Jeudi, 26 Février, 2015
Verse of the Day: «L'amour de Dieu
a été manifesté envers nous en ce que Dieu a envoyé son Fils unique dans le
monde, afin que nous vivions par lui.» 1 Jean 4.9
Quote of the Day: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and
expecting different results.”—Albert Einstein
«La folie, c’est
se comporter de la même manière et s’attendre a un résultat différent.»—Albert
Einstein
French Fun Fact:
Grasse, France is known as the Perfume Capital of the World. (confessedtravelholic.com)
What’s Really
Happening Over Here:
Weather – Mostly
Cloudy, Precip. 50%
Temperature – 45⁰F,
high of 47⁰
News – Louvre
condemns Iraq jihadist statue-smashing (thelocal.fr)
On My Mind…
A slow fade. The fade from light to dark. From humble to
conceited. From favor to failure. From found to lost. From Christ to self. Our
destiny is not a single choice. Rather, it is a collection of choices revolving
around and reflecting one choice: to accept, or reject, the free gift of
salvation. I believe it is true that we cannot lose our election, and that our
calling is sure. But faith without works is dead. If the sum total of our
choices adds up to a life in rejection of salvation, then it is obvious that
this is the choice we have made—even if we claim to have chosen Christ.
On the Death of
Martin Luther King
A Little Background
Amid the tragedy of the
assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on Thursday, April 4th, 1968, an
extraordinary moment in American political history occurred as Robert F.
Kennedy, younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy, broke the news of
King's death to a large gathering of African Americans that evening in
Indianapolis, Indiana.
The gathering was actually a
planned campaign rally for Robert Kennedy in his bid to get the 1968 Democratic
nomination for president. Just after he arrived by plane at Indianapolis,
Kennedy was told of King's death. He was advised by local police against making
the campaign stop which was in a part of the city considered to be a dangerous
ghetto. But Kennedy insisted on going.
He arrived to find the people in an
upbeat mood, anticipating the excitement of a Kennedy appearance. He climbed
onto the platform and inquired as to whether or not the crowd knew – and then,
realizing they did not know, he spoke.
Black History Month ends on
Saturday, and I wanted to do my own part to conclude it through commemorating a
speech given by Robert Kennedy, in reaction to MLK’s assassination.
(The indented information above is
a direct quote from The
History Place - Great Speeches Collection.)
What Made It Great?
This speech was great because of its timing. It is
relatively short, but it was written they day of and given the evening of the
assassination of one of the world’s ambassadors for peace. The immediacy of the
address added to the importance of the event, to which it referred, and showed
great respect for a man who left a positive mark on his country.
“On the Death of Martin Luther King” (Full)
Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only
going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
I have some very sad news for all
of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who
love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and
was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his
life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause
of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United
States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what
direction we want to move in.
 |
| Robert F. Kennedy |
For those of you who are black -
considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were
responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire
for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a
country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white
amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an
effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace
that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an
effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and
are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an
act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own
heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was
killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in
the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these
rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He
once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by
drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States
is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need
in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom,
and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who
still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be
black.
(Interrupted by applause)
So I ask you tonight to return
home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true,
but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love
- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do
well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times
in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end
of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of
disorder.
But the vast majority of white
people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live
together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all
human beings that abide in our land.
(Interrupted by applause)
Let us dedicate ourselves to what
the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make
gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that,
and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. (Applause)
(Retrieved from The History Place -
Great Speeches Collection)
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