Why does the United States seem to be falling apart? The ideal that used to bring Americans together seems to have failed in some way. ‘Liberty and justice for all’ is the best summary. Sure, it was always a frail creed, and interpretations of it differed, but still. It semi-worked.
The creed failed in a very paradoxical way. It was voiced too well, too purely. Its greatest articulator was Dr Martin Luther King, who is commemorated with a US national holiday celebrated on Monday. (Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Day into law in 1983, in less sectarian times.)
The problem, of course, was that Dr King was black. Half of white America found this hard to take: that the incarnation of the national ideal did not look like them. But another aspect of his identity also served to alienate about half of Americans: King was a liberal Protestant Christian. He was – above all else – a clergyman, like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him.
To remember King while ignoring his faith is not to remember King at all
‘All that I do in civil rights, I do because I consider it part of my ministry,’ he said.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in