spiritual death has resulted in mass physical deaths all over the world and at home, e.g. at Oklahoma City, Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, the Immigration Center in Binghamton, N.Y. Each of these could have been the wakeup call that this one can become.
We don’t have to limit ourselves to grieving or to calling for civility. We are not just bystanders. We are citizens responsible for the safety of ourselves and our fellow citizens in these very destabilizing times.
The time has come for each of us to be involved in creating what MLK called a new concept of global citizenship, based on each one of us accepting the responsibility for the safety of all of us,
This includes instituting more gun regulations and more mental health awareness and facilities at the local level, instead of leaving it to Washington, D.C.
It includes many more of us risking arrest by initiating or joining non-violent demonstrations.
It requires more of us recognizing that the Old American Dream is dead and accepting the responsibility for beginning to create, from the ground up, in our neighborhoods, our cities, and our country, a New American Dream, based on caring for each other in beloved communities, living more simply in order that others can simply live, ending our wars and military occupations around the world.
All of us, and not only borderline individuals, need this New American Dream. And until the whole world knows that we are creating it in our country, there will be no homeland security for any of us.
The crisis of the Tucson killings is not only a danger but an opportunity for each and all of us to make this great leap forward in our and the world’s humanity.
We must seize the time!!
