By Odeisel

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It’s a peculiar thing to have a life’s work condensed into catchphrases. Dr. King didn’t make 40, but he managed to do so much with his life. There were flaws in his character, as I’m sure his family could attest to, including a flaw for which many current men are being condemned. Lucky for all of us, his body of work stood as testament to his mettle before the age of instant access and camera phones and Big Brother.

Could you imagine if Dr. King lived today? Do you think he would have been allowed to forge ahead with his mission with The Smoking Gun, TMZ, and Media Takeout? If his indiscretions were put on front street, do you think he would have been able to do a March on Washington? Imagine if before the march, a woman came out saying she and King were busy “integrating” and had the video to prove it. Vivid video would be trying to negotiate the release rights for “King Swing.” He’d have to go on Oprah and apologize to his wife and kids or have a press conference, and put his PR people out in front to mend his image. And his mission would probably have to take a back seat to salvaging his family and his brand.

We live in a world where image trumps substance and whatever you do with your body of work, in whatever field of influence you perform, is often easily forgotten when cast against the stupid things that we as humans are bound to do. Is that fair?  Is there an equation that determines the weight of deeds against the weight of how people see you? Knowing how much being in the spotlight leaves you vulnerable to character assassination, do we lose people capable of real change out in the cold, fearing that if they get on that stage, the bright lights will make more things visible than their cause? To be honest, I don’t have that equation, but I’m sure that the associations we keep, and the not so smart things we do lead many to never even take the stage. We all lose on that account.

We are charged by the antecedent with carrying on legacies as people. We provide for our children hoping to give them more than we had. We push them in the hopes that they go further and pray that we can encourage more than we coddle them. But not even the most fearless performers can deal with the microscope.  For a second though, before the slings and arrow of opposing fortune are launched, perhaps we should give credence to the idea that actions speak louder than words and that for our collective sakes we give higher weight to bigger actions.  Tiger donated three million dollars with very little fanfare to the plight of Haiti. I’m sure they could give a fuck about cocktail waitresses right now.

Dr. King lived in a different time, when media protected heroes rather than set them up for the flame out. We never knew about the ills of Mickey Mantle. Sure there were whispers of carousing and boozing, but he was the Mick, and we were allowed to keep our giants. Only a moron could have been in the press corps following the Kennedys and not have seen the dalliances. With a world in turmoil, however, a little trim would seem to pale before impending nuclear war. Back then, the cracks in the content of your character was not necessarily a hindrance towards accomplishing your mission. I wonder, in the age of image and projection, would the good doctor have to alter his famous speech in order to get his point across. Thankfully, we don’t have to find that out.

So celebrate King Day not with dreams and happy birthdays, but with action and service. Remember that you are moving forward because someone was forced backwards but didn’t allow themselves to be backed down. Think of the world you live in and the people in your circumference and deal with them as they have dealt with you, and not on what you have heard about them from others. On that level you can always live up to a legacy, without the pomp and circumstance.

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