I've Been To The Mountaintop

For some reason I have recently developed a huge amount of interest in history, especially American history. I think some credit for that has to go to having too much time on my hands and getting lost in the never-ending web of Cracked. If you haven’t ever been there before, its probably summed up best by a random list of the article titles:

8 Movie Special Effects You Won’t Believe Aren’t CGI
The 7 Most Condescending Sports Euphemisms
10 Mind-Blowing Easter Eggs Hidden In Famous Albums
8 Filthy Jokes Hidden In Ancient Works Of Art
The 6 Craziest Sieges In History

Sure, most of the articles are ridiculous and pointless, but a lot of the history articles have made me scour the internet to see whether they are telling the truth. For instance, did you know that there was a ruler of Paris known as Charles the Fat? Yup. That’s right. Not Charles the Noble, or Charles the All-Conquering Hero … but he was simply named after the fact that he ate too much.

It seems that my interest in US history is most specifically about the civil rights movement, which probably stems from when Katy and I visited Memphis a few years ago. In reality we were there to visit Sun Studio (where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis etc recorded), but we came across the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum is made of the converted Lorraine Motel (where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated) and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. There was so much more to the civil rights movement than I had ever heard of before.

After reading a book earlier this year on the feud between Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy, I renewed my zeal for learning more about this amazing time in American history. I’ve been steadily reading and/or listening to all of Martin Luther King’s speeches and realised they are all deeply rooted in his faith in God. If you want to read some, check out MLK Online and you should probably start with his famous “I have a dream” speech.

There is something so powerful about not only his message of equality, but his message of hope. And his hope for this world is exceeded only by his hope of the next. His last ever speech ended with this:

“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some
difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because
I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like
anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place.
But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's
will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked
over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you.
But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the
promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about
anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory
of the coming of the Lord.”

And that is now my inspiration.