Martin Luther King's spirit is claimed by Fox TV's Glenn
Beck and Sarah Palin
Tea Party activists
among thousands attending rightwing host's 'Restoring Honour' rally in
front of the Lincoln Memorial
They came in tens of thousands to hear their leader speak in
the heart of Washington, thronging the mall in front of the Lincoln
Memorial, hanging on words dedicated to freedom and struggle.
That was the scene 47 years ago when Martin Luther
King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech that came to define
the triumphs of the civil rights era and the fight to overcome racial
prejudice.
It was clearly more than just a half a century that separated
the two events and two men; there was also a massive political chasm.
Beck, a controversial figure who has said Barack Obama is a racist who
hates white culture, has claimed his rally is non-political and that
the timing of it with King's anniversary was an accident. But few take
him at his word.
Beck's television show, radio programme and speaking tours are
constantly devoted to the idea that Obama and senior Democrats are
closet socialists, or even communists, dedicated to forcibly
transforming America into a leftwing society.