The Strength of Morality

Unbeknownst to the action and drama I knew I was going to receive while  viewing the movie “War for The Planet of The Apes” with a few friends over this past holiday weekend, I was gobsmacked with a heavy spirit full of weeping near the end of the movie, in light of the goodness and decency portrayed by the temperament of the apes in the film. I will not give away too many details for those who have not seen the movie. Caesar was the main character in the movie. He was also the leader of the apes. I wish the society we live in would emulate the morality Ceaser's character and family personified. The male soldiers in the movie wanted to hunt and kill Caesar and his ape family. All the apes ever wanted was peace and equality to live their lives as free apes; not hunted or in cages. There is a scene in the movie where the apes killed a human male in defense of their lives. There was a little girl in the house so the apes took her and cared for her because they knew she could not survive on her own. She could not speak; she was mute. She fell in love with the apes and they loved her too. Although she was a human and they were apes, they treated her just like she was one of their own. They saw no difference! I thought wow, these humans desired to kill the apes representing an acute form of savaged wickedness; yet the apes showed love and mercy to the human child and the other humans (predominately white men). I definitely encourage you to go see the movie. It is two years old but it is worth seeing.

I could not stop some of my tears from falling as I watched this movie. I caught my friends sniffing out tears as well. I don’t know why but all I could think about was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggle he carried on his shoulders for people of color; for all oppressed individuals to be free with liberty and justice for all. Below are a few excerpts from one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speech that bespeaks the strength of his morality and the irony of it, in our present world. 

“While it is a bitter fact that in America in 1968, I am denied equality solely because I am black, yet I am not a chattel slave. Millions of people have fought thousands of battles to enlarge my freedom; restricted as it still is, progress has been made. This is why I remain an optimist, thought I am also a realist, about the barriers before us. Why is the issue of equality still so far from solution in America, a nation that professes itself to be democratic, inventive, hospitable to new ideas, rich, productive and awesomely powerful? The problem is so tenacious because, despite its virtues and attributes, America is deeply racist and its democracy is flawed both economically and socially. All too many Americans believe justice will unfold painlessly or that its absence for black people will be tolerated tranquilly.”

 “These are our bright years of emergence; though they are painful ones, they cannot be avoided…In these trying circumstances, the black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negros. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws-racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism. It is exposing the evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society. It reveals systemic rather than superficial flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced. ”

“How do you think it affects his view of the society he lives in? How can you expect anything but disillusionment and bitterness? The question that now faces us is whether we can turn the Negroes disillusionment and bitterness into hope and faith in the essential goodness of the American system. If we don’t, our society will crumble.”
                                                                                            
​  -Martin Luther King Jr., "A Testament of Hope," 1969

How do you think it would psychologically affect you if the ingredients of your historical bloodline consist of an ongoing struggle that tends to be never-ending? Do you think it is conducive to a person's mental wellness? What do you think it does to a person or a group of people who consistently have to fight for their life, liberty, and the pursuit of their happiness? Can you empathize with that? We are living in 2019. I feel like it is 1960 at times! Dr. King and other freedom fighters understood what true love meant. They sacrificed their lives so white folks could treat them and their families like human beings doing that awful period. There is a certain ethnic group of people who have been lynched throughout the history of America. Can you imagine seeing someone you love being lynched? Those same people endured slavery. They were the property of other human beings; treated like pain; raped, used as experiments and exploited with no voice or rights. It was the law; institutionalized madness. Do you remember when your child was born? I bet some of your children look just like you. They are precious and you want the best for your child. Can you ever imagine your child not having an equitable start and finish to an education? Is education something all people should have access to? What about having to fight the courts to get the job done. It is still happening today. Black folks and other oppressed people just wanted to be free; the cry is still the same today. Can you imagine seeking an unbiased court for justice and one of the men on the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roger Taney telling you that you have “no rights which the white man was bound to respect?” The crazy thing is, a lot of people still think like this today, in 2019. They are audacious with it! The remainder of this explicit white supremacy continues to give birth to a generation of individuals who believe it is their birthright to oppress and control all things and all people. This is why the history of injustice in our court systems, education, healthcare, and other inequities in our society prevails. Some people don’t have the moral character or virtue to exercise godliness. Some folks are on the wrong side of history. They still wonder why Colin Kaepernick had the nerve to take a knee in protesting against racial injustice. Really?

Dr. King was not a perfect man. He did represent the love and probity of God in the most Sancti-Fly way. His heart was righteous despite all the wickedness he conquered. I think black folks who overcame (still overcoming) all that racial hatred coupled with slavery, lynching, rape, police brutality, and discrimination are very strong people; rich in morality. You have to ponder how mind-blowing their moral strength is. They continue to stay hopeful in the power of God’s love!