I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech – Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

The world is listening to the heartbeat of America—the land of the “free” and the home of the brave. Our vital signs are abnormal. The pressure to conform to the societal standards of social media and our dependence upon technology is increasing. Our pulse rate in our ability to see the humanity of others is weak. Our respiration rate is shallow as our nation has collectively held its breath at every act of injustice and the snatching away of innocent lives due to gun violence. The political temperature is rising among lawmakers who embrace extreme ideologies and seek to revert to Jim Crow-era policies. Our immune system, or our system of values, has been weakened by the presence of a virus called racism. America must regain its moral and spiritual health. We need a radical revolution of values.

Our values show up in what we spend our money on, what we defend, what we support, what we spend our time doing, how we vote, the decisions we make, and how we treat others. During the speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the phrase “radical revolution of values” to emphasize the urgent need to shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. Our diverse population is what makes this multiracial society great. The human element is always at the center of successful governments. However, hatred and division have created such a spiritual and moral callousness in the hearts of many people that it impedes the ability to remember the value of people when it comes to the fair implementation of law and order in this country.

When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ,
Speech – Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

When we are more concerned with banning books than banning assault weapons, we have lost sight of people. When we care more about protecting gun rights than preserving the lives of innocent children, we have lost sight of people. The legislators who pass laws solely to disenfranchise BIPOC have lost sight of the people. When Florida adopts a curriculum that teaches the “personal benefit” of slavery, we have lost sight of people. When a law enforcement officer can casually press his knee on the neck of another human being until they are lifeless, we have lost sight of people. When a black woman who experiences fatal internal bleeding after giving birth to her son receives no medical assistance, and medical personnel tells her family that she is not a priority, we have lost sight of people. When “things” or political agendas become more important than people, it will be impossible to defeat the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism.

Dr. King talked about a “thing-oriented” society in his Beyond Vietnam Speech. We can understand how we became a thing-oriented society by examining our manual for law and order, the United States Constitution. It is easy to focus on the surface issues of law and order. However, we must get to the root of the problem to solve the problem. The origin of how laws are created and applied is just as important. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land for Americans. Many of the authors of the Constitution were white males who enslaved Black people. It is ironic that the Constitution establishes the rights of the nation while denying the rights of Black people at the same time. In the Constitution, Black people were considered property, not people. Black people were already labeled as “things” during the forming of our more perfect union. Because the Constitution often excluded certain sectors of society, it might explain why some legislators are emboldened to continue creating exclusionary laws. If a person’s mindset does not value the humanity of others, it will be reflected in everything they do, including the creation and enforcement of laws. The exclusionary mindset can only exist when we lose sight of people.

One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ,
Speech – Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

Even though calling out injustice is necessary, it is not sufficient. We must dismantle the systems and structures that allow them to exist. We must get to the root of the problem and build a new foundation based on the human framework. Eliminating the systems and structures that promote discriminatory practices and unfair application of laws will allow us to rebuild them equitably. A human-centered approach should always guide the development of laws. The human element should be a litmus test for all bills presented to Congress. It is almost like a Bill of Human Rights Checklist. Who are the laws affecting? Does it benefit all people? Does it prioritize one group of society over another? Will these laws bring harm to marginalized groups? Laws that discriminate against or restrict certain ethnicities or groups should never become law. Democracy must be at the forefront of creating laws. Otherwise, disruption is inevitable.

If we want to change the system of law and order in America, we must restructure the entire system. If we want to change policing, we must reframe the entire system from the origins of why they were created back to a system based on the building up of communities. The scope of what police can and cannot do must be clearly defined. It is also necessary to restructure the training process and how officers are selected to prevent unruly elements from joining the police force. We need to see a shift from a militaristic approach to a community-building system of policing. Our neighborhoods are not battlegrounds. In order to integrate social services with policing, there needs to be a clear boundary between the two. It will take a collaborative effort to effect change in our community. I am a proponent of reforming the police instead of defunding them. We need our law enforcement officers. However, change is not free. It is unrealistic for us to expect change to come free of charge. It will take money and resources to restructure an entire system of policing that has been in place since 1636.

A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ,
Speech – Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

When we encounter unjust laws, we should not remain silent. It is impossible to uncover an injustice unless someone breaks the silence. We should be a voice for the voiceless, but we should also have a plan to address the issues with a coalition of advocates from the community and local organizations. There is no law and order if inequity exists. A fair system of government requires equal treatment for all. The only way to achieve equitable law and order is to see each other as human beings. If our loyalties are to become ecumenical and not sectional, we must see that every person has value. How we view each other is how we will respond to each other. We will never see a revolution of values if our views are skewed by an imposter Christianity devoted to a specific race of people. There is only one race, and that is the human race. Toward the end of his Beyond Vietnam Speech, Dr. King called for a worldwide fellowship and encouraged us to embrace a love for humankind that transcends class, race, and nation. Once we do this, we will see a radical revolution of values throughout the world.