King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, in 1968. There was sad irony in his violent death. King was an advocate of peaceful protest, non-violent opposition to injustice and inequality.
This year, Martin Luther King's birthday falls a week after the Tucson shooting where six people lost their lives and more were shot, including Representative Gabby Giffords. The attack cut through the country's conscience and sparked debate on many related issues. Last Wednesday's memorial event provided an intriguing snap shot of public responses from political figures.
Sarah Palin, vanquished as a Vice-President nominee and former Alaskan governor who served only half her term, timed her first public response for 6.49am on the morning of the memorial.
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Palin used the opportunity to rail against media that suggested she was complicit in the Tucson shooting with her political rhetoric that had been widely described as violent.
You can see her full speech here.
“Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn,” she said. “That is reprehensible."
The response was mixed.
“You're the female Jesus,” suggested one comment on her Facebook page - but the use of 'blood libel', especially, did not go down well in some quarters.
“Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for Passover,” explained the New York Times (not one of Palin's favoured newspapers anyway).
“The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-Semitism and violent pogroms against Jews.”
With a backdrop of a boisterous and supportive crowd (Arizona is not Obama's heartland) President Obama's speech later that evening was widely praised – from both sides of politics – for its tone and content calling for the tragedy to be transformational and unifying rather than a launch pad for divisive rhetoric.
You can watch the full speech here.
There were several tearjerker moments, none more than a eulogy to nine-year-old Christina Green, killed by the gunman, who would apparently remind her mother, “we are so blessed, we have the best life.”
“Our hearts are broken…” said Obama.
Old coyote Senator John McCain, beaten by Obama in 2008 and apparently bitter ever since, was inspired to praise the President and rally to his call for unity.
“He movingly mourned and honoured the victims of Saturday's senseless atrocity outside Tucson, comforted and inspired the country, and encouraged those of us who have the privilege of serving America,” wrote McCain in a Washington Post editorial.
“I disagree with many of the president's policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country's cause. I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals. And I reject accusations that Americans who vigorously oppose his policies are less intelligent, compassionate or just than those who support them.”
Quite how long the civility remains can be genuinely questioned but the Tucson tragedy and the different political responses to it might be indicative of just how the 2012 Presidential election campaign – including Palin's own future – will pan out.
It might prove a crossroads for several political careers.
