"Fifty years after Martin Luther King Jr. made history with his 'I have a Dream' speech, some say the civil rights movement’s leader would be deeply disappointed in our society today.
"Poet, author and associate professor Quraysh Ali Lansana is one of those men.
“'I think he would be deeply disappointed in our lack of concern for others and frustrated with our political apathy and poverty of ideas and action,' said Lansana, who grew up as Ron Myles in Enid, Okla., and now teaches English and creative writing at Chicago State University.
"Lansana will be the guest speaker on Jan. 19 at both services hosted at Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church. The services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at 625 College Ave., Racine, and Lansana’s address is titled 'Lost in the Dream: In Search of Civility.'
"Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan. 20.
"Lansana quotes King: 'Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.'
"He explains that 'where there is no civility, there is no exchange of ideas. We only have to revisit the recent shutdown of the U.S. government to understand this concept, and that occurred on a very large, very public scale. Imagine how often we struggle with the lack of civility in our daily lives, and the manner in which our communities would benefit if we made civility as important as breathing.'
"Last year, Aug. 28 marked the 50th anniversary of King’s march on Washington, where he delivered his history-making 'I Have a Dream' speech.
"And 50 years later, Lansana says men and women are becoming less civil now, although we are more publicly civil than during the civil rights era.
“'I feel that there was actually a greater effort to be sincerely politically correct 10 years ago than today,' he stated. 'The U.S. is more polarized, along race and class lines, now than a decade ago.'
"However, during the civil rights era, 'there were also significantly more people, of all ethnicities, engaged in public activism and political protest. Many young people today are apathetic and suffer from a narcissistic xenophobia that is debilitating to the point of being dangerous,' Lansana stated"
Read more: http://journaltimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/a-civil-society-poet-professor-to-stress-mlk-s-message/article_ad697610-7a21-11e3-b5e1-0019bb2963f4.html
"Lansana quotes King: 'Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.'"
"'Many young people today are apathetic and suffer from a narcissistic xenophobia that is debilitating to the point of being dangerous,' Lansana stated."
I very much like those two quotes. Racine suffers terribly from "sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
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