Sollilaquists of Sound - Bulletproof

Martin Luther King Jr. is a legend. In some sense he reminds of a seasoned boxer who absolutely refuses to loose. Before a winning fighter can even entertain entering a ring he must diligently prepare a strategic plan to take down his opponent. Meanwhile he trains beyond what he thought his body was capable of doing. Pushing himself to this limit creates a certain type of mental toughness, one that can't be shook. Then, just when he feels as if there no way he will ever be defeated, he enters the ring. As he looks into his opponents blood thirsty eyes an overwhelming sense of fear enters the body and that uncrackable toughness shows a hairline fracture. Unless you're the best.

At one point in time Mike Tyson was truly unbeatable. Here is an excellent quote from him:

While I'm in the dressing room five minutes before I come out, I'm breaking my gloves down, I'm pushing the leather to the back of my gloves, so my knuckle could pierce through. When I come out I have supreme confidence. I'm scared to death. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of everything. I'm afraid of losing. I'm afraid of being humiliated. But I'm confident. The closer I get to the ring the more confident I get. The closer, the more confident. The closer the more confident I get. All during training I've been afraid of this man. I think this man might be capable of beating me. I've dreamed of him beating me. For that I've always stayed afraid of him. The closer I get to the ring the more confident I get. Once I'm in the ring I'm a god. No one could beat me. I walk around the ring but I never take my eyes off my opponent. Even if he's ready and pumping, and can't wait to get his hands on me. I keep my eyes on him. I keep my eyes on him. Then once I see a chink in his armor, boom, one of his eyes may move, and then I know I have him. Then once he comes to the center of the ring he looks at me with his piercing look as if he's not afraid. But he already made that mistake when he looked down for that one tenth of a second. I know I have him. He'll fight hard for the first two or three rounds, but I know I broke his spirit. During the fight I'm supremely confident. I'm making him miss and I'm countering. I'm hitting him to the body; I'm punching him real hard. And I'm punching him, and I'm punching him, and I know he's gonna take my punches. He goes down, he's out. I m victorious. Mike Tyson, greatest fighter that ever lived.

In no way am I saying Mike Tyson is like MLK or vice versa. But I just have to think that a very similar thought process went through Dr. Kings head prior to taking on racism. When it came down to the wire he stood in the face of adversity without ever showing a sliver of fear and maintaining an unremarkable sense of confidence. I respect what he did more so than I can put in words. I know I've posted this song before, but in respect to one of the greatest of all time I'll post it again. I'm thinking of you MLK and everything you did. The world needs more leaders like this man.

Lyrics Bulletproof - Solilaquists of Sound

I was born King
Pushing hip in 29
Son of a preacher mind with the same name as he
Until at 35 he legally dropped it and changed it to honor a German protestant
I used to sing choir
Went to college at 15, skipping 9th and 12th grade with big dreams of sociology and systematic theology
I'ma be like pops, a pastor
After 1954 I'm just that...
25 in Alabama facing lack
Of unity in tune with the omnipresent, I'm used to being "Jim Crow-ed" though
Relate to that!
Where I stay there's racial segregation
The measurement of a man is 98cents
Freedom and a home to write is $28.12 but I'm a long way from Walden I admit

What's dead to you (what's dead to you) is pushing through

I played the game of victim too long to be a silent opposition to authority's position
Listen!
One day, while beginning a book I had a vision that would wake me in the middle of typing
Fast forward to the signing of that very book
Harlem 58' take a closer look
I was stabbed in the chest with an envelope opener
Black woman from Georgia named Izola. Now,
Rewind back to that typing process
My vision of a promise-land in spite of death...
People gathered speaking rather bold saying I was out of touch...
"Bus boycotts are old"
Civil rights' not a fight for the now
Even now in the present I'm learning how
Maybe I should just rest, slitter in my chest
Pushing the envelope is not for the best

What's dead to you (what's dead to you) is pushing through

No!
I'ma wake from this...
Escape death while I gotta boat to fix
Reapers knocking, but you cant stop when a will to make a way is waiting over the mountain
So I wrote more books, led a people to action
Marched on Washington with peace and passion
Left the movement of the south in the north with Jackson
Opposed war in Vietnam back to back then
Won't sleep till the dream is alive
Hold more rallies, get the poor organized. I,
Believe in a date with death but if I gotta go now no fear is left
Left away from stress
39 years to a King ain't a thing what's left
An absolute? Nah.
Another living being wants to see if I'm bulletproof

What's dead to you (what's dead to you) is pushing through


What's dead to you (what's dead to you) is pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing through...