Bill Moyers on MLK and LBJ
Via Tennessee Guerilla Women. Thanks to the folks at TGW for posting this, because otherwise I never would have seen it. The TV and I, we’re no longer together.
Imagine what it would be like if all TV journalism were like this. The thing is, I remember when it kinda was. When the news meant 30 minutes with Walter Cronkite, and then PBS with some thoughtful in-depth analysis.
Nowadays we have Fox News and its clones. It’s not news; it’s a 24-hour game show with a drum track. Why does the news need a drum track, anyway? There’s one show my Dad watches that actually has sound effects, like blooper noises for people they don’t like (Hillary).
I remember when the movie Network came out. The acting was superb, the script memorable, but in my youthful naivete I found the plot too unbelievable for the whole thing to function effectively as satire. It was too silly, I thought; the news would never degenerate into something that ridiculous. Ha. Howard Beale would be an improvement over what we’ve got now.
6 Responses to “Bill Moyers on MLK and LBJ”
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therealUK says:
Very interesting clip.
And what Bill Moyers is saying here ” King marched, Johnson maneuvered…..morality and policy converged” is what Clinton was talking about as well. The example she used illustrated that very well.
If it was a “mistake” for her to say what she did it’s because whatever she says will be misinterpreted and re-spun by those with no(or a refusal to exercise) grasp of nuance, history, intelligence, because “bash Clinton” over-rides all else.
The reaction to Hillary tells us more about your media and cultural stupidity rather than her views – because there is rarely any decent analysis of her views anway !
January 21st, 2008 at 4:27 am EST -
therealUK says:
PS isn’t it MLK day today as well ?
I don’t suppose anyone’s up for a discussion on the double standards and hypocrisy around how sainted male heroes are so easily given a pass on any mistakes they ever make, or particularly on their disregard for women …. ?
(only joking people)
A related serious point though – we don’t hear so much about the Coretta Scott King, a genuine heroic activist in her own right. Maybe a few articles will pop up today in blogland.
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blondie says:
Why can’t there be more like Bill Moyers? Who would have imagined the advent of a 24-hour news channel would lead to anything worse than slight boredom? That propaganda is so profitable here is yet another of America’s shameful excesses.
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Elaine Vigneault says:
One quibble: The passage of the Civil Rights Act was not the end of racism in America. Bill Moyers said, “black were no longer second class citizens” yet they were and in many ways still are.
I think that’s really the most powerful criticism of Clinton’s comments – she spoke in a way that sounded like she was only talking about MLK as if he ONLY fought for the Civil Rights Act and no more, and that she was talking about civil rights as if the Act ended racism.
Moreover, she acted like MLK’s work was necessary for the Civil Rights Act, which may be true from a practical standpoint, but isn’t the kind of thing someone with a strong commitment to justice ought to say. It was the right thing to do, period. It’s a SHAME that there needed to be sit-ins and demonstrations and speeches, not something to be proud of about American history.
If she wants to talk about ending racism, she should talk about it.
Lastly, look at her website right now and read what she’s got to say about MLK today:
“let us remember his wisdom and extraordinary mission to eliminate barriers and injustices for all Americans.”Did he only care about injustices against Americans? Wasn’t he strongly anti-war, too, because of the injustices to non-Americans AND Americans?
And think about who else isn’t American besides Iraqis: the undocumented workers aren’t legal Americans. She talks about tightening up the borders which translates into keeping non-Americans in poverty.
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The Ghost of Violet says:
Clinton was comparing herself to LBJ. LBJ to Obama’s MLK. That was the gist of the comment. In other words, “granted, I’m not an inspirational black leader like Obama, but I am a canny politician who can work the system and get stuff done.”
Not complicated.
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The Ghost of Violet says:
Lastly, look at her website right now and read what she’s got to say about MLK today:
“let us remember his wisdom and extraordinary mission to eliminate barriers and injustices for all Americans.”Did he only care about injustices against Americans? Wasn’t he strongly anti-war, too, because of the injustices to non-Americans AND Americans?
It looks to me like Hillary’s being way too generous to MLK. He didn’t care about all Americans; he cared about all male Americans.
And yes, he cared about male people elsewhere in the world too.
