America's Democracy and Freedom

"Now, to answer the question, 'Where do we go from here?' which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now. "

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The above quote is from Dr. King's last, and most radical, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presidential address. Still, the question raised then is still just as prevalent today. Not in the sense that African American citizens are still under the dark cloud of discrimination, oppression, or conspired semantics to make those of dark skin seem ugly and degraded. No that's not quite where we are today. Or is it?

In the book of Isaiah from the Holy Bible, King James' version, (chapter 21 verses 11 and 12) the prophet speaks of the oracle concerning Dumah which was about Edom south of Moab and Seir another name for the same area where the descendants of Esau settled. Here Edam is pictured as hiding in Seir wondering whether it is safe to come out. The prophet Isaiah is called a watchman and warns them of the impending judgment unless they return (repent) change. At a glance, the watchman's statement seems a bit confusing at first. The watchman said, "The morning cometh, and also the night: if you will inquire, inquire [you]: return, come."

We see here that the watchmen in the scheme of oriental things are important people; for they watched over communities, cities and even nations. While communities, cities or nations slept; the watchmen watched. They watched for any sign of threat potential invasions or any impending danger against those under their watch. These individual communities depended on the alertness of their watchmen. For the watchmen had to be men of unimpeachable courage, clear-minded and above all honest. It's imperative that they are responsible for carrying out there assigned task; maintaining the safety of the respective community, city or nation under their watch. When the watchman lacks courage or his mind is preoccupied, or he's untrustworthy; those under his watch are not properly protected and are susceptible to all sorts of attacks.

The watchman's statement the morning cometh and also the night has a dual meaning in that; morning here denotes a time to change from one's ways, repent or change your mindset and the night denotes a time of struggle, destruction or judgment.

Nevertheless, his statement is confusing. It appears from the text that though'morning had come the watchman could not see; even though he could feel the warmth of the morning sun. His vision was impaired. He faced new blindingness that seemed like the hours of darkness.

You see, the cool of the morning air had mixed with the warmth of the morning sun and that created an atmospheric condition, "fog," and the fog was more blinding than the night. So, while they had managed to come through the night, they were faced with a new kind of darkness that was more treacherous than the night. For in the night they had some vision in that they were able to see the jagged edges of the mountain range, and they could see the soft silhouette of the tall trees along the top of mountain standing like gory monsters in the dark. But rather than take a chance on navigating the treacherous mountain in the dark, they decided to camp at the foot of the mountain and waited for the morning to come before continuing their journey. They set out their watchmen to keep watch, as the rest of them bedded down for the night.

The next day one by one the travelers awaken and found themselves in an unusual predicament. They could feel the warmth of the morning sun, but they still could not see. So, they called out to their watchmen. "Watchman, tell us, what is this? What time is this? What time in God system of time is this? What will our plight be? For we don't know, we can't see. Is it safe?"

The watchman said, "The morning comes and also the night."

They had come through the night, and even though the nighttime had passed, they still couldn't see. So, they called out to the men given the charge to keep them safe during the night—the watchman. They wanted to know what their plight would be; what condition were they in that they could not see their way. "Tell us, watchman, what do we do?"