Martin Luther King

     Martin Luther King day was on  monday.  So, I have been reading a lot of his speeches and other things he wrote.  Something that touched me was his letter from a birmingham jail.  What was so inspiring was the compassion he showed for others, while he himself was in jail fighting for the vary people he was writing the letter for.


     King showed not only how much he cared, but his writing was also really moving.  I think that the best line of the letter was, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."  This shows how much he cared about America and about equality.  It also shows his view of his purpose on the world.  He would only be content with his life if his race was treated with the fairness and respect that he fought for.


     Martin Luther King was not anti-police or against the government.  He was for justice.  He was against however, the way that racists had manipulated the justice system to make racism law and a part of life in the South.  As he said, "Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and that when they fail to do this they become dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."  This shows that he was actually more pro 'justice' and policing than those who arrested him.  


     MLK day has become just a day off in America.  We need to make it more about what MLK stood for.  When Black votes are being taken away all around the country, we need to live up to the legacy of the greatest activist in American History.  He is no Santa as he has been portrayed.  He was a man who went into dangerous situations intentionally for the betterment of a people.  He may not have had the best family life, but there is nobody who I respect more.  

Martin Luther King Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail

A Change of Feelings

     I hate to contradict myself, but in this case I really have to.  In my last post, I was really negative about the main character.  I owe an apology to Kyle.  He has made me respect him all the more.

     Kyle is finally growing up, and being responsible.  He was honest to his friend Joey and coughed up the truth.  This truth was about the rape charge.  He is starting to come to terms with it.  He's being a good friend to Joey and helping him deal with it even though Kyle got the short end of the stick and was the most innocent of the guys in the situation.  He has clearly learned and grown as a person.

     I also feel that his relationship with his father has improved.  He has not told his dad of the pickle he is in, but he feels bad about joining the corporate law firm.  I think that by the end of the book, he will share his situation with his father.

     All in all, I'm starting to like Kyle more and more.  I'm really enjoying the book too.  I can't wait to read more.

Respect

     Have you ever found yourself loosing respect for the protagonist in your book?  That's exactly what I am experiencing in reading The Associate by John Grisham.  I think the main character, Kyle is becoming self centered and immoral.  Kyle cares not for those who he's harmed, but for how it will affect his life.  He also threw away all that he had learned from his mentor, his father, because of a threat to his career.

     Kyle cares a lot about his career and his future.  I think he cares too much.  Kyle was an accomplice  to a rape.  He was in college and drunk, he didn't do anything, but he didn't stop his frat-mates.  The police dismissed this charge.  Years later, when the scenario put his career on the line, all he was thinking was that nothing happened, even though, I think he knew something did happen.  He did not once in the situation feel bad.  He thought about the impact on his life, not how the rape affected the victim.

     Kyle has a very strong relationship with his father.  He became a lawyer just like his father.  However, his father hated corporate law firms.  Kyle was threatened and instead of showing courage, he chose to follow what his threateners wanted which was to join the biggest corporate law firm.  This showed a lack of courage.

     All in all, Kyle is a person who I do not respect.  However, I think he will become a person that I do. Or at least I hope so.  I am pretty early in the book, and I predict that Kyle will become a good man.