KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, ETERNITY — Down on Planet Earth, in the country of The United States of America, mortal humans in the Democratic Party have staged a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives that has heretofore lasted nearly twenty-four full hours. The sit-in is part of a demonstration the House Dems are putting on in order to force Republicans to hold a vote on gun control measures.
In the rec room in one of the Kingdom of Heaven’s approximate 1.2 squadillion luxury hotels, the Force Ghost of Martin Luther King, Jr. watched the proceedings with delight. When Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declared the sit-in a “political stunt” and had the cameras in the House chamber turned off, Dr. King was quite bemused and started talking about all the times he had to stage a demonstration during the civil rights era.
“I am sure that Speaker Ryan would, if asked, say that when we marched from Selma to Montgomery it was a noble and courageous act,” King told the Force Ghost of Ben Franklin. Franklin and King struck up a friendship when King became one with the Force after his assassination in 1968. Franklin agreed with King. “And I am pretty sure he wouldn’t have the callous and indignant perspective to call our sit-ins at lunch counters in segregated parts of the south simple political stunts,” King told Franklin, “so why he’d characterize it this way is beyond my ability to understand.”
Franklin’s Force ghost told Dr. King’s Force ghost he was “absolutely right” and that “it’s every congress person’s duty” to stand on their principles and represent their constituents “as best they see fit.” Franklin said he and his fellow founders would have had “no rightly clue” about modern weapons, modern technology, or many modern issues facing Americans today.
“That’s why we gave them the amendment process in the first place,” Ben told Martin, “so that you could shape your society and your world according to what you needed. Oh, while we’re here, again, I have to apologize for like the millionth time to you about kicking the can on slavery when we wrote the Constitution. Thanks for trying to help clean up our mess, Marty.”
Dr. King chuckled.
“Oh, Benny, you know we’ve been through this,” King said, “and besides, if I look at this another way, I got to perform all these acts of noble civil disobedience and show the American people there is a peaceful non-violent way to demand equal treatment under the law.” King said that people like Ryan back in his day were the ones calling his demonstrations “political stunts” and he wondered if Ryan really wants to be “lumped in with racists like George Wallace.”
When the two were done watching the C-SPAN coverage of Periscope feeds from the House floor, King and Franklin’s Force ghosts took a stroll over to the moral universe’s arc, and checked its current curvature. Using special instruments, King confirmed it was still bending toward justice, though he said he could tell that Citizens United, voter ID laws, and so-called “religious freedom” laws were threatening to curve it back.
“You know congressmen and women are elected to protect the people and make sure this bad boy keeps bending toward justice,” King said, “but more and more it just seems like they’re first and only concern is re-election. The Republicans should know all about political stunts. They’ve been running one long, political stunt after another over Benghazi and the whole slew of scandals they say President Obama is guilty of. It’s laughable. They wish they had issues as vital and important to make a stunt about, but they only have their cold and cynical view of guns, poverty, and minority rights. Such a shame. The Party of Lincoln is no more.”
