Free at Last

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. His dream, basically, was that someday people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." He dreamed of racial freedom, where "all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"

It would be foolish of me to claim that Dr. King's dream has been fulfilled. Racism still exists. But to those who would suggest that no progress has been made, I would have to say, "Open your eyes! Look around you!" It's difficult for some to admit it, but racism really is in a serious downward spiral.

Why has it taken so long? Why has it been so hard? When you deal with racism or sexism, you're dealing with something in human beings that is hard-wired. It's called xenophobia, the fear of anything alien. Humans naturally want to stick with what they know instead of that with which they are unfamiliar. If you're raised in a white neighborhood, you'll naturally be likely to be more comfortable with white people. If you're raised in a black neighborhood, the reverse would be true. The fact that there are "white neighborhoods" and "black neighborhoods" is evidence that this is true. Look around. You'll find cultural clusters, groups of people who are Arabic, Hispanic, Chinese, American Indian, Korean ... the list goes on and on. Culture tends to gather with like culture. And it's not merely races or cultures. It extends to gender, economic conditions, just about any classifying category you can think of. It is a basic and generally unexamined aspect of the human being.

Some groups, usually those not in power, will try to tell you it's a function of Caucasian (or whoever is in power). It's a lie. It's a function of being human. Just look at the Louis Farrakhans, Jesse Jacksons, and the Dr. Jeremiah Wrights of our world. There is just as much racism on that side as anything you'll find on the white side of America. Some will tell you that it's just the same as it ever was and it will never change. You can get this from the black separatists and the white separatists. You can get this from disenfranchised folks who have experienced racism ... whatever their race. And you might conclude it from the fact that this problem is a basic human problem.

Xenophobia, the fear of anything different, is a natural human condition. It is a normal response to anything different. But we err if we think that because it's natural, it's good, right, or inevitable. We spend years teaching our children not to do what's natural, but to be civilized. We don't assume that whatever comes naturally to them is good. And Christians understand that human beings are fallen, sinners by nature. That's not good because it's natural. Neither does the natural have to be accepted.

I share Dr. King's dream. I also think that we've come a long way toward achieving it. In my world I see very little racism. People are hired where I work for their qualifications, not their color. I work with people from a wide variety of racial origins without it being a factor. It is illegal in my neighborhood to disqualify someone from living here because of their race or skin color. Human nature can be addressed. Today there is a rise in the concern about racial profiling based both on the events of 9/11 and the current problem of illegal immigration. We need to deal with these very real problems without surrendering to the dark side of human nature. I share Dr. King's dream. Unfortunately, humans being what they are, I suspect that we won't join hands and sing, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" until that great day when we sit in the presence of our Savior and share the same focus -- Him. Until then, great strides have been made and there is work yet to do. So today we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.