goobs gabs

One of my earliest memories is of being in Washington, D.C. with my family in a large crowd of people around the reflecting pool before the Lincoln Memorial. I remember it being a very hot day, and that my brothers and I were cooling off by sitting at the edge of the reflecting pool towards the back, away from the memorial, dipping our feet in the water. Frankly, that is all I remember about that day.

Years later, when my father passed away, in his tribute to him, my older brother noted that day, and then began working out when that weekend occurred. It turns out that we were there in late August, 1963. The large crowd was there for the Poor People's March on Washington that was one of the seminal turning points in the Civil Rights struggle in this country. Not sure if this was actually the case, after Dad's funeral, I asked Mom if this was, in fact, when we were there. She very matter of factly confirmed that we were, in fact, present at the Mall for the Poor People's March, and further present for Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, not that I remember it at all.

It turns out that we were there by coincidence when one of the great moments of the last century transpired. Mom and Dad had ferried Black men and women to Washington specifically so that they could attend the March and witness the speeches at the Lincoln Memorial, not that anyone had any idea at all of what they were about to witness from Martin Luther King. That they would quietly go about doing this, without ever standing up and looking for any kind of recognition or reward is one of the great things about this country, in general, and my parents, in particular, especially when one considers the depth to which our supposed public servants have sunk these days.

Knowing what Mom and Dad did in their small way for this Country and in a very large way for their sons, I have made it a point, when possible, to visit Dad's grave in or around Martin Luther King day to spend a moment with Dad and reflect. I will be going there later today to apologize.

I will be apologizing for the fact that my generation has systematically dismantled the great Civil Rights triumphs of his generation.

I will be apologizing because Affirmative Action, once a great tool to right one of the greatest wrongs in the history of mankind, is now a four letter word.

I will be apologizing because compassion for fellow man has been thrown out the window. Here in my own hometown, in the midst of one of the most brutal cold snaps of the season, homeless men who had sought shelter in a makeshift tent city in the woods were rousted out by the town and had their tents dismantled and destroyed. In order to make sure they would not return, the town razed the woods that had hidden their encampment, even though their presence had been known to just about everyone in town for years, and they had harmed nobody. They are now homeless, jobless, penniless and hopeless. The town and the county have shown no inclination to help them at any level whatsoever.

I will be apologizing because my state government has decided that two loving people, who contribute to society in ways any others do, by paying taxes, holding down good jobs, being charitable and just being plain decent, have no rights simply because they are both of the same sex.

I will be apologizing because in the midst of one of the great human catastrophes in history which remains ongoing in Haiti, there are those who ridicule desperate efforts to help the victims, yet nobody in public office has the decency to stand up and tell them they are wrong. The persons ridiculing the relief efforts, in the mean time, show no remorse for their words, and further show no indication at all that they believe what they said was wrong at any level at all.

I will be apologizing because it is now apparent that one of the most pressing and basic needs of any society, the need for anyone to have access to proper health care, will fall victim to the need and greed of corporations to make money, of "special interests", who nuture this greed for their own reasons, and of politicians who cowtow to those interest groups just to get re-elected. I would further note that many of these spineless cowards, after scuttling meaningful reform in the past, have gone to work for these corporations, a process that will continue.

Finally, I will be apologizing because it all happened on my generation's and therefore my watch. I know that those who should be apologizing will not. They do not believe they have done anything wrong. In fact, they will be ridiculing those of us, like me, who believe that great wrongs have been perpetrated in the name of our society, and doing what they can to mock the fact that anyone would dare to believe that we can do better.

We can and must do better. We owe it to ourselves. Most of all, we owe it to those such as my parents who lead the way down the right path, only to watch us lose our way once it was our turn.