Choosing between chaos and community

Continuing Dr. King’s legacy “This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos and community.”  Those are the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., {NAME}, taken from the last book he ever wrote, Where Do We Go From Here.  Dr. King called it the “Beloved Community,” one that challenged the triple evils of poverty, racism, and militarism – three interlocking cycles of self-perpetuating violence.  The Beloved Community of Dr. King’s vision would eliminate poverty, homelessness, and hunger. It would be free from racism, apartheid, antisemitism, sexism, homophobia and more.  The Beloved Community would stand against war, imperialism, terrorism, and all manner of violence whether perpetuated by a lone individual or by the state.  The Beloved Community would be “a true revolution of values,” he said.  This is the vision I had in mind as a graduate student when, 23 years ago today, I was invited to speak at MIT’s annual breakfast honoring Dr. King. [An animated gif of a video clip of Dr. Chris Jones speaking at an MIT MLK-Day celebration in 2001. Clicking the image opens Twitter where the clip can be played in full.]( [Click here]( to watch the clip. We started Vortex to bring that vision to Arkansas – to build a community where everyone has a seat at the table. A community where love and justice prevail.  As I said to those gathered to honor Dr. King 23 years ago today, “love” does not mean sentimental affection – rather, the binding power that holds the universe together.  In our Beloved Community, we would know that we are tied together in a single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network mutuality.  That’s the vision Vortex is working for. In pursuit of that vision, we will (again in King’s words) “accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”  Dr. King would have been 95 years old today. Though he was tragically taken from us by an assassin’s bullet 56 years ago, his lessons and his legacy still lead us today.  Our work is not done, and we must remain dissatisfied until it is.  Thank you,  Dr. Chris Jones [Support Vortex PAC >>](      Vortex PAC is a new grassroots movement to transform Arkansas politics away from the far-right. We are recruiting, training, and supporting Democratic candidates to flip all four of Arkansas’ U.S. congressional districts and help win back the House majority in 2024. [DONATE >>](   Paid for by Vortex PAC  ©2024 Vortex PAC, all rights reserved  Our mailing address is: Vortex PAC PO Box 1141 Springdale, AR 72765 We're sad to see you go, but if you believe you received this email in error, or you no longer wish to receive our emails you can unsubscribe using the link below: [Click here to unsubscribe.]( Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Vortex PAC, please [click here](.