Yesterday, August 28, 2013, was the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream Speech". Many liberal/Democratic Facebook pages celebrated the speech, but on popular Republican pages such as Being Conservative, Mr. Conservative and Conservative Daily there was little to no mention of the speech. 
However, Positively Republican made a post encouraging people to watch the speech, but it didn't go over too well. It didn't get nearly the amount of "like's" as other posts on the page and in the comments many called Dr. King a "plagiarists", "a racist", along with a comment that said, "My family will never sit down and listen to King a communist backed negro… Stop being ashamed for being white!" (this comment sadly received many likes).This was odd since Republicans often like to claim MLK as their own. But as I have said before, "Republicans care about the political label MLK identified himself with - Liberals care about the rights MLK fought for." Yesterday showed this to be accurate.
Republicans get upset when they are called racist, and rightfully so for those who aren't (and many aren't). If Republicans are not racist, then what possible reason would they have to not want to celebrate this famous civil rights speech?
The only conclusion for ignoring this speech is that the GOP didn't want to anger the racists who identify as Republican. The GOP likes to claim moral superiority, but there is nothing moral about choosing not to celebrate equal rights for fear of losing the support of racists. To not speak up against racism seems to be just as immoral as racism itself.
Some may say it's unfair to judge people based on what they don't talk about and to some degree that is true, but we can understand what people really value based on what they support and celebrate. The fact Republicans didn't celebrate MLK's speech speaks volumes. Let's hope voters remember this next time Republican leaders try to claim moral superiority.
As a Republican, I honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. I particularly appreciate this quote, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." This is an ideal our society should strive for. Racism is wrong in all its forms.
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