From The Dream To The Nightmare

We've come a long way from MLK's epochal 'I Have a Dream'; unfortunately, when it comes to black political leadership, it's been in the wrong direction. Representative Major Owens, writing in the Democratic Gazette - sorry, the Huffington Post (who can tell the difference?) - tells of his nightmare - a nightmare consisting of Republicans ruling for 1,000 years because they helped the black community more than the Democrats did.

Is this what it's come to? A black leader whose nightmare is that Republicans will serve the black community? Would Representative Owens prefer a hostile glare to a helping hand, if that hand comes from the wrong side of the aisle? Isn't there something fundamentally wrong with an approach that puts partisanship above results? And, lastly, have we still not reached the day when we can put aside the simplistic formula 'Black=Democrat'?

When I read the mighty, mighty words of MLK, I don't see a man who was a tool of the Democratic party...I see a man who spoke out with clarity and conviction against an unjust situation, and appealed to the best in all of us. When I read this piece by Representative Owens, I just sadly shake my head...