Peter Goldman a journalist was having a conversation with Malcolm X, where Malcolm jokingly wanted to know what he believed about civil rights. Peter replied that he believed in what Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to achieve, a beloved society where colour won’t be a disability. “You are dreaming, I haven’t got time for dreams,” Malcolm replied.
On a separate interview with a journalist who had written that Martin Luther King Jr. approach was too optimistic, Malcolm questioned the path his fellow civil rights activist was on. The Journalist however expressed he believed in the goals that Martin had set out to achieve. With a lot of wit Malcolm replied, “If you don’t believe he is walking on the right road, I’m sure you don’t believe he is going to get to the right place.”
Can optimism lead to depression or mental issues when our beliefs or expectations are not met? Is constantly thinking of what ought to be rather than seeing things at their current state a toxic trait? Albert Einstein was termed a trouble maker in class for having ideas about the mysteries of the universe. He shouldn’t have been thinking about how light energy from the sun reaches the earth, he should have been seriously learning his calculus and algebra. Throughout his life he was castigated for his unconventional thinking.
Martin Luther King Jr. reached a point of frustration and sadness. Close members of his team noticed that he had not laughed in a while and was visibly losing his pep. They threw him a surprise birthday party which was his last before he was assassinated. It was noticeable that Martin had a tic in his speech and this was unusual for such an eloquent and charismatic figure. One day Harry Belafonte a friend noticed that the tic was gone and asked what had changed and the reply was that he had made peace with death. He preached love, empathy and a belief of a better future but the tough reality was his life was at risk because of his work. Was his optimism the cause of his sadness?
Another familiar example of an unconventional thinker who questioned how the society at the time lived is our Lord Jesus Christ. This brought resistance from religious fundamentalist like the Pharisees and people who thought he was a menace to society. He taught us compassion and empathy but they resisted it as healing on the Sabbath which was unlawful. He showed love to those in the society who were considered outcasts and neglected. He interacted with the Samaritan woman as symbolism that the gospel is for all but also to show love for known enemies of the Jews. They brought a woman accused of adultery to him but he was just and the lady found hope of a new life through Jesus not condemnation. The crowd expected him to say that they stone her as the law instructed, but they had not considered they were also sinners and even made the omission of not bringing the person she committed the sin with.
Jesus went up Mount Olive as usual to pray. He knew what was expected of him and this burden brought him anguish. He prayed to God the father and He was strengthened. Martin Luther had reached a point just like Jesus of realising that the will of God for his life would bring suffering or death. Sometimes our lives, optimism and attitudes towards life do not mirror what the reality at the moment is. This situation most likely brings psychological issues that bother us as our minds try to make sense of what we are feeling despite our constant effort to be positive.
Malcolm X eventually changed his mind on some of his ideologies concerning integration of race; I’m guessing he found time to dream. Albert Einstein was constantly criticised as not being a scientist just a crazy person obsessed with equations but his work right now is the basis of a lot of discoveries in the physics world. Yes optimism sometimes brings frustration because we do not control what happens in this world but I hope when the frustrations come we seek God just like Jesus did and He was strengthened. I hope that we will have friends like Martin Luther King Jr. who encourage us and try to cheer us up when we isolate ourselves or fail in what we had set out to do. Let’s be stubborn as Einstein who was ridiculed, discouraged by his family but had the intellectual courage to shake up the scientific world. The future is not certain; we can’t tell how long we’ll live, if our efforts will bear fruit or when they’ll bear fruit. What is in our control is how we live. ‘It isn’t so important how long you live, the important thing is how well you live,’ Martin Luther King Jr.
Comments