Why?

Today is Martin Luther King's birthday, and in honor of that fact, President Obama, or rather, the person who handles his twitter account, has asked the twitterers to express why they think community service is important. I think community service is an integral part of civic republicanism (in a nutshell, being a citizen of a democracy of elected officials), for a wide multitude of reasons, the most important being to engage in the world and make an impact instead of being part of the problem. This can be as simple as taking the lead in your own home to organize your household's recycling. But it can be as robust as contacting your local officials, and getting the ball rolling on more robust recycling practices if needed. Anyways, that is not what I want to write about here, today, as important as it is to inspire. I write today to ask Why? To shout to the heavens with a great wail as for all to hear the sound of pain that comes from deep down in my soul. Why, America? Why did you savagely murder your beautiful, peaceful, benevolent son? Not a fighter, but a true lover of mankind, and a dove who's outstretched hand was violently broken with the dark rage of white power. This was someone who spoke from deep within the American subconscious to cast out her demons with light and love, and he was silenced. Why? Why do some Americans fear change so extremely? Why is the messenger of that change demonized, when in fact, that is the very creature they wish to eradicate from the American matrix of identity? Now, I can't speak so much on the matter, because frankly, I am no MLK scholar. But I know that he was a peaceful loving man, a pillar of his community, a great source of light, and for all those reasons, I wonder why? With deep anguish, this question resonates in my mind.