The problem? Almost none of this is true, as TPUSA president Charlie Kirk has now bravely begun to publicly point out, much to the chagrin of many observers, including many fellow conservatives.
As Kirk pointed out in a recent series of tweets, King’s dream ended up turning into a nightmare, especially for black Americans.
“The deification of MLK and his proto-DEI ideology marks the exact moment that the progress of black America goes sideways. Their cities disintegrate. Their families collapse. Educational progress stagnates.” Kirk wrote in a post on X.
“They become enormously dependent on government support. Crime explodes and 25% of black men are incarcerated by age 25. You will know the tree by its fruit.” he continued.
Needless to say, many people weren’t happy with Kirk for his decision to try and take on one of the most sacred golden calves in the modern American imagination.
This included not just liberals, but several high-profile conservative personalities who wrote detailed critiques of Kirk’s daring new move.
Chris Rufo, one of the most influential activists on the New Right, politely dissented from what he believed was a serious tactical mistake on Kirk’s part.
“To attack MLK is short-sighted. We measure our great statesmen by their accomplishments, within the tragic conditions of history and human nature. Whether it's the Founders or Dr. King, a certain degree of idealization is necessary for creating a coherent national narrative.” Rufo wrote in a post on X.
“The correct reaction to the Left's noxious ideology is not to say "we need racialism for the Right." It's to say, we recognize the realities of race, but aspire to a higher standard—the full expression of natural rights—that subordinates racial faction to the best of our nation.” he continued.
Sohrab Ahmari, the editor of Compact magazine, agreed with Rufo’s take but in a significantly more aggressive fashion. Ahamri accused Kirk and those like him, eager to tell of truth about King’s true beliefs and behaviors as being a “mirror image of progressive efforts to discredit national icons and narratives.”
The essence of both of their critiques is the argument that while, yes all the very serious and damning accusations made against King by Kirk and others are true, however for the sake of the modern civic religion of the U.S. and the noble lie of Martin Luther King Jr. that undergirds much of it the American people must forever remain ignorant of it, lest the social compact be fatally undermined.
While it’s not at all surprising that such sentiments are expressed by men like Rufo and Ahmari, who have obviously been significantly influenced by the Straussian tradition of political thinking, it’s simply an untenable position to hold in 2023.
Part of the problem for both Rufo and Ahmari is that King wasn’t just a communist, a plagiarist and a philanderer he was also allegedly,, according go a shocking secret audio tape recorded by the Federal Bureau of investigation, an accessory to rape.
According to a summary, the audio tape recorded King ‘laughing’ and ‘offering advice’ while a fellow minister forcibly raped a woman in a hotel room.
The tapes themselves have remained under seal for decades but are set to be released to the public as early as 2027.
While in years past, in the pre-internet age, it may have been possible to effectively prevent inconvenient information like this from reaching the public this is simply no longer the case, as the liberal establishment is finding out now as it attempts, futilely, to prevent Americans from accessing those thoughts it has now decided are forbidden.
It simply is no longer possible to maintain such a regime, in the internet age people will find out the truth sooner or later, whether you want them to or not.
The age of the noble lie is over.
The actual solution to the problem then is a simple one: tell the truth. The American people are adults and smarter and more sophisticated than they are given credit for, particularly by members of the media.
Believe it or not, they had handle it.
And, contrary to the apocalyptic panic mongering promoted by some, this need not lead to the resurrection of Jim Crow laws or the rise of an obnoxious new wave of white nationalist ‘identitarianism’ (both terrible and immoral ideas which the American people are far too smart to fall for).
If daring to tell the truth about King and the evil he is accused of perpetrating means the old pieties have to perish then so be it, they probably weren’t worth having anyway.
The only common life worth having is one based on a solid foundation of truth, which after all,, as someone once said, is the only thing that can really set you free.
