Famous People and Events as Social Catalysts - Essay Example

1Martyrs I. Argument: From Jesus Christ to Martin Luther to Malcolm X, today's world is built upon the martyrdom of those brazen enough to want to change it. Che Guevara and Martin Luther King, Jr. All of these men have worked as catalysts in terms of their own desire, whether it be religion, social change, and racial equality. While these men had a large impact during their lifetimes, it is now interesting to examine the lasting effects that they are holding on people and society as a whole. It is also interesting to see how certain events, such as the Kent State Massacre, an event that worked as a social catalyst, resulting in the deaths of four students, deaths that have been credited to alter the way the country viewed the Vietnam War and how this tragedy, like the men mentioned above, continues to affect the way people think and, as a result, act. II. Evidence: A. Kent State Massacre i. May 4, 1970 was a typical day for many Kent State students getting ready for a revolution. With the Vietnam War going poorly overseas and many students waiting for morbid news of family and friends currently serving, one can understand the social climate and, perhaps, why the national guard was called to settle the 1000 unarmed student protesters on this Ohio campus of 21,000 (Payne). The students were not especially concerned for their safety. It was, after all, a nonviolent protest and "there was no logical reason [for the national guardsmen] to aim or shoot"(Canfora). It is easy to assume that many students were there simply as an excuse to stay out of class, while others were voyeurs, watching the events unfold, warming benches. It is most interesting to hear how the actions of the United States National Guard appeared to eye witnesses. Alan Canfora, one of the nine injured survivors watched the events play out up close, gives a chilling recount of what occurred after he and his fellow classmates "assumed [the guardsmen] were marching in a retreat back over the hill to the KSU Commons" and that they "were quite shocked when, at the hilltop, perhaps a dozen members of Troop G simultaneously stopped, turned and aimed their rifles." For thirteen seconds the guards fired a total of sixty-one shots into an unarmed crowd as far as almost 400 feet, killing four students and injuring nine others (Payne). ii. But what are we left with today, in the stale exhaust of the Kent State Massacre Do we know why the guardsmen shot, seemingly without reason Was there a sniper Perhaps a student in the crowd concealing a gun These are questions that we do not know the answers to. We must consider how this tragedy affects our society without those answers. Compared to the war in Iraq and the many protests that happen on campuses around the country, it is easy to feel secure next to our dormitories and behind the shield of our constitutional rights, but one must not forget the events of May 4, 1970, and how the security blanket can be so quickly torn away. It is events like this that cause people to rise up and take a stand. The rioters of this time "were called cancer...agitators with disregard for the tenets fo humanity, who would poison [the] water with LSD and set off bombs in [the] post offices and facilitate chaos. Long-hairs. Hippies. Revolutionaries. They brought this on" (Giffels, Klosterman, & Weinreb). It was events like these that make mere people into revolutionaries. Events like these that convince people to keep protesting. To keep asking questions. To keep fighting for more. B. Che Guevara, Malcolm X, & Martin Luther King, Jr. i. Revolutionaries like Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were consistently reminded of the dangers of their chosen profession. Their chosen activism. Like the students protesting the war with guns pointed at them, these men risked their lives in their every day endeavors. Ernesto Guevara, more commonly known as "Che," is today considered a liberal icon, especially in Latin America where they have "made him a symbol of their struggles against U.S. interference and poverty and corruption in their own nations" (World). Recently popularized by the film The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara, a doctor from Argentina, believed highly in Socialism as the only effective means to maintain equality for his fellow people (Omar). Guevara is known for his selfless attitude and willingness to help the people. He was committed to giving his medical services to those that needed it. Today his legacy lives on, especially his medical generosity, in Cuba. Cuba, home to one of the finest healthcare systems in the entire world, has long been compassionate and giving in serving the world with doctors and nurses. In fact, Cuba offered up 1,200 doctors to assist the United States in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, but was denied (Omar). Like Che Guevara, who continued to give and fight for change until his execution, a day after being captured, on October 9, 1967, Cubans today continue to give, lending medical assistance in some 57 different countries (Omar). It is legend that at his death, Guevara said to his executioner, "I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man" (Omar). It is bravery like this that makes people like Che Guevara even more powerful in their death. ii. Malcolm X, like Guevara spent much of his life fighting super powers like the United States, although he called this country home. One of the pinnacle if not most effective men of the black movement, he is now honored and offered up as a hero of his time, and well-known for saying things like, "We have a common enemy...the white man...I know some of you all think that some of them aren't enemies. Time will tell" (Stanton). Malcolm X believed in the ability to be something more and he encouraged others to fight against those that were holding them down. It has been documented that Malcolm X did not consider himself to be racist (Spellman) and after a life- altering pilgrimage to Mecca he began actively preaching to all races (Biography). He planted hope in those that supported him and caused fear in those that opposed. Malcolm X was murdered on February 21, 1965 in New York City at a public speaking engagement. He was shot fifteen times while on stage by three men that were members of the Nation of Islam, the mosque that he is credited with increasing the membership of, from 500 to 30,000 people, in just over ten years (Biography). At Malcolm X's funeral, words were said that promised that this man would never be forgotten, that his legacy would live on. His eulogy ended with these words of gracious hope, "Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man - but a seed - which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us. And we will know him then for what he was and is - a Prince - our own black shining Prince! - who didn't hesitate to die, because he loved us so" (Malcolm). iii. Civil rights proponent, Martin Luther King, Jr. is yet another man not easily forgotten in his death. In fact, the day before his death, he gave his memorable speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" in Memphis, Tennessee. King closed the speech by saying "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 so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the coming of the Lord" (King). It seems as though revolutionaries know very well that their actions will most probably result in their own death. King inspired people to make a change by boycotting certain products made by companies that did not support equal rights, he was consistently non-violent in his tactics and committed to his cause (AAA). Slight suggestions such as these had a ripple affect that inspired the thousands that came to hear him speak. King was killed with a shot to the jaw on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 (Wikipedia). Even though King preached nonviolence, his death caused riots in over sixty cities throughout the country (Wikipedia). III. Implications: When one looks closely at events such as the Kent State Massacre and the lives of people like Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., one can find a commonality leading one to believe that in death others are helped to live. A. If it wasn't for the death of four students at a small college campus, perhaps we would be more likely to take our rights as free students and citizens for granted. Strangely, in dealing with another's pain, another's grief, it seems that people recognize the necessity for a common good. People take a little more time to see the right and wrong in things after blood has been shed. B. Blacks and minorities now have equal rights in the work place and continue to gain more equality, but the quest for true equality is not over. Even in death these men will continue to preach there plea and will continue to be looked to as a source of inspiration. C. The lives of the aforementioned men, will proceed on in legend, making them ever more powerful. Now as martyrs their goals are ever more attainable. It is people that give their lives for a common good, for a higher goal, that makes living for others more worth while. It helps answer the unanswerable. References: 1. Biography of Malcolm X. www.africawithin.com. 2001. http://www.africawithin.com/malcolmx/malcolm_bio.htm. 28 November 2005. 2. Canfora, Alan. Alan Canfora, Kent State University, May 4, 1970. alancanfora.com. 2005. http://alancanfora.com/9.html. 28 November 2005. 3. Giffels, David, Chuck Klosterman, & Michael Weinreb. "Great Stories: Of Loss and Learning May 4 Answers Lost in the Chaos Time Hasn't Told Us Why Tragedy Occurred at Kent in 1970." Akron Beacon Journal. 30 April 200. http://www.knightridder.com/papers/greatstories/akron/kent1.html 28 November 2005. 4. King Jr., Martin Luther. "I Have Been to the Mountaintop." Speech given in Memphis, Tennessee on 3 April 1968. http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/I%27ve_been_to_the_mountaintop.28 November 2005. 5. Malcolm X's Eulogy. Eulogy delivered by Ossie Davis at Faith Temple Church of God. 27 February 1965. http://www.africawithin.com/malcolmx/eulogy.htm. 28 November 2005. 6. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wikipedia. 28 November 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr#Assassination. 28 November 2005. 7. Omar, Kaleem. "Inspired by the Selfless Philosophy of Che Guevera, Cuban Doctor Have Become Doctors of the World." The International News :Internet Edition. 24 November 2005. http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/nov2005-daily/24-11-2005/world/w3.htm. 28 November 2005. 8. Payne, Gregory Ph.D. MAYDAY: Kent State. MAY4ARCHIVE.ORG. 1997. http://www.may4archive.org/era.shtml. 28 November 2005. 9. Spellman, A.B. Interview with Malcolm X. Monthly Review. Volume 16, number 1. May 1964. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/388.html. 28 November 2005. 10. Stanton, Junious. "Honoring Malcolm X." Global Black News. 13 May 2003. http://www.globalblacknews.com/Stanton3.html. 28 November 2005. 11. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. The African American Almanac. Gale 1997. www.seattletime.com. 2005. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/king/biography.html. 28 Novemeber 2005. 12. World Combined Sources. "Che Guevara Remains a Hero to Cubans." People's Weekly World Newspaper. 30 September 2004. http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/5880/1/234. 28 November 2005. Read More