Dream On

What are we to make of a statement like "This is a moment, quite honestly, that I think we reclaim the civil rights movement?" If it were made by anyone who might conceivably be connected to the civil rights movement, either now or in the future, it would sound like a call to arms. In this case, it is Glenn Beck who is rallying his posse on the forty-seventh anniversary of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior's "I Have A Dream" speech at the very location that the late reverend made his plea for universal peace and understanding. The guy who once said that Barack Obama is a racist is holding a rally is to pay tribute to America's military personnel and others "who embody our nation's founding principles of integrity, truth and honor."
He believes that the fact that his big show happens to coincide with one of the most important dates in civil rights history is merely coincidence. "I'm sorry, oh so important media, that I forgot the date," Mister Beck said in a mocking tone. "It's not the date. It's the message." I suppose that, just for a moment, Glenn forgot that his is in fact still part of the "oh so important media," but we can forgive that since he seems to have so much else on his mind right now.
Like the guest list: Sarah "Half a Term" Palin, Jo Dee Messina, and Alveda King.
Wait a minute? King? That last name looks familiar. She is the niece of uncle Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. It's about freedom of speech, she says. "If we want to sing the national anthem at a memorial to the man who led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free, we should be able to send our voices soaring to the heavens. Glenn Beck’s 'Rally to Restore Honor' this Saturday will give us that chance, and that’s why I feel it’s important for me to be there." Yet another eerie coincidence for Glenn to roll his eyes at when the oh so important media asks him about it.
"I know that people are going to hammer because they're going to say, 'It's no Martin Luther King speech,'" Beck told his radio listeners on Wednesday. "Of course it's not Martin Luther King. You think I'm Martin Luther King?" In a word, "no." But we can realize a part of Doctor King's dream, we can judge Glenn, not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.