I, for one, find the kind of hedging, waffling, side-stepping, equivocating, prevaricating, stalling and evading we have witnessed in the last few days of the Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings plainly poisonous. And may I remind all of us, that psychologists consider omissions, restructuring, denial, minimization or exaggeration a form of lying.They do speak to the character of those engaging in these actions, or shall we say the absence thereof, but they bring about malaise nonetheless, given what is at stake and given that the absence of character will not matter one bit when it comes to the votes.

Let me post an antidote – words that are unequivocal, honest, no holds barred, emphatic and firm. Words that were true then and are now.

Photographs are of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Yerba Buena Gardens, right in the center of San Francisco. The selection of his words is printed on glass plaques and placed behind a gorgeous waterfall.

I will report more on the gardens tomorrow, not wanting to dilute the power of the words displayed above today. But here is the blurb about the memorial from the website:

The vision of peace and international unity is enshrined in this memorial featuring a majestic waterfall and shimmering glass panels inscribed with Dr. King’s inspiring words, poems and images from the civil rights movement. Artist and sculptor, Houston Conwill, created this memorial in collaboration with poet Estella Conwill Majoza and architect Joseph De Pace.