CRAIG GLAZER CONSIDERS MLK LEGACY!!!

TKC NOTE: Here's another politically incorrect and alternative take on MLK Day from our pal and Kansas City media impresario Craig Glazer. Check it:

Martin Luther King:
He Was Only Human

When I was a young man Martin Luther King was in the news almost as much as President John F. Kennedy. Since his death, there has been everything from songs, books, movies, television specials and even a National Holiday in honor of this man. Whether it’s fair or not, King is the human symbol of civil rights.

His murder, the media likes to call it an assassination; they do that when you are famous but it was a murder, is still a mystery. Like the two Kennedy brothers, many Americans feel that King’s assassination was a conspiracy. From what I have seen and read, the King murder may be the most likely conspiracy of the three. I was somewhat stunned when years ago HBO ran a special trial, a documentary-like affair that actually had James Earl Ray participate in the trial of King’s murder. It was an amazing program.

The defense of Ray was outstanding. They proved beyond any doubt that Ray had no motive to murder King. The defense proved he was neither a racist nor a hit man. They also proved it was pretty much impossible for him to have been at the location of the assassination. Martin Luther King’s family attended the mock trial set up by HBO. Ray was interviewed in his own defense. The prosecution got hammered and clearly beaten. The jury was not out but a few hours before they returned a verdict of not guilty. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, HBO never aired the special ever again, which adds to the theories of conspiracy in some people’s minds.

I feel that beyond any reasonable doubt that James Earl Ray had nothing to do with the shooting of Martin Luther King. Was it our government? We’ll never know just like we’ll never know for sure what happened to John or Bobby Kennedy. The bottom line is this, the American public questions many government actions but we are so accepting of what we are told to be true, it really doesn’t matter. Only the media can make a big deal out of anything anymore and they choose not to. That is, unless it’s a reality show, a celebrity in trouble, anything that’s a guaranteed distraction from the larger issues. Who’s going to win the Super Bowl is much more important to most Americans than who shot Kennedy or King.

Maybe what’s most important about Martin Luther King was this: he was both a great statesman and a flawed human being. The FBI reports made it abundantly clear that he cheated on his wife; that is to say he was a womanizer, and a heavy drinker to say the least. This description fits a significant percentage of American males. However, even though he was in many ways a regular guy, he found a cause that was extremely important at the time and still is and became its champion.

We all have the potential for goodness, nay, greatness inside us, like King, even though we are all as flawed as he. Even though our beliefs and causes may be different than his, it’s important that we try and work on shaping our community, our neighborhood, our country or our world to be the best it can be, like he did. Even though we all make mistakes, sometimes huge ones, in life it doesn’t mean there isn’t greatness in everybody. I think we all have that ability inside us, if we choose to exercise our beliefs.
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