"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."
— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
An Inescapable Network of Mutuality
With contagious disease and an outrageous political season rippling over society, seemingly tearing apart its foundations by sewing the seeds of disharmony, it may appear a bit cliché to invoke these lines from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on "an inescapable network of mutuality."
If, however, we can actually appreciate their immense relevance, their deeply pragmatic and realistic message, then we may stand a chance at collective, scalable, regenerative organizing at the micro- and macro- ecological, economic, and epidemiological levels.
Arrested for violating an injunction against unauthorized demonstrations during tensions over Birmingham, Alabama's segregation laws, King spent eight days in jail, during which he authored this letter to his fellow clergymen. Here we interweave a few strands of contemplative reflection around one of its most salient themes.
The Interwoven Fabric of Justice
Written while incarcerated at the Birmingham city jail, dated April 16, 1963, the letter details King's vision of justice. Contextually, it was penned in response to an initial open letter signed by eight local white clergymen, published by the Birmingham News, criticizing King's direct action campaign as untimely and unwise, instead urging black residents of Birmingham to obey the law and cease their support for the demonstrations. King supposedly scrawled much of his reply on scraps of paper available to him in prison.
In the letter, King emphasizes the sentiment, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Refusing to submit to status quo, he defends his choice to protest.
Most tellingly, rather than distance himself from these conservative opponents or pit himself and his supporters against the opposition, King consistently highlights the interwoven fabric of justice, declaring, "I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham...Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial 'outside agitator' idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."
Radicals and Revolutionaries
Accused of extremism, King responds by reframing the question of extremism as a choice between acting as extremists for love and justice, or extremists for hate and injustice. Standing between those who would rather acquiesce and those who instead resort to violence and vitriole, King occupies a liminal space characterized by persistent non-violent protest. Invoking the likes of Jesus Christ and other so-called radicals and revolutionaries of their time, he calls upon others to unite in their differences, prioritizing justice for all.
Presently, we face a similar set of concerns over what have been deemed radical and revolutionary politics, striking fear and panic into those who associate such terms with violent authoritarianism and ruthless dictatorship. Radical and revolutionary terminology has been corrupted and tainted, but with wisdom and compassion, they may still be reclaimed and reframed in reference to a radically and revolutionarily inclusive movement, the first to fully acknowledge and embrace that we are each and all embedded in an inescapable network of mutuality, a single garment of destiny. Perhaps there is more freedom to be gained than lost if we transcend the deeply ingrained tendency to view ourselves as separate entities operating in the mindlessly self-serving ways that characterize individualism.
Threads of Synergy that Support and Sustain
Given the increasing complexity of our environments, we face a set of uniquely complex challenges, whether epidemiologically, climatologically, or otherwise. Unfortunately, when it comes to interrelatedness, we too often focus on the networks that spread disease and panic instead of those threads of synergy that support and sustain us.
Rather than let a pandemic of pandemonium ensue through the contagion of division, a disease gone viral as it spreads across networks, let us envision ways in which the inescapable network of mutuality may work to the advantage of all, the health and well-being of each part of the whole.
Repairing and regenerating the network, ensuring that its routes of transmission are open and clear and, importantly, that what is transmitted is medicinal and not pathological will be how we transcend outdated modes of being and transform the system from the inside out into a sustainable society for all.
Source:
King, Martin Luther. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]" 16 April 1963.
No comments:
Post a Comment