Opinion: Following truth-telling leaders like Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. is necessary
I wish to take a few moments and reflect upon the Christmas season which is behind us now. Economically, it is an extremely important consumer period. I have been told by many small business owners that it is the make or break season for many of them. The stimulation to the economy begins some time before Thanksgiving and does not climax until the last store closes its doors on Christmas Eve. At times this commercial enterprise appears to supersede the actual reason Christmas became a fixture on our annual calendar.
Let us set aside the religious significance of the season for a moment and simply focus on the birth of a child and the message that birth and subsequent life brought to us. The stories tell us about a diverse group of people coming together to celebrate the birth of a human being and placing great expectations upon the life of this child. We learn about how men of power were threatened by the birth of this child. We are taught that there is strength in humility for this child is born in the least desirable conditions to very poor parents. What we do not see, but which history has confirmed, is the violence and animosity of the time. Survival and self gratification likely took priority over everything else.
Mathew tells us about the flight of this poor family to Egypt to escape the wrath of the authorities. The escape route probably took the family down the Jericho road, a route known for its treachery and violence.
We later learn about the teachings of this child when he became a man. We learn of a man who preaches compassion and love for our fellow man. A love that is doused in care and respect. A love that puts an end to violence. We are taught that personal power and wealth leads to distress while love and compassion leads to self fulfillment. We see a man who is willing to stand up to both religious and political authorities and that the religious and political leaders conspire to have him tortured and put to death. He gave us a way of life that to this day we have a hard time grasping and putting to practice. He was a truth teller and we did to him what we generally do to other truth tellers.
In this country’s own short history we have managed to sentence truth telling to death. Abraham Lincoln confronted our enslavement of others, which cost him his life. Martin Luther King Jr. confronted our inability to enact equal justice for all people and this cost him his life. Truth telling is a very dangerous occupation.
As dangerous as truth telling can be, we need people to tell us the truth. Truth telling is quite likely the greatest public service of all. We profit when our faults are pointed out to us and when we develop the humility and compassion necessary to right those faults. It happened with Lincoln whose life and example led to the passing of the 13th Amendment, ending servitude, the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship and due process of law to all and the 15th Amendment, expanding voting rights regardless of race. It happened with Martin Luther King Jr., whose life and example led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
With that said, these men did not bring an end to actions designed to discriminate and discredit others, for these actions remain with us and, in some ways, appear to be picking up steam. That is why it is up to those of us who have listened to the truth tellers to stand up and tell the truth. The examples have been established for us to follow and as that baby who was born in a stable told us, truth telling leads to the ultimate freedom. The hurdle for us is to place truth telling above fear and personal gain. The story told in our history books suggests that we have a very difficult time making that hurdle but until we do poverty, hunger, war and general destruction will leave its tarnished mark on our race.
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Lee Sease lives in Burnsville. He is a former Superintendent of Schools in Middlebury, Vermont.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Truth telling is dangerous occupation look to Jesus, Lincoln MLK Jr
