Daily Mood Quote - June 10, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 37 – June 10, 2011

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

~Martin Luther King Jr.

I really don't know why this quote struck such a cord in me today. This is the most negative quote I have ever read by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Still it's true. I understand in the context of his time in history, this position was not only warranted, it was altogether required to get his point across.

I know there are a lot of people who hark back to “better days” and young people especially, who have simply no idea of the magnitude of the ignorance that generated the social and civil strife of the 1960's and 1970's. It's not that the people weren’t well meaning back then, it just that they did not understand the weight of their actions, to quote Abraham Lincoln, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” We hear in the news and media, random allusions and tweets during trade disputes, about discrimination, “slavery” and other such accusations. Unfortunately, the people who are espousing these points of view, are clearly misguided and ignorant of how far we have come as a nation and how open and balanced our society has become. The majority of these people have college educations, so ignorance isn't the issue, it's conscientious stupidity that is their lot. How selfish it is to reignite social discord over more money for themselves. They look at what is and say, “it is bad” and not at what has grown and see the good. Robert Kennedy said, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not."

Some, also in ignorance, long for “the better days of the past.” Those “better days” really weren't, and we tend to forget that. Maybe we should ask the question, “Are we exactly where we should be?” Chances are the answer is yes, but where we go from here is up to us. Because the future is an unknown, it is easy to fear it and long for “better days,” or to blame someone else for our lot in life no matter how severe or plush. In actuality it is up to us to reach for the “why nots” and overcome the fear and conscientious stupidity that are the hand tools of ignorance and the enemy of progress.

No movie quote today.

What “why nots” for a better tomorrow will you embrace today?

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Thank you for reading