Sherman Alexie in Everett for MLK March

[Jeff Higgins]

I thought I would share this. This guy really seems to "get it". I like what he has to say. Sorry, this is kind of long...



EVERETT - The best way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. is to honor the United States, American Indian author Sherman Alexie said Wednesday to more than 600 people.

"Don't be afraid to be patriotic," Alexie said. "We have been amazingly successful in holding together this random assortment of people. It's bizarre, but we do it. Don't forget, (Martin Luther King) had a dream, and we've pushed it so far."


Dan Bates / The Herald

Keynote speaker Sherman Alexie, a member of the Spokane Indian Tribe, told the Everett crowd, "Don't you realize that it's American liberalism that gives the world hope?"
Alexie made his speech at the conclusion of a march that began at the Snohomish County Plaza, wove through downtown Everett and ended at the Everett Events Center on Hewitt Avenue.

The march and the speech were part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration presented by the city of Everett, Snohomish County and the YMCA of Snohomish County.

About 400 people, mostly students and teachers from local schools, participated in the march. A group of about 40 students and parents wore black T-shirts with the message "So Sorry" in white letters.

"We're apologizing for the legacy of the slave trade, particularly where Christians were involved," said Shari Lienau, 44, of Camano Island.

The shirts are from the Lifeline Expedition, a worldwide network of evangelical Christians, she said.

Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Eric Lucas led the march.

Alexie's speech was equally critical of liberal and conservative agendas.

"You (liberals) have turned away from all the things you used to say that made me believe - that gave me hope," he said.

Alexie, who lives in Seattle, said he was born "invisible" into a part of the United States few people are aware of. Growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, his family was "poor - reservation poor, which is an entirely different kind of poor," he said.


Dan Bates / The Herald

Martin Luther King Jr. Day marchers head north on Colby Avenue in Everett Thursday before ceremonies at the Everett Events Center.
But books and movies, the culture of the white world, he said, offered another life.

"Don't you realize that it's American liberalism that gives the world hope?" he said. "They're not thinking, 'I want to go to America to have breakfast with Jerry Falwell.' They're thinking, 'I want to go to a place where I'm free!'"

In recent years, Alexie said, some Americans have forgotten how much their country has changed.

"You are filled with such hatred, such rage and such an epic inability to listen or think 'I may be wrong,'" he said.

Alexie encouraged the crowd to fight for things for which they may receive no reward.

"Notice the beauty around you," he said, adding that having an African-American secretary of state and a Latino attorney general are examples of progress and beauty, even if people don't agree with their politics.

"I love my country like I love my family and friends - in spite of all its flaws, and sometimes because of them," he said.

Events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day often turn into "cheerleading sessions," Alexie said after his speech.

Too many times, politically correct celebrations of King's life and message - particularly the ones planned by liberals or held at colleges - try to celebrate the man without mentioning his Christianity, he said.

That's why Alexie directly addressed King's faith in his speech Wednesday. Religion is another thing that works to divide people, he said, but shouldn't.

"I sort of think of God as a Republican and Jesus as a Democrat," he said after his speech.

And the Holy Ghost?

"I'd have to think about that," he said, laughing.

Alexie said he agreed to speak in Snohomish County because leaders here are stepping forward on issues of race. The area doesn't have a history of tolerance, he said.

"I'm happy to be here, and I hope it keeps going," he said