How We Got Here: The 2020 Political Crisis and the Future of Social Change (Part IV)

Part IV: Humanistic Approaches and the Lost Opportunity for National Economic Justice

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.

First and foremost, we would never denigrate those who disagree with us, especially those from disparate backgrounds.

Second, and related, we would devote time toward engaging in persuasive, civil discourse with those who disagree with us.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other” [1].

Third, and perhaps most importantly, we would focus on the fundamental disparities between rural and urban America.

If we are truly angered that rural Americans do not view the world in the same fashion as urban Americans, then we would advocate for policies that bring higher quality education to rural areas.

This reality likely arises from the fact that the progressive movement has morphed into more of an identity-based than principles-based movement.

The loss from the failure to implement an agenda based on love has been most disappointing and monumental.

An agenda for national economic justice could have been a profoundly powerful, unifying force in America, bringing together people of all races, geographies, religions, and ethnicities.

It is worth noting that King always situated the cause of racial justice within a broader, universal struggle for national redemption and for the freedom of all peoples throughout the world.

We would do well to actualize King’s full vision.

Works Cited:

  1. Goodreads. n.d. “Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes.” Accessed September 1, 2020. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10800-people-fail-to-get-along-because-they-fear-each-other.
  2. King, Jr., Martin Luther and James M. Washington. 1986. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: HarperCollins.
  3. King, Jr., Martin Luther. 2018. “Martin Luther King Jr. Saw Three Evils in the World.” The Atlantic. Accessed September 1, 2020.

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Human, activist, scholar. Physician-Economist-in-training @UMich. CEO @proghealth. @FulbrightPrgrm Awardee. I work on anything that matters, locally & globally.

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Josh Greenberg

Human, activist, scholar. Physician-Economist-in-training @UMich. CEO @proghealth. @FulbrightPrgrm Awardee. I work on anything that matters, locally & globally.