The Exchange e-mail contained these quotes by MLK on leadership:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.”
“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
If we think about conservative issues like the battles against Islamofascism, environmentalism, and statism, it's not difficult to see that MLK would blanch at the political correctness that curbs debate and inquiry into these challenges to liberty. Seen in this way, a conservative can more appropriately quote these sentences from MLK than a liberal could.
I've noticed the same thing with many protest songs from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Two such songs that are played on classic rock stations that come to mind immediately are "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band and "Two Hangmen" by Mason Proffit.
Here's the chorus from "Signs"
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?
An anthem for the hyper-regulatory state.
The lyrics for "Two Hangmen" work just as well for a conservative as they do for a liberal in today's world, especially with many of the current social issues like gay marriage.
As I rode into Tombstone on my horse, his name was Mack I saw what I'll relate to you, going on behind my back It seems the folks were up-in-arms, a man now had to die For believing things that didn't fit, the laws they'd set aside The mans name was "I'm a Freak". the best that could see He was the executioner, a hangman just like me I geuss he'd seen loopholes from working with his rope He'd hung the wrong man many times, so now he turned to hope He talked to all the people from his scaffold in the square He told them of the things he found, but they didn't seem to care He said the laws were obsolete, a change they should demand But the people only walked away, he couldn't understand The marshals name was "Uncle Sam", he said he'd right this wrong He'd make the hangman shut his mouth, if it took him all day long He finally arrested Freak, and then he sent for me To hang a fellow hangman, from a fellow hangmans tree It didn't take them long to try him in their court of law He was guilty then of "Thinking", a crime much worse than all They sentenced him to die, so his seed of thought can't spread And infect the little children, that's what the law had said So the hangin' day came 'round, and he walked up to the noose I pulled the lever, but before he fell I cut him lose They called it a conspiracy, and that I had to die So to close our mouths and kill our minds, they hung us side-by-side
