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| Photo by Chuck Coker / flickr |
On this day for remembering Dr. Martin Luther King I have been struck by the challenges that E. J. Dionne, Jr. and Joy-Ann Reid give us. Their words can be found in The Washington Post. Recently they studied President Obama's speeches and have Co-edited a book called: We Are the Change We Seek.
They offer a challenge to our new President-to-be. No ugliness. Just a challenge. They say that President Obama--and many other Presidents have leaned on the word, We, as opposed to the tiny word, I. Mr. Trump loves the word: I. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights use: We continually. "We, the people..." most of us know that the journey from I to we is a very long and difficult one. Most of us struggle with these two words most of our lives.
My hope is that Mr. Trump, in taking on this enormous mantle as President, will begin to realize the "we-ness" of his position and the trust he has been granted. He is to be President of all in this country. The United States has struggled since its beginnings with this inclusive word: We.
Looking back--there were so many times in our history when we tried to whittle down the meaning of this word to our own tribe, our own clan, our own battalion. The great dream of the "We" is that it takes us all in. Most of the world looks at us because of this word and its promise too all. My prayer is that on this day for remembering the great King--our new President will learn soon to say and incarnate this special word.
I keep remembering what one of the characters in Carson McCullers' play, Member of the Wedding says: "Everybody wants to be a "we."
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| Photo by Brian / flickr --Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com |
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