38 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tenn. He was the epitome of the nonviolent portion of the civil rights movement in the late 60s, the leading spokesman for the Blacks in America, and a Christian who used theology to teach and inspire. Every year at this time, thousands of children listen to the "I Have A Dream" Speech. Some study it. Some memorize and recite it. We all learn about nonviolence. Yet, I can honestly say there has not been a uniting leader, black or otherwise, in the nonviolence movement since MLK Jr.

Think about it. Name one major spokesman preaching nonviolence in America since the 1960s. John Lennon? Maybe, but he was shot in New York City 25 years ago, before he really had the chance influence everyone without The Beatles. Anyone else? Jesse Jackson? Not really unifying, but he's at least in the ball park. Come on, any nonviolence leader. Nelson Mandela? Well yeah, but South Africa is a long way away from America. Come on, Anyone In America? Someone we all know. There are almost 300 million Americans. Who speaks for all of us who oppose inflicting war on countries far away in the name of national security? Who is uniting us with powerful speech and rhetoric instead of violence? Who carries a crowd so large that the administration has no choice but to listen?

The silence is deafening.

When we look at the world we've lived in since 9-11, it is a serious irony and hypocrisy every time we celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday. I'm all for the holiday, but what was this nation's reaction to two planes crashing into the World Trade Centers? War! War in Afghanistan! War in Iraq! War against Terror! Pretty much the exact opposite of what the nonviolent & civil rights movement trumpeted 40 years ago. If you ask the leaders of this land what they think about MLK Day, they will praise the man up and down while they turn our forces loose to occupy places on the globe most of us have never considered otherwise. A touch of hypocrisy going on, maybe?

Think back before we went to war in Iraq. Millions of people protested war. Millions worldwide! Don't go to war, said the millions! We protest with our accepted nonviolent ways! More people protested before this war than any preemptive strike in the history of man. What effect did they have? N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

The president said what he always says in the face of protest. He respects their right to protest, and he dismisses everything they actually protest. Millions of people say Don't Go To War. That's the Martin Luther King Way. That's the way we were taught in schools every January. Once again, we teach the children one thing while enacting the exact opposite.

Why does it fail? Why has this War in Iraq gone on for almost four years? What happened to the protesters? I see a few groups here and there with signs and tiny huddles, but it doesn't look like millions. It looks like a few crack pots and liberal loonies. The reason nonviolence fails is that it lacks a unifying leader.

It is immensely more effective to have ONE Man or Woman standing in front of a millions people than it does a million people hanging out and singing songs. One person speaking for millions. It's easier to listen to what a million people have to say if ONE person is saying it.

Without Ghandi, we don't embrace India's plight against the British. Without Jesus, we don't embrace the Jews' plight against the Romans. Without Martin Luther King, we don't embrace the Blacks' plight against the United States.

We have no uniting nonviolent leader for our current war. Patty Sheehan came the closest. She made a greater impact than millions of protesters as the President was forced to answer questions about her and admit he knew she existed. Initially, her only ammunition was her dead son. Some rallied to her. Others scorned her as a traitor. In the end, she will be a noble but minor figure in nonviolent movement. If only she was a good spokesperson. That's as close as the nonviolent movement has gotten to making a difference in the current war. Pretty sad.

So who's it going to be? Anyone? It's Martin Luther King's Birthday. This is what we celebrate every year about the man. We theoretically embrace his peaceful nonviolent message while violence and war occurs because of the choices our country made after ONE terrorist attack.

Until someone rises up to unite the people in a peaceful way, the nonviolent movement is dormant and practically dead. "I Have A Dream" that this will change some time this year. Rise up, Nonviolent Leader, or endure yet another year of death and destruction!

Chris Jungle appreciates the teachings of Malcolm X more than those of the nonviolent.