Qualities: DIGNITY OF KINGS

Today our nation lost a beloved, graceful, courageous woman who called America to its founding ideals and carried on a noble dream. ...Before history is written down, it is written in courage.
- President George W. Bush, State of the Union, 2006

The death of Coretta Scott King removes another emotional tie to those days of the VISION, COURAGE and LEADERSHIP of her husband, his colleagues, and the people he inspired. They all fought and persevered with DIGNITY, none more than the quiet woman who lived to keep his memory alive. It is such a contrast with the blatant opportunism of the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and the partisan nastiness of Julian Bond and Harry Belafonte. Preaching qualities, as I do, makes it easy to distinguish between such people even as I no doubt offend some others. DIGNITY is more than carriage; it is an inner peace and confidence in the face of lesser mortals who don't know their place on the ladder of character and respect. Before Dr. King's revolution, I lived in a small southern town and on the Mexican border, and I saw dignity among the downtrodden under systematic prejudice and oppression. There I learned something new about resiliance, perseverence and hope. This, in turn, led to a sense of responsibility and ambition for those everywhere in our world who need help in achieving a freedom and opportunity in which their human dignity may thrive. After World War II, there were 20 democracies in the world; now there are more then a hundred. The work goes on, and we will remember our heroes.