The observation of the 40th anniversary of MLK’s death has made me think about the profound effect of his speeches and words.   Recently, Hillary Clinton has derided the value of speeches as compared to actions, and this seems to be an appropriate time to reconsider this attitude.  I am too young to have heard MLK’s speeches at the time, but I have read them and heard them re-broadcast on Democracy Now!/Pacifica Radio.  They still have the same relevance and urgency as they did more than 40 years ago, especially his seminal speech against the Vietnam War a year before his death and his prophetic “Mountaintop” speech given to striking sanitation workers in Memphis the night before his death.   

In reflecting on MLK over the past several days, it made me think that the impact of speeches and words can oftentimes not be assessed until many years later.  In fact, some of the most influential orators and writers have been shunned by society during their own lifetimes because of their radical ideas or critical messages.  Even MLK, who in today’s society has been reduced to a feel-good icon who “had a dream”, had been attacked by the media and mainstream society after his anti-Vietnam War speech.  It appears that society can be somewhat hypocritical in that we expect our leaders to put forth great ideas that at the same time are appealing and palatable to the masses.  In reality, great ideas often challenge the attitudes of society and require some degree of critical self-examination.  

So with this in mind, what is the significance of Barack Obama’s antiwar speech in 2002 and his recent speech on race?  The response to Barack Obama’s recent speech has been widely divergent, from being praised as profoundly important by some to being dismissed (by Hillary Clinton and others) as being empty words that mean nothing without action. It is certainly true that actions are important, especially since policy positions and legislative initiatives are the basis for enacting change in our society.  But what inspires the policy positions?  What can motivate society as a whole to think in a different way, to accept new solutions to our problems?  Oftentimes the messages expressed in writings and speeches are the catalysts for social movements that eventually force legislative action.  This dynamic has had a strong impact on our own American history and society.  

Let’s consider first the words of Thomas Jefferson in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence: 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all  men are created equal…”

While these words are truly enlightened and in many ways represent the ideals of our American democracy, it is important to remember that this concept of equality was not codified into law in the Constitution or Bill of Rights and so, in some sense, they are just words.  However, these words have inspired the continuing struggle for equal rights in this country, and only after sustained social resistance and even civil war has fundamental progress been achieved through the passage of later Amendments to the Constitution.  Thanks to the words of Thomas Jefferson, our citizenry does not accept a subservient, second-class status that is implicit in a monarchy, oligarchy, or other non-democratic society.  At the core of our national identity is the belief that we are all endowed with the same fundamental rights within our society, even though the struggle to make these rights protected under law is an ongoing effort.

Let’s also consider the essay on Civil Disobedience that was written by Henry David Thoreau in 1849.  Thoreau was part of a literary community in Concord Massachusetts that was involved in the abolitionist movement and other pacifist societies.  He was certainly not a public leader or mainstream figure of the time.  Yet, the impact of his essay on civil disobedience became monumental in the next century when Gandhi was inspired by these principles and later used them to help overthrow British colonial rule in India.  Later still, these words by Thoreau would inspire MLK to fight a non-violent campaign against the white power structure of segregation, discrimination and oppression in this country.  It has reached the point where civil disobedience is now one of the standard techniques used by protest movements throughout the world, yet the power of these words could not possibly have been envisioned by Thoreau at the time he wrote them.

These are just two examples that teach us that the inspirational power of words should not be underestimated.  Jefferson’s words on equality inspired the struggle against slavery, which inspired Thoreau’s philosophy of civil disobedience.  This in turn inspired Gandhi, whose success inspired MLK, whose message inspired numerous independence movements in Africa, and so on.  Words that speak to the principles of human dignity and social justice are universal.  They empower us in a fundamental way and they should not be trivialized.  While I am in no way comparing Obama’s speeches to these two examples, I do believe that critics who dismiss them as nothing more than empty words are displaying a shortsightedness and a poverty of spirit.  People’s lives can be fundamentally changed when they are challenged to look at things differently, and especially when they are inspired to choose a life with value and purpose.  Politics today has frequently become a soulless and self-serving enterprise, consisting of selling your platform and yourself to the public while attacking your opponent in any way possible.  However, time and again we have seen campaign promises broken once the election is over, leaving people cynical and distrustful of their leaders.  It would seem that these words of “action” are ultimately emptier and more meaningless than those given in a speech that inspires personal reflection and societal change.