The Wrong King?

America today is the opposite of The Dream. Not simply the dream of racial equality, though progress has been made, but the dream of a nation of economic justice that is not the "main purveyor of violence in the world." Some areas even want a militaristic celebration of MKL day. He would have been appalled. Here is something I wrote a few years ago that still applies:

The Wrong King

It's the wrong King
the wrong president
an evil puppet swindled into power
over the voice of the people
but this is different --

The wrong King
not the Elvis impersonator
on the beach but
much worse --

The wrong King
That familiar face adorning January
eyes set wide
on the promised land of justice
seems an impostor
a pretender to the dream,
a one dimensional doppleganger.

Despite the preacher's and politician's
shallow acknowledgments and
the recognizable visage
this is not the King that called his country
"the number one purveyor of violence in the world"
or that called for a guaranteed annual income.
Not the King that talked of the "triple evils
of racism, economic exploitation, and war"
so popular but unmentionable in these times.
No, the face looks right but
the message is all wrong.
They're confusing Martin with Rodney
"Can't we all get along?"