M. L. King Memorial

Okay, it may be the most outrageous thing I've seen in the newspaper lately. I don't know how I missed this last year. In 2006, the U.S. Congress authorized construction of a national memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. - to be built in Washington, DC. The $100 million project is being largely financed by private donations. I'm glad. He was a great man. We should not forget his legacy. It's good that we're building a memorial.

(See the story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902457.html?sub=new).

But the story gets a bit insane for me when I discover that the Foundation that's building the memorial hired a man in China to design it. They've also built a 2 1/2 story model of the memorial - in China. And now the foundation and federal monument commission are squabbling about the memorial. It is proposed to be 8 feet taller than the statue of Abraham Lincoln. The federal commission calls it "colossal" and "confrontational."

Am I the only one who sees the problem with a monument to a great American being outsourced to China? What would Dr. King say if he were here? Would he be satisfied that among more than 300 million Americans, we could find not a single artist or architect capable of designing his memorial? Would Dr. King be okay with the fact that money and jobs were taken away from Americans and sent to Communist China?

Lei Yixin, the master sculptor in China selected for the project, is considered a "national treasure" by the Communist Chinese government. He is financially supported by that government with a lifelong stipend. Do you suppose Dr. King, an avowed follower of Jesus Christ, would be okay with the fact that the guy who's building his memorial is financed by the Communist government that persecutes Christians and squashes the gospel for its citizens?

It seems to me that we've gotten focused on the wrong things. And once again, we are selling our souls to the devil. With trends like this, it wouldn't surprise me to see a Chinese construction company building the next presidential library!