Never does the logic of the old adage “think before you speak” reverberate louder than in times of tragedy.
Tuesday, Coretta Scott King was permanently laid to rest.
Everyone from catholic priests to former presidents to popular gospel and R&B artists gathered at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga. to pay their last respects to the late Mrs. King.
But in the immediate aftermath of King’s death, it seems as if many a Rattler have turned a deaf ear to the resonating sound of conventional wisdom.
If we’ve heard it once, than we’ve heard it too many times.
“Why are we focusing so much time on the death of Corretta Scott King?”
“All she did was marry Martin Luther King? She didn’t do anything.”
So loud, so wrong.
Innocent ignorance morphs into imbecility the second we voice it, even worse when we boldly proclaim it.
Another adage says, “’tis better to remain silent and be perceived an idiot than to speak and remove all doubt.”
The first adage exists for a reason. It’s supposed to encourage calculated thought and impede random outbursts of idiocy.
If you can’t understand why everyone is making such a big deal over the passing of the late Mrs. King, take the time to read up on her life as a civil rights activist long after her husband passed.
Every instance of ignorance is an opportunity for us to educate, ourselves and each other.
Seize the moment.
Nick Birdsong for the editorial board.